Romance Reset Read online

  Chapter 6

  The following afternoon, Lincoln sat at his desk in his home office and stared out the window at the boat traffic on the canal.

  “Hey,” Carter yelled from the first floor. “Music starts at seven. Leave around six?”

  Had his brother never heard of texting? “Yeah. Sounds good.”

  Lincoln heard the door shut and went back to his deep pondering of last night’s date with Amelia. She’d looked beautiful. The young girl he’d fallen so in love with had turned into an alluring woman who carried herself with confidence and assurance.

  He wondered why she was single now. She shouldn’t be. But then, he knew well that life didn’t always work out as one planned. He’d certainly never expected to be a widower now. Over the years, he and Jill had talked about what they’d do when the twins went off to college. Travel, maybe take some classes together. Things that would help them focus on each other and their relationship sans kids.

  His cell phone rang and he dug under the mound of papers on his desk to find it. A glance at the face left him frowning. His thumb hovered over the swipe bar, but he clicked the side to silence the ring and let it go to voicemail. He wasn’t ready to talk to Marsali just yet. He had more thinking to do before giving his post-date responses as to whether or not there would be another date between them in his future.

  He set the phone aside and tried once more to focus on the listing details in front of him, but as it had earlier, his mind wandered back to last night.

  Amelia. Why hadn’t she married? Why was she looking now? They were questions he wanted answers to, but there was only one way to get them and he wasn’t sure he was willing to invest the time.

  According to her story, she’d traveled for a while when she was young but went to school and settled into a career. Surely there had been plenty of opportunities for her to fall in love during that time. She’d admitted to coming close once but was that it? Only once?

  Only one way to find out.

  Giving up on the work in front of him, Lincoln shook his head and shoved himself away from the desk, deciding to join Carter and the kids downstairs. They were all in the pool and he could hear them splashing and laughing, and he didn’t want to miss out. Not when, in a matter of days, his kids would be gone and the house empty. Some things took priority.

  He changed into a pair of swim trunks and made his way downstairs, out the sliding glass door. Breanne lay on a lounge chair on her belly in a suit that made his head spin because it was so tiny, but Brendan, Carter, and Piper played a game of treasure hunt. Lincoln jumped in, close enough to the edge to splash his daughter and maybe get her to join in on the fun.

  When he broke the surface and wiped the saltwater from his eyes, the lounger was empty and Breanne was shutting the patio door.

  “Man, moody much?” Carter asked from the other end of the pool. “Pip, don’t you turn into a girl on me, got it?”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Lincoln frowned at the door where Breanne had disappeared until Piper swam over to him like the fish she’d turned into once she’d learned how to swim.

  “Your turn, Uncle Linc.”

  He looked down at the brightly colored weighted pool toys she handed him and smiled at her. “My turn? Hmm. Let’s see.” Linc tossed two in the deep end and three in the shallows for Piper to dive for. While Brendan and Carter dove toward the deep end, Lincoln pretended to race Piper for the other three.

  “Hey. Where were you last night?” Carter asked Lincoln after he surfaced with his prize.

  Lincoln turned at the question but shrugged. “Kids were out, so I went to get dinner in Wrightsville.”

  Better to stick with the truth rather than lie. And omitting a few details Carter didn’t need to know wouldn’t hurt anyone. Especially when Carter would remember Amelia and all that had happened between them.

  “I found two! I won, Uncle Linc!” Piper called.

  “Good timing, Pip,” Carter said to his daughter. “It’s time to get out so I can get ready for the concert.”

  “Will you bring me back cotton candy?”

  Carter laughed at the question and sliced through the water toward his baby girl.

  “If the concert sells cotton candy, I think I can manage that,” Carter told her. “No promises, though. Now let’s get out so we can head home, okay? I want you out of the shower before the babysitter gets there.”

  After the group exited the pool, Lincoln swam some laps before doing the same. A quick shower and he was ready to go. He stopped by Brendan’s room and heard his son’s shower running, so Lincoln moved on to Breanne’s room and knocked on her door. “Hey, sweetheart. We’re leaving for the concert soon. I still have that ticket if you want to go.”

  “No, thanks. Let Bren bring another friend. I think Ty wanted to go.”

  Had she been crying? “Breanne, open up.”

  “Dad—”

  “Open. Now.”

  A long pause followed, but he finally heard her moving across the room toward the door. She opened it a crack.

  “What?” she asked, not looking directly at him.

  “What’s going on with you? Why the tears?”

  “It’s nothing, Dad. I’m fine.”

  His beautiful daughter was anything but fine. “Try again.”

  She rolled her eyes and shot him an irritated look that resembled Jill’s so much he caught his breath.

  “Jax and I broke up. But it’s no big deal. It’s not like we can date when he’ll be in California and I’ll be at Duke.”

  Young love was tough. He knew that from experience.

  Lincoln reached out and tucked a wet clump of hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you won’t come with us tonight? Nice chance to hang out with your old man, hear some good music.”

  “You’re not that old. But no. I’m going to find a movie and hang out here with ice cream.”

  He smiled at the image, because anytime Jill had a bad day, a hug and ice cream were the cures. “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah. Have fun.”

  She tried to close the door but he stopped it with his hand. When she made eye contact, he took a step back and opened his arms, palms out and fingers wagging for her to bring it in. He got another eye roll for his actions, but she slipped through the door and hugged him. He squeezed her tight, taking the opportunity to kiss the top of her head. “It’ll be okay.”

  “I know. It just bites.”

  That it did. He held tight for several long moments, not about to be the one to let go until he had to. Breanne pressed her face into his chest and then pushed him away.

  “Night, Dad.”

  Lincoln watched as she stepped back into her bedroom and shut the door, wishing he could take away the pain he knew she felt. Much like him and Amelia, Breanne and Jax had dated since their sophomore year, and as boyfriends went, Lincoln couldn’t fault the kid. The boy had drive, potential. And had received both an athletic scholarship and multiple academic ones to Stanford, giving the kid a full ride. Lincoln just hated that his daughter was experiencing the same pain he had at her age.

  Lincoln still mulled over his dark thoughts of the past forty minutes later when they piled into Carter’s Jeep for the ride to the amphitheater. Carter had removed the top and doors, and his son and two buddies sat squished into the back.

  The drive took longer than expected due to traffic snarls, but finally they found a spot and grabbed their chairs from the rack on the back of the Jeep before making their way to the lawn.

  “Dad, we’re going to go on down front and see if we can squeeze in.”

  “Don’t be rude,” Lincoln ordered. “Come back if you can’t find a spot.”

  “Okay.”

  The boys disappeared into the crowd, and Lincoln and Carter settled along the back of the lawn with chairs and a cooler of drinks between them.

  “You seem awfully preoccupied,” Carter said once they got situated. “Breanne okay?”

  “She and Jax broke
up.”

  “Ahhh. I wondered why he wasn’t at the pool hanging out today. Tough break. Bound to happen, though, with him going so far away for school.”

  Lincoln’s cell rang where it sat atop the cooler, and Marsali’s name appeared.

  “Whoa! Why is Mac’s sister calling you?” Carter asked, his gaze narrowing suspiciously. “How does she have your number? Are you seeing her? Does Mac know?”

  “I’m—”

  “Ah, man. He pulled me aside twice the night of your party to warn me off, and here you’re the one who went after her.” Carter’s chuckles drew the attention of those nearby. “That’s funny.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  Carter’s chuckles died down after Lincoln’s tone settled in.

  “Well, if it’s not like that, what is it like?”

  Confession time. Lincoln supposed there was no time like the present. “I… might have hired her.”

  Lincoln struggled to keep his cool in light of Carter’s smirking expression.

  “Seriously?”

  “Don’t.”

  “Yeah, no, I have to. You actually did it? Hired Marsali to find you a date? Why not just go online?”

  “Because I don’t want clients and colleagues seeing my picture online like some— Can we not talk about this?”

  “Show hasn’t started yet. Nothing better to do.” Carter took a long drink from his bottle and shrugged. “I guess that’s smart, though. Online dating isn’t great anyway. Same people on all the sites, and you have to wonder if they ever get off even if they wind up dating someone.”

  Lincoln didn’t comment but that was exactly what he didn’t want. Who would? He supposed there were those who wouldn’t care because they weren’t online for a serious relationship, but he wasn’t the type to share. Some things were meant to be private and that definitely included relationships.

  “I’m just glad you’re finally dating. Seriously. You put the kids first and mourned Jill, and that’s exactly what you should’ve done. But it’s time to move forward. Have you gone on a… Whoa, is that where you were last night? How was it? What happened?”

  “You sound like Breanne and one of her friends,” Lincoln grumbled.

  “Who cares?” Carter asked with a grin. “I wanna know. Did you like her? Was she pretty? Where’d you go?”

  “Yeah, yes, and Wrightsville, like I told you.”

  “Could you be a little more vague? Come on,” Carter demanded. “Was it a bad date? Cut yourself some slack. You’re out of practice, sure, but it couldn’t have been that bad. Unless you’re just being nice about the pretty part?”

  “It wasn’t bad,” Lincoln said, shaking his head at Carter’s question. His brother could be a little short-sighted sometimes. “It was… It was a great date except for—”

  “What? Don’t leave me hanging, Linc. What happened?”

  “Marsali arranged the date, right? So I knew very few details beforehand. I got there and the date Marsali arranged was with Amelia Porter.”

  “Amelia… your old high school girlfriend?”

  Lincoln nodded. “She’s not old.”

  “She’s still hot, huh?”

  And then some.

  “Wow. What are the odds?” Carter asked, scratching his head. “Yeah, I don’t care if I sound like a teenage girl. I want details.” Carter sat forward in his camp chair, staring intently at Lincoln while he waited. “Don’t leave anything out.”

  Lincoln knew avoiding the conversation was futile, especially when he had nowhere to go with the concert about to begin, so he filled Carter in, starting with the gut-wrenching surprise he’d had finding Amelia at the table, to the fact her legs looked a mile long in that skirt and those heels.

  “So she’s back in town and looking… and you’re looking. And low and behold your”—Carter lowered his voice—“matchmaker,” Carter said with a wide grin, “hooked you up as being compatible.”

  “I guess so.”

  Carter’s gaze narrowed at Lincoln’s tone.

  “When are you going out again?” his brother asked.

  Someone on stage began a rapid drum beat. Lincoln focused his attention on the concert venue and thanked God for the band assembling on stage and razzing the crowd to get to their feet. Guitar riffs filled the air and blasted the crowd, and Lincoln and Carter stood with the rest of the audience as the lead singer approached the mic.

  Standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother, Lincoln said, “We’re not.”

  Chapter 7

  That same evening, Amelia propped her feet up on the coffee table in her enclosed sunroom, her phone on speaker beside her on the cushion. “Wait, so you haven’t been able to reach him?” she asked Marsali.

  “He is a busy man, Amelia. No worries. I wasn’t able to reach you all day either.”

  Right. Okay. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I had a tough day on set with a bunch of last-minute changes.”

  “Exactly. Remember that he’s in real estate. I’m sure he probably had showings or open houses today. There’s no need to panic. Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “You tell me. Did something happen?”

  Confession time, Amelia mused. “Well… actually, yeah. I mean, sort of.”

  “Sort of?” Marsali repeated. “That sounds a bit ominous. Did something happen between you or not?”

  “Marsali, Lincoln and I have actually dated before. In high school.”

  “Oh! Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. I thought maybe there had been an issue at the restaurant or something. So you dated in high school? For how long?”

  “Almost three years. Lincoln, um, proposed to me and—”

  “Oh. You mean he was the one you referenced when you said you almost married but were too young?” Marsali asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Well, I have to say this is a first for me. I’ve never had this happen. Okay, so you have a history, but that was a long time ago. Tell me more about last night. Did you exchange any angry words? Did you talk about the past? Gain any closure?”

  Amelia closed her eyes and relived the evening with Lincoln. The sight and scent of him, the way he smiled, the lightly callused look of his hands, which made her think he still did quite a bit of labor himself when he could. “He seemed okay, at least at first. We did talk about the past. I apologized for not handling it more like an adult. He said it worked out as it was meant to because he wouldn’t have his kids. It went well, I thought.”

  “But?”

  “But,” Amelia repeated, “you haven’t been able to get in touch with him for a follow-up, and when he walked me to my car and I mentioned how much I’d enjoyed the evening and made it clear I’d like to see him again, he didn’t ask for a repeat.”

  “I see. Did you hug? Kiss?”

  “He kissed my cheek.”

  “Did you feel chemistry with him?”

  A flush of heat rose in her cheeks. “Yes.” When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his lips on her skin, the sweet, fiery trail left in their wake, and the way his cologne had filled her head and teased her senses.

  “And you’d be interested in seeing him again?”

  “Only if he’s willing.”

  “Of course. Obviously there was a lot of emotion tied to your early years together,” Marsali stated, “but how awesome is it that the chemistry you shared is still there?”

  “It was for me, but I’m not so sure that was the case with Lincoln.”

  “Time will tell,” Marsali said. “And as soon as I know more, so will you. What you are going to do now is hang tight while I track him down, and we’ll go from there. No worries, okay?”

  “If you say so.”

  Marsali changed the topic to more general subjects before they said goodbye and Marsali ended the call. Amelia was tired but not sleepy, frustrated with not getting any feedback from Lincoln regarding their date, and wondering if he did actually hate her after all of these years.

  She
twisted sideways and flopped back on the couch, groaning aloud. “Why him? Why now of all times?”

  Why did she think it was twenty years too late?

  * * *

  Lincoln was very well aware of Carter’s inquisitive stare at various times throughout the concert, but somehow his nosy little brother managed to keep his peace until the band took an intermission. The moment the music stopped, Lincoln turned toward Carter and said, “Don’t start.”

  “Since when did you saying that ever stop me?” Carter said with a wide grin. “Why aren’t you seeing her again?” he demanded, picking the conversation up as though the last hour hadn’t happened.

  Lincoln lowered himself into his camp chair and leaned forward to pull a cold water bottle from the cooler. “I have my reasons. None of which I want to share with you.”

  Carter continued to glare at Lincoln.

  “Wow.”

  Lincoln knew better than to ask. Told himself not to but asked, “What?”

  “Twenty years later, you’re still in love with her.”

  Lincoln inhaled and released a heavy sigh. “I am not in love with her.”

  “Fine. Maybe in love is a bad description, but you never got over her. Admit it.”

  Lincoln opened his mouth to deny the statement but the words wouldn’t form. “I loved Jill.”

  “No one’s saying you didn’t. But seeing Amelia again wouldn’t have freaked you out this much if there wasn’t something still there.”

  Lincoln busied himself by taking a long pull from the water and hoped it helped the August heat and the intensity he felt because of their discussion. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to see her again, Carter. Drop it.”

  Carter sat back in his chair, and neither of them spoke for a long moment.

  “I remember having a huge crush on her. Like, huge. I was so jealous when I’d catch you two making out.”

  “Why do you think I let you catch us?” His cell buzzed again and Lincoln pulled it from his pocket to glance at the caller ID.

  “Marsali again? Answer it. You gotta talk to her sometime, man,” Carter said.