Sandwich, With a Side of Romance

by Krista Phillips

  In a billion years she wasn’t expecting this.

  Especially after that stupid kiss.

  She turned and shoved past Allie and Stew, who both stood with eyes bulging, and walked down the beach to a spot less crowded and plopped onto the sand.

  Engaged.

  Reuben was engaged.

  She shouldn’t care. Should be happy for him. Relieved even.

  But she wasn’t.

  Not even close.

  He’d just proven her theory about men. They didn’t care who they hurt in their quest to conquer women.

  Bile rose up in her stomach. She’d been the object of such conquests one too many times, and there was no way she’d let him affect her again.

  For the last week, she’d refused to talk to him, yet the memory of his lips stuck with her, hard and fast, like a blood-sucking tick.

  Sand oozed through her fingers as she tried to grip a handful. She lifted her hand and threw the tan particles, watching them float limply to the ground in front of her.

  She could leave. Start over in a new town, but then her dream of rescuing Kyle would be out of reach.

  Or she could stay and be strong. She couldn’t cower and run every time a man crossed her path. Reuben was the one who would be sorry for messing with her.

  “Maddie?” Allie stood beside her, hands in the pockets of her shorts. “Wanna talk?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing really to talk about.”

  Her friend sat down beside her and elbowed her in the side. “We can talk about how you ditched the shirt as soon as I was out of eyesight.”

  Oh, yeah. The shirt. “I, uh, was hot.”

  “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

  Maddie chuckled. “Fine. It was hideous, and I didn’t want to be seen. That better?”

  “Brutally honest. Now that’s the Maddie I know.”

  Lying back on the sand, Maddie stared at the fading blue sky, hardly a cloud visible. Lucky for it. “You’re a good friend, Allie.”

  “What do you think about my new future sister-in-law?” Poor Allie, having that woman in her family. “She deserves him, that’s what I think.”

  Allie shifted in the sand and stared at her. “Now that was mean.”

  It was meant to be, but Allie was his sister, and if some women ever dissed Kyle like that, she’d get decked. “I wish them all the happiness in the world in their marriage. How’s that?”

  “A little better.” A crooked smile tipped Allie’s lips. “I had kinda hoped….”

  “What, your brother and me? No way. I know you thought Livy was jealous, but she can have him. I’ll be perfectly happy, ninety years old, rocking on the front porch, all by myself. Maybe Kyle will have some kids and I can be the fun Auntie. I don’t need a man to have a life.”

  Allie lay back in the sand beside her. “Why are you scared of guys?”

  Maddie tossed a handful of sand onto her friend. “They have cooties, duh.”

  “Seriously, Maddie.”

  Her chest constricted, feeling like gravity was pinning her to the ground, taking her breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Sometimes talking is healing for the soul.”

  Maddie sat up and looked out at kids splashing in the water down the beach. “Sometimes it rips open old scars and makes you bleed to death.”

  Allie sat up too and squeezed her arm. “I happen to know that God has this amazing first-aid kit just for such occasions. I won’t make you talk, but I’m here if you ever want to, ’kay?”

  She got up and walked back toward the party, leaving Maddie alone with her past.

  This is a mess, God.

  Reuben made a random right turn down a deserted country road and hit the gas until the speed of his car matched the pace of adrenaline running through his veins.

  He was engaged. Like it or not, he hadn’t been able to humiliate himself or Livy in front of everyone. And back at the house, she’d kissed him and said she needed to get home, then left without a chance for them to talk.

  So now here he was, driving ninety miles an hour past fields of budding corn stalks, trying to figure out the rest of his life.

  He pressed on the brake as a stop sign waved in front of him.

  The car screeched to a stop.

  Much like his life had this last week.

  The latest profit numbers from Wade, his accountant, weren’t good. Opening another restaurant looked riskier every day.

  His assistant hated him and was barely saying a word to him.

  He was engaged to a woman who he wasn’t sure he was even in love with anymore.

  Lovers had quarrels. Annoyed each other. But this was more than just another fight.

  He’d kissed Maddie. Until she’d pushed him away, he’d completely enjoyed the experience.

  The sparks that had been missing with Livy for so long definitely were present and accounted for with Maddie.

  Those sparks now threatened to catch him on fire and destroy everything.

  He turned left and made his way, slower this time, to his mom’s driveway. A light shone in an upstairs bedroom.

  At least they weren’t asleep yet.

  His mother deserved to hear the news from him and not through the gossip channels.

  Especially since he determined to set things right with Livy in the morning.

  He rang the doorbell and, a moment later, a bathrobe-clad Gary opened the door. “Reuben, everything okay?”

  Like he cared. “Yeah, need to talk to Mom.”

  Gary opened the door wider. “Come on in. I can put a pot of coffee on.”

  “No need. Is Mom asleep?”

  “No, she’s actually not here.”

  Had his mother come to her senses and left him? Doubtful. “Where is she?”

  “She and some girlfriends decided to be one with their youth and have an old-fashioned slumber party. Figured Fourth of July was a grand night for it. They left for Miss Agnes’s house right after the city’s fireworks. Giddy as a schoolgirl about it. Even borrowed a hair iron thing from Maddie that’s supposed to make her hair all, uh, kinked or something like that?”

  “Crimped you mean?” He only knew that because he had a sister who grew up in the early 90s.

  “Something like that. So, anything I can help you with?”

  “No. Just wanted to tell her some private news.”

  Gary padded in black slippers into the kitchen and yelled from the other room. “You mean the engagement?”

  Reuben followed and leaned against the doorjamb between the kitchen and dining room and scowled. “How do you know about that?”

  “Allie called.” He handed Reuben a cup of coffee. “Said it surprised everyone.”

  Including the would-be groom. He shook his head at the coffee and turned to leave. “I’ll come back in the morning.”

  Gary followed him and sat down on the bottom step of the front staircase. “Reuben, you never have told me why you’re so angry with me. It’d be nice to know.”

  Reuben pivoted around to face the man who made his blood boil every time he saw him. “I can’t believe you can even sit there and ask me that.”

  He held out his hands. “Give me a chance to explain.”

  Reuben pointed a finger at the man he had an extremely hard time not hating. “You took his life, then walked in and took over his home, his wife, and everything he loved. You don’t deserve a chance.”

  He turned and slammed the door on his way out.

  25

  The hand came at him so fast he barely had time to flinch.

  He winced at the stinging impact of Livy’s palm on his cheek.

  “I can’t believe you did this to me. You kissed her, Reuben? While we were engaged?”

  “Technically we were on a break, Liv. But still, it was wrong. You have every right to be mad.”

  Her cheeks blazed fire red as she paced his office, arms flailing. “Mad? You think I’m mad? Oh, buddy, I’ve gone so far past mad there are no words for i
t.” She stopped and turned to him, her hands on her hips. “We just announced our engagement yesterday, Reuben.”

  A muscle in his jaw jerked, and Reuben dug into his gut and pulled out every ounce of reserve and patience he possessed. “You announced it and drug me along.”

  Her mouth dropped and she took a step closer to him, her finger poking his chest with each syllable. “No, no, no. You are the one who planned the Fourth of July engagement announcement, not me.”

  “That was before we took a break and you know it.”

  Anger fell from her face replaced by tears. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. Are you leaving me for her, Reuben? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Doubtful, given Maddie’s silent treatment. “No. Maddie and I don’t have a future. The kiss shouldn’t have happened. She was as mad as you are about it.”

  Livy snorted her disbelief. “Yeah right. She’s been making her move on you since day one, Reuben. I tried to warn you.”

  A moment of doubt seized him. But no, Maddie wasn’t like that. “She only wants to get custody of her little brother and needs money and a stable job. That’s it.”

  Livy crossed her arms across her black button up dress shirt. “And don’t you think a stable boyfriend would be helpful too? One who has money?”

  Given his shrinking bank account of late, Maddie was barking up the wrong tree if she thought that. “I’m not making excuses for what I did. It was wrong, but don’t blame Maddie. She is just as much a victim as you.”

  Livy collapsed in the guest chair. “What does this mean for us, Reuben?”

  Reuben leaned back against the edge of his desk. “I don’t expect you to forgive me.” He looked down at the woman who’d been a part of his life since he was sixteen years old. “I guess it means we’re over.”

  The blonde-headed beauty looked up at him and stared for a full minute before responding, her voice quivering with emotion. “Fire her, Reuben. Fire her today, and we’ll get through this. I’ll forgive you, and we can move on.”

  He shook his head. For legal reasons alone, he couldn’t do that. “I’m not going to do that, Livy.”

  She stood, her chin tilted high. She straightened her shirt and cleared her throat. “Then I guess we’re through. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get the dining room ready for lunch.”

  “I have good news and bad news. Which one you want first?”

  Maddie sucked in a breath at Corina’s words as she turned the Tracker into The Emporium’s parking lot. She was just getting there after her shift at the salon. “Let’s get the bad over with.”

  She needed to end on a good note, because going in there to face the newly engaged moron-of-the-year was going to be difficult enough.

  It was all she could do not to text him her resignation notice.

  And would have, except she needed the job, and texts cost twenty cents she couldn’t afford to waste on him.

  “The Blakelys officially asked me for the petition paperwork. I anticipate having it back in the next week or two and scheduling their home study sometime in August.”

  No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Maddie punched the steering wheel, and the horn blared, her bruised heart almost leaping from her chest.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing.” She dipped her head when eyes from inside the restaurant looked through the window in her direction. “How long do I have before I’ve blown my shot?”

  “It’ll probably go before a judge in September at the earliest.”

  Not a lot of time. She needed to get her house sooner than later. It’d take her a while to save up money to furnish it and show that she could handle another mouth to feed.

  And September was less than two months away.

  “What’s the good news?”

  “I’ve pulled a few strings and scheduled some time for Kyle to come visit you in Sandwich this summer.”

  Maddie’s hands shook. “When?”

  “If you can swing it, weekend after next. You do have a place big enough for him to stay, right?”

  Even with getting paid this coming Friday, she would barely have the money for deposit and first month’s rent, much less get any furnishings.

  But they’d camp out on the floor if it came to that.

  And Reuben had said the house was available immediately.

  “Yes, yes I do.”

  “You’ll have to come get him and take him home.”

  The dollar signs added up with gas and meals. But she could pack PB&Js. “I’ll make it work.”

  “What about your job? You don’t work weekends, do you?”

  Judy scheduled her an occasional Saturday, but she was sure she could swing that one off. “Not usually.”

  “I also think he can come again over Labor Day weekend before school starts. The Blakelys wanted to make sure you knew that they still planned to have you in his life, so this is their olive branch to you.”

  If the branch didn’t include her brother visiting, she would have taken it and broken it into a billion pieces. “Labor Day would be perfect.”

  She discussed times then hung up the phone. A to-do list a mile long filtered through her brain, and her fingers itched for her steno pad at her desk.

  The first thing on her list though: Make nice with her boss.

  Because as mad as she was with him, she needed her job.

  If she had to kiss a few frogs to get her brother-the-prince to safety, then this sister would pucker up and do just that.

  26

  The frog sat at his desk pounding hunt-and-peck style on his laptop keyboard. “You’re late.”

  Maddie looked at her watch. Barely after four, a whole ten minutes late. Call in the firing squad now. Instead of defending herself, she opted for sarcasm. The one thing her boss understood. “You’re cranky. I thought being engaged, you would be giddy and all floating in the clouds on the high of love.”

  “We’re not.”

  “Not giddy?”

  He didn’t look up. “Not engaged. Now get to work.”

  That was fast. Not that she really cared. “Sorry about that.”

  His eyes met hers briefly before going back to the screen. “I told her we kissed. She wanted me to fire you, and I said no. Wedding bells flew out the window. Happy?”

  Maddie swallowed and searched for words. Her shocked brain couldn’t find many. “Sorry?”

  “Don’t be. Just get to work and don’t make me regret not sending you packing.”

  She set her purse under her desk. His engagement, or lack thereof, shouldn’t matter to her anyway. This was her place of employment. And that’s all. “You have payroll hours checked for me to enter?”

  He nodded to the basket she’d set on the edge of his desk. “Where you told me to put them.”

  Only a week ago he’d whined about implementing the basket and refused to use it.

  Maybe being single agreed with him. “Thanks. I’ll get right on it.”

  “I’m surprised you’re talking to me again. I still expected the silent treatment.”

  She sat in her chair and booted up the computer. “First, let’s remember. You kissed me. There is no ‘we kissed’ here.”

  “You kissed me back for a second.”

  Maddie spun around, her jaw slack. “I did not.”

  “Kid yourself all you like, but for a moment, you enjoyed it.”

  The egotistical pig. “I hated every gross second of it.”

  “What’s your second?”

  Maddie blinked. “What?”

  “You said, ‘first, blah blah blah.’ That implies a second.”

  She swallowed the words she ached to call him. Kissing frogs, kissing frogs. “Kyle’s coming for a visit. In less than two weeks.”

  His typing ceased. “Really? That’s fantastic.”

  Maddie bit her lip. “Yeah, but I have a lot to do before then. Do you know if that house is still available?”

  He nodded once. “We can move you in th
is weekend. I’ll talk to Allie and we’ll get it all arranged.”

  Resentment burned in her belly. While she welcomed help, she didn’t need anyone controlling her. “I don’t have anything really to move except my bags. I’ll have to furnish a little at a time.”

  “You can’t sleep on the floor.”

  She shrugged. “Air mattresses are cheap.”

  “What will you sit on?”

  “The floor is carpeted. We’ll survive.”

  “Utensils? Plates? Or do you plan to do take out everyday?”

  She shook her head. “Paper and plastic. Don’t worry, Reuben. I’ve got it handled. I just need your help contacting Tim so I can finalize the details. Actually, never mind. Gary or Betty can probably do that.”

  He sat back in his chair and studied her long enough that she squirmed and turned back to her computer. “You don’t want to trust me, do you?”

  She typed a few numbers into the payroll software. “Do I have reason to?”

  “I kissed you, Maddie. And while I regret it, I think you’d hate me regardless.”

  Her fingers hovered before she let them drop to her lap. “I don’t hate you.”

  “Really? News to me.”

  She shrugged. “I dislike men in general.”

  Reuben leaned his elbows on the desk. “Well, at least I’m in good company.”

  “If you call them good, then you’re proving my point.”

  “Is it your dad or that old boyfriend you mentioned?”

  Maddie pushed her chair away. “I’m going to get a drink.”

  “Running doesn’t solve your problems.”

  She glanced back at him. “No, but it helps me shove them far away so I don’t have to think about them for a very long time. And I’m okay with that.”

  “What was his name?”

  Her hand gripped the doorknob. “None of your business.”

  “You’re right. It’s not.”

  She looked back at him, and something in his eyes, a genuine interest in caring for her, loosened her tongue. “Ryan. His name was Ryan.”

  “Give me his address and I’ll make him wish he never set eyes on you.”