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  He watched her, told himself to let her go, but when she scooted out her chair, he stretched a hand across the table and placed it over hers, staying her. “We’re here. Let’s at least have dinner. For old times’ sake. Okay?”

  Amelia hesitated a long moment before she finally nodded and settled into her seat once more.

  “So,” he said, managing a smile at her. “Last I heard, you were backpacking across Europe and… dating some up-and-coming rock singer?”

  His statement made her laugh, and Lincoln noticed several men turn to find the source of the joyful sound. It drew him, too, though he didn’t like that it did.

  “Oh, was that ever a long time ago. Wow. Yeah, I did that for all of a week, which must have been when I talked to whomever it was who told you. It was one of those things that sounded good when I called home, but the reality was quite different. I liked the shock value. My parents were appropriately appalled, but it didn’t take long to realize I’d be one in a hundred girls.”

  “Good for you.”

  She shrugged. “I know it all sounds crazy, but it wasn’t as alarming as I let on, trust me. We met hiking and he asked me to dinner, invited me to his concert. That’s when I saw the chaos and knew it wasn’t for me.”

  He found himself thankful she at least had the sense God gave her to know that about herself. It seemed as though girls now—even grown women—didn’t know their worth and put up with far too much for far too long. His daughter sometimes mentioned the teen drama going on at her high school, and it made him crazy just thinking about it as a dad. As upset and angry as he’d been with Amelia at their breakup, he could only imagine how her parents had felt at her taking off the way she had. “And now? What do you do?”

  “I’m a movie set designer.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup. When I was traveling, I came upon a film set and managed to get hired as an extra. There’s a lot of standing around and waiting as an extra, so I chatted up the designers behind the scenes. After that I was hooked and I worked my way through design school. One job led to another, and now I meet with production teams and pull together the sets needed for filming here in Wilmington. I’ve been doing it for the last three years or so since moving back to the area.”

  Lincoln watched as her expression changed in the telling. She definitely enjoyed her job. “And before Wilmington?”

  “New York for a while, Hollywood after that, and then here. What about you? Marsali mentioned you’re in real estate?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. My life hasn’t been as glamorous as yours.”

  “Trust me, it’s not all glamour.”

  “Yeah, well, after you left, I stayed in construction to support Carter and myself. Once Carter graduated high school and began working, I started night classes. Real estate made sense since it was a short span to earn a lucrative license if you’re willing to play the game and hustle. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

  Silence descended over the table after his statement, and he watched as Amelia glanced at the bar again. Maybe he shouldn’t have phrased his statement the way he had, but how else should he put it? She’d left him, her parents, everyone. Plain and simple.

  Since she still stared at the bar as though she wanted to bolt, he tried to take a casual glance. A blond sat at the bar talking to the bartender, along with a few other singles eating there rather than taking up a table. Why the fascination?

  “Are you ready to order?”

  While his attention had been focused on the bar, their waitress had returned. The too-chipper teenager reminded him of Breanne before her mother’s accident. Since then, Breanne struggled with life and her place in it. Hopefully college would help her figure that out and bring back some of the sparkle now missing due to grief.

  Amelia placed her order for a grilled chicken salad and he ordered salmon. Once the waitress walked away, the silence returned.

  “Lincoln, I hope you’ve forgiven me for how I hurt you. I know I handled it badly and it wasn’t right to do that to you. I just wasn’t ready to get married and I wasn’t mature enough to handle the breakup properly.”

  He nodded his understanding and realized had things been different, had she said yes, he wouldn’t have had his children, or his life with Jill. “It worked out as it was meant to.”

  The words were easier to say now but hard to fathom back then. When Amelia had turned him down, he’d felt like it was yet another blow he wasn’t prepared for. His anger after the breakup and the overwhelming responsibility of caring for Carter had left him feeling resentful. Especially when Carter acted out and, due in part to his grief, nearly wound up in juvenile detention.

  “Tell me about Carter. How is he? And your children? How old are they?”

  Lincoln took a long drink and settled back in his chair, the memories bombarding him. The tough times, the dark times, and then the good. “Carter is okay. He owns a lucrative construction company here in town that can pretty much build or subcontract anything needed. He’s a single dad. His daughter, Piper, is four.”

  “Wow. Carter is a dad. I can’t quite picture that.”

  He chuckled. “It’s been an adjustment, for sure. Jill helped out a lot that first year, though. Eased the transition when his wife decided she didn’t want to be a mother.”

  “Oh.”

  He nodded. He and his brother had definitely endured more than their share of heartbreak. Carter had taken their parents’ deaths very hard. He searched for love but, after two marriages and two divorces, wasn’t any closer to finding it. “My two are now eighteen and heading off to college in a couple of weeks, so they’re staying busy packing up and saying goodbye to friends.”

  “Wait. Both of them?”

  “Twins,” he told her, nodding. “Brendan and Breanne. Polar opposites in personality but similar in looks. What about you? Did you marry? Have kids?” The questions were hard to ask, even after all these years.

  “Mmm. No to both. I worked a lot of hours while I went to school part-time. Then a lot of hours on various sets. I… fell in love again. Once. But I quickly discovered he wasn’t going to give up dating, so that didn’t work out. But, no, no ring and no kids.”

  She lifted her shoulders in a shrug that seemed casual but he sensed wasn’t.

  “Like you said, things work out as they’re meant to, and obviously he wasn’t ready to settle down so… better to find out sooner rather than later.”

  Their conversation continued as they got to know each other again. They caught up on parents and her many siblings, friends they’d kept in touch with since graduating high school.

  Their food arrived and they dug in, their conversation shifting to more topics of favorite pastimes and local hangouts in and about town.

  The dessert menu arrived when they finished, and even though Amelia shook her head, Lincoln found himself ordering a piece of chocolate cake with two forks.

  Once the waitress walked away, Amelia narrowed her gaze on him.

  “What?” he asked, feigning innocence when he knew he’d fail. “Chocolate cake no longer your favorite?” he asked, his mind shifting back in time to a parked car and a very private eighteenth birthday celebration he’d held for her on the north end of the island. It was a good memory. A fond memory. One he hadn’t thought of in many, many years.

  Amelia’s cheeks filled with color and she smiled at him. Lincoln found himself caught, snared by the look of her, sitting there across from him like nothing bad had ever happened. She was beautiful, talented. Familiar and yet not because she certainly wasn’t the girl he’d known. She was… more intriguing as a grown woman? More tempting?

  As his first date since meeting Jill, tonight hadn’t been so bad—but after what had happened in the past, did he want it to continue?

  Chapter 5

  Dinner was delicious. The chocolate cake the best she’d had in ages with its delicious decadence. The conversation mostly easy and flowing until they came to the inevitable touchy subjects like
his wife’s death or Amelia’s middle-of-the-night sprint from town and the emotions surrounding that fateful decision.

  Amelia couldn’t help but feel guilty. She should’ve better handled things with Lincoln. Talked to him instead of taking off and running away like a willful child. But at the time, she’d felt such pressure to accept Lincoln’s proposal, and she knew if she stayed in town, she probably would’ve made amends and accepted his ring, tried to be the wife he wanted her to be instead of discovering the woman she was meant to become.

  But what had she given up by leaving as she had? Her best child-bearing years were behind her and now… now there was no guarantee she’d ever have a child of her own, even if she went the sperm bank route. That was something she’d have to live with, one way or another. Would she be okay with never being a mother? There were other ways, of course, but they weren’t avenues she wanted to consider pursuing at this time, not without trying to have a baby first. She wanted to know what it was like. What it felt like to carry a baby, to grow life inside of her. To have something so intrinsically hers that it was flesh of her flesh and blood of her blood.

  She blinked to awareness and realized they had both grown pensive, their laughter and conversation falling silent as they finished the shared piece of cake. She opened her mouth to speak but words failed her. What to say? What to do? How could she make up for the hurt she’d caused him?

  “I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long week. Are you ready to call it a night?” he asked.

  Honestly? She would’ve liked a walk on the beach or the pier. Anything to extend the evening just a little longer, because in her heart of hearts, she felt there wouldn’t be another. “As you wish.”

  It was a quote from a movie they’d watched countless times while dating, and the mention of it now brought a slight smile to Lincoln’s craggy features.

  “Those were fun days. At least, I thought they were.”

  “They were, Lincoln. I’ve never regretted them. Only… what I did to hurt you. I’m truly sorry.”

  His jaw tightened at her words, but the waitress bringing their check ended whatever he might have said.

  “Please let me get it?” she asked, reaching for the booklet with the slip inside.

  “No.” His reflexes were faster. “But thanks for the offer,” he said.

  Instead of a card, though, he paid in cash. So he could make a clean getaway? Not have to linger while the girl ran the card and brought signature slips?

  Lincoln scooted his chair from the table. “We should go. We’ve held the table long enough.”

  He couldn’t wait to get away from her. That much was obvious. And it hurt like crazy. If this was any indication of how it felt when she’d left him, she couldn’t blame him for wanting the night to end. He’d made good on the date. Been a gentleman as his mother would’ve wanted him to be, but now?

  Amelia choked down the growing lump in her throat and led the way through the restaurant toward the door. She noted he didn’t place his hand at her back as he’d always done. Another sign of his displeasure with her and how she’d injured him. Lincoln wasn’t a player. Never had been. His love had been sincere, and she’d tromped on it like the ungrateful child she’d been.

  When they reached the exit and were able to walk side by side she said, “I, um, wasn’t sure about tonight. This whole matchmaking thing wasn’t my idea but a friend’s. It’s a long story, but I’m glad it was you, Lincoln. I’m glad that we could talk and… I hope you’ll forgive me for running out like I did. I would very much like a fresh start with you.”

  There. He couldn’t misinterpret that now, could he?

  “I’m glad you stayed for dinner, Amelia.”

  O-kay then. The roar of the waves crashing nearby and the sound of a Friday evening at the beach filled the air. Lincoln’s cologne teased her nostrils, a mix of sandalwood and musk and something masculine and sniff-worthy that she couldn’t identify.

  Marsali’s description of Lincoln was spot on. His hair was dark but light at his temples, with more than a hint of silver scattered throughout, close-cropped though it was.

  Between becoming his brother’s guardian at eighteen and now losing a wife with children to raise, she didn’t doubt that accounted for the premature gray. It didn’t detract from his looks in any way, though. In her opinion, it added to his allure, especially when he towered head and shoulders above her even with her heels, all broad and strong and formidable. She’d always been attracted to tall men, and Lincoln was definitely that. Lincoln was… everything, the whole package.

  After they exited the building, she paused to remove the wrap from her shoulders. She’d needed it inside due to the chill of the air conditioning, but outside, it quickly became too much. Lincoln stood silently beside her as she fussed with it to buy time, hoping something might change between them. Maybe she should suggest a walk along the sand?

  “Where are you parked?”

  Yeah. Right. Okay, then. “Uh… that way.”

  They fell into step beside each other once more and her brain scrambled to find the right words. “Lincoln? I never mentioned you by name to Marsali. Did you mention me?”

  “No.”

  “I just… I wonder at the odds.”

  He didn’t comment, and she took a sideways peek at him to find his attention focused on the night sky above them. “I… I just wonder if maybe now that we’re older and wiser, things would be different between us? That’s me,” she said breathlessly when he didn’t respond, pressing the button on her fob to unlock the vehicle with a blink of the lights.

  He moved to the driver’s-side door and opened it for her but didn’t lean down to kiss her or… anything.

  “It was nice seeing you again, Amelia.”

  Amelia stepped toward him and lifted her face toward his, pushing and knowing she did, but more than ready for whatever Lincoln might propose as their next step. Coffee? Casual conversation? She just didn’t want this to be the one and only time she ever saw him. “It was wonderful to see you, too. Maybe… we can do this again sometime?” Fine. If he wasn’t going to say it, she would. Desperate-sounding or not.

  Lincoln hesitated before he lowered his head, but instead of kissing her lips, he brushed her cheek.

  “Drive safe.”

  Feeling deflated and defeated, Amelia got in the car and locked her door. She watched Lincoln walk away before digging out her cell to text Izzy. She glanced over her shoulder, but Lincoln had disappeared into the night and the assortment of vehicles parked outside the popular restaurant.

  She took a moment to simply breathe before slipping a finger over her phone and tapping on Izzy’s name. You ready?

  Yes! Can’t wait to hear all about it. Lah, I couldn’t get a clear look, but that man seemed HOT!

  Amelia pushed the button to start the vehicle and took her time pulling on her seat belt and cranking the AC. Her hands trembled throughout the process. She backed out of the space and approached the entrance of the restaurant, slowing to a crawl and then stopping when she saw Izzy merrily making her way down the steps and across the sidewalk. Izzy yanked open the door and hopped in, tossing her clutch, grabbing her seat belt, and turning sideways in the seat seemingly all at once.

  “Tell me everything. Every single detail.”

  Amelia took a deep breath but struggled to form words over the stupid lump taking possession of her throat.

  “Meli? What is it? Was he awful? You seemed to be enjoying yourself. I didn’t want to stare but you laughed a few times. And he looked… well, he looked hunky enough. Was he awful?”

  “N-no,” she finally whispered, pressing on the gas to get them moving toward home. “He wasn’t awful. He was… familiar.”

  “Familiar? You mean, you knew him?”

  Amelia tightened her hands over the steering wheel and nodded. “It… turns out my date was… Lincoln.”

  “What?”

  Izzy’s shriek filled the car and blasted Amelia’s ears.<
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  “That was Lincoln? Lincoln Hayes Lincoln? The man you said you’ve always regretted letting get away, Lincoln?”

  Amelia nodded, still battling that lump. Despite their ten-year age difference, she and Izzy had swapped heartbreak stories one evening over margaritas. Izzy knew all about Lincoln. Just like Amelia knew all about Izzy’s men troubles.

  “You mean to tell me that with the thousands of men in Marsali’s database, she matched you with the love of your life?”

  Her hands hurt because she gripped the wheel so tightly. “Lincoln hardly qualifies as that when it didn’t work out.”

  “Yeah, right. Girl, you might be able to fool some people but you can’t fool me. I know how much you loved him. You can’t hide it when you talk about him. And maybe it didn’t work out back then but… what about now? When are you going to see him again? Please tell me you’re going to see him again.”

  “He didn’t… I don’t know,” Amelia said, rolling to a stop at a red light not far from the parking lot. “I panicked at first. I tried to leave right after I got there, but Lincoln was polite and asked me to stay. We talked a-about his wife—she died in a car accident like this parents, can you believe that?—and his kids. He seemed okay during the dinner, but… he didn’t say anything about meeting up again when he walked me to my car.”

  “Maybe he just needs to think? It was shocking for him, too, I’m sure. I mean, it’s good that he didn’t just get up and walk out, right? He stayed for dessert,” Izzy added as though that was proof positive things had gone well.

  “My favorite,” she whispered, nodding. “He remembered my favorite.”

  “Okay, see? He was surprised, just like you. He’ll tell Marsali to set you up again, though. You wait and see. He will.”

  The light changed and Amelia pressed on the gas. It was a good sign that he’d stayed. Even better that he’d remembered her favorite dessert.

  But if that was the case, why did her gut tell her she’d never see him again?