Loving Pursuit Read online

Page 8


  Lewis

  I had no experience with love, but I thought that I might have found it with Marie. What else could make me feel this way? It made me crazy to not see her for two days in a row. I’d never felt like that about anyone before. It was like my whole world had shifted and she was now the center.

  I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. I knew that she’d had her heart broken in the recent past and didn’t want her to feel pressured by me. I needed to give her some time to know for sure that I was different from her ex. I wouldn’t ever stray. The idea of being attracted to someone else was laughable.

  For now, I was going to keep moving forward with her. That began with dinner with my parents tonight.

  My mom called me when they arrived in Bayville in the early afternoon. I was at one of the two Italian restaurants in town, arranging for a dinner to be catered at the bed and breakfast that evening. They came by to pick me up, since it made more sense to ride together as I familiarize them with the town. My father, always considering himself too important to do his own driving around, had hired a driver for their black rental car. I was eager to show them the best of Bayville, so I followed Marie’s lead and had the driver take us to the winery. I knew that my father liked to consider himself a wine connoisseur, so this was right up his alley. We spent a long time there, in the tasting room, but the man helping us didn’t seem to mind when he caught sight of my father’s gold credit card.

  We ended up leaving with three cases of what Adrian Sims determined was their best selection of wine. The price he paid would probably keep the place in the black for the rest of the year. It seemed that we were off to a good start.

  After that, I had us go to a show at the theater, which was performing an old-time melodrama. The audience was encouraged to cheer for the hero, boo the villain, and swoon for the love story. It was interactive and fun. The theater was packed, which surprised me, but we talked to other patrons during intermission and found that this was the only place to see plays in the whole county, so it drew people from several towns. I couldn’t tell if my father was enjoying himself, but I thought it was a great time. My mother wanted to check out some of the local shops, but, by the time the show was over, we were due to meet Marie at the bed and breakfast.

  “We can shop tomorrow,” I said, ushering her back to the car. “I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

  “What difference does it make?” she asked, as she ducked her head and got into the back seat of the car. “Won’t the caterer keep everything warm for us?”

  “It’s not just about the caterer,” I admitted, sliding into the seat across from her and leaving only my father to get inside. “I didn’t mention it before, but we’re meeting someone for dinner.”

  “Who?”

  “Her name is Marie.” It was impossible to keep the soft smile off my face.

  “Her name?” my father asked, having just settled into his seat. The driver shut the door behind him. “Who is this woman?”

  I didn’t like the suspicion in his voice. “Someone that I’ve been seeing.”

  “Really?” my mother’s face lit up.

  “She lives here?” my father asked.

  “Yes, but I’ve met her before.” I didn’t want him to dismiss this as a fling. “She’s special.”

  “Tell me all about her,” my mom said.

  I filled her in as the driver started the car and headed to the bed and breakfast. She was particularly sympathetic when I described the situation with Marie’s grandmother.

  “That’s a tough decision she had to make. Poor girl.”

  My father was silent the whole ride, making me feel anxious. I wasn’t sure what his problem was, but he wasn’t the type to keep his opinions to himself for long.

  When the driver parked in the gravel parking lot, I got out of the car before he had the chance to open the door for us. I wasn’t like my father, so it made me slightly uncomfortable to have people waiting on me hand and foot.

  “What’s going on over there?” my mother asked, pointing toward the lake. Miles had emerged from the woods with his arms full of roughly chopped firewood and was walking along the shoreline.

  “That’s Miles. He’s the current owner.”

  “Miles?” my father repeated disdainfully. “You call him by his first name? I don’t like that. It’s not the way we do business.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s not some uptight businessman trying to hardball us, dad. Miles is a good man that wants to see this place go to someone that will take care of it.”

  I turned my attention back to my mother as I continued speaking, “He’s setting up the bonfire. He and his wife burn one on most nights with the guests. I haven’t attended yet, but I hear they roast marshmallows.”

  “The view is lovely.” She was looking out over the water, just as I had when I first arrived. I glanced at my father to find him looking at the bed and breakfast with a critical eye.

  “Well, at least it looks to have been well-maintained,” he said reluctantly, “I’ll admit that I was worried about that when I heard how old the place is. You know, the older the building, the more of a headache it is to upkeep.”

  I sighed through my nose at his negative attitude, but, before we could get into an argument about it, the sound of an engine drew my attention to the entrance of the driveway. We all turned as Marie’s bug came toward us.

  I smiled as we made eye contact and, even through the tinted windshield, I could see that she was nervous. Her teeth were nibbling on her bottom lip, and I could see her fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

  She parked next to my father’s rental, and I moved forward to open her door. As she swung her legs out of the car, my gaze was drawn to the smooth skin on display. I was sure that her short dress was her own design. The style matched the other things I’d spotted in her store, and it fit her like a glove.

  It was going to be hard to keep my hands to myself during dinner.

  “You look amazing,” I said as I shut her door. I wrapped an arm around her waist, pecking her cheek before leading her over to where my parents were waiting. “Mom, dad, this is Marie.”

  My father held out his hand, all business – as if he were meeting a business rival or something equally ridiculous. But Marie took his hand and didn’t flinch when he gave her a firm handshake.

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” my mother said, pulling Marie into a quick embrace. She stepped back with her hand on Marie’s shoulders, looking her up and down. “Aren’t you a looker?”

  “Mom,” I groaned.

  “Sorry, I guess I’d know how to act if you’d ever introduced me to a woman before,” she laughed lightly. Keeping a hold on Marie’s arm, she led her right past me and toward the bed and breakfast. “Call me Sasha, by the way.”

  “Okay,” Marie agreed.

  My father and I followed along silently as the two most important women in my life chatted, getting to know one another. Once we were all inside, I gave my parents a quick tour of the common spaces, including the kitchen, dining area, living room, and foyer.

  “It doesn’t feel like a hotel,” my father commented drily.

  “That’s sort of the point,” I explained. “It’s supposed to be more comfortable, warmer.”

  “And people like that sort of thing?”

  “Obviously.”

  Marie had been talking to my mother about her life in Bayville, but she turned to look at me curiously when she heard the biting tone in my voice. I just shook my head at her. I appreciated that she was so in tune with my emotions, but there was nothing to be done about my father’s attitude.

  The restaurant had already delivered our dinner, and Donetta was kind enough to keep it warm for us in the oven until we were ready to eat. I took it upon myself to dish out the food onto plates, while my father retrieved a bottle of wine from the car.

  We finally sat down in the dining room, Marie and I on one side of the table while my parents sat across from us. I’d ordered us a
ll pasta and chicken in a creamy parmesan sauce. Breadsticks were in a basket in the center of the table and we each had a side salad drizzled with Italian dressing.

  The food was delicious, and I dug right in. I didn’t know much about wine, but it didn’t surprise me that it matched the meal perfectly. I glanced around the table when I realized that no-one had spoken for several minutes. My parents seemed to be enjoying the meal as much as I was, but when I looked over at Marie, she didn’t appear to have eaten a bite. Her fork was in her hand, and she was using it to move her pasta around on her plate. I watched her out of the corner of my eye and didn’t see her eat more than a small bite or two. I opened my mouth to ask her if she was okay, but, before I could, my father spoke.

  “So, Marie, what is it that you do for a living?”

  “I’m co-owner of a small boutique in downtown Bayville,” she said, placing her fork down and sipping her glass of water. It didn’t look like she was drinking the wine either. Concern filled me.

  “A boutique in such a small town? That’s an interesting choice.”

  “Oh, Adrian, don’t be so negative,” my mother said, slapping him lightly on the arm. “I think it’s great that you’re an entrepreneur. Do you sell women’s clothing?”

  Marie nodded. “And jewelry. My partner and I design everything, and have it produced and shipped to us for selling in our store.”

  The rest of the meal was filled with my mother asking Marie about her clothing designs. They went into great detail and most of it was dreadfully boring, in my opinion, but I liked that they were getting along so well. I knew that they had hit it off.

  She still barely touched her food, though.

  Once we’d finished eating, I started to clear the table, ignoring my father’s remark about how a Sims Hotel would never make a guest fend for themselves like this. I was pretty sure that he’d already made up his mind about buying this place, and it was an emphatic no.

  I wasn’t sure what I would do with that answer. It was about more than just Marie now. Bayville was starting to feel like a home to me. Something about the small-town charm had wooed me in the last week or so. I couldn’t imagine going back to the cold indifference that I now associated with the city. I had come here looking for a girl that had gotten under my skin and found something that I wasn’t even looking for.

  “So, do you think this is going well?” Marie asked, as she followed me into the kitchen, carrying our wine glasses. I watched as she dumped hers down the drain, untouched.

  “Sure. Why? Don’t you think so?”

  She shrugged. “I can’t tell if your dad likes me. Or even wants to be here.”

  “Welcome to my life. The man is a closed book, but my mom loves you. I can tell.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Where are they?”

  “Donetta came in and took them upstairs to show them a couple of the unoccupied rooms.”

  Good. That would give me a few minutes alone with her. I turned away from the sink and took Marie’s hands in my own. “How are you feeling? You barely ate anything.”

  “Um…” She looked nervous again. “Yeah, I need to talk to you about that.”

  “Do you feel sick again? You didn’t have to come tonight if you felt bad.”

  I was concerned as I looked into her eyes. If she was still ill, I should probably excuse us and take her to the hospital to be checked out.

  “No, I’m not sick.” She took a deep breath, “I’m pregnant.”

  12

  Gold Digger

  Marie

  “What?”

  The voice of Lewis’s father came from the doorway behind me, making me jump in surprise. Lewis dropped my hands as we both turned in that direction. His parents were both standing there, having clearly overheard my big announcement.

  This is not how I wanted it to go.

  “You’re pregnant? And you want us to believe it’s Lewis’s child?”

  He advanced into the room, looking angry. I didn’t expect that reaction, despite the things that Lewis had told me about his father.

  My eyes flickered over to Lewis, but I couldn’t read his expression as he looked at his father. I was desperate to know what he was thinking.

  “It is his child,” I insisted. “He’s the only man I’ve…”

  I was cut off as Adrian made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. He crossed his arms across his chest and shook his head.

  “I don’t believe that. A girl like you, stuck in a small town with no prospects, you’re all opportunistic.”

  I bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Why didn’t Lewis say anything to defend me?

  “You want our money,” Adrian responded bluntly. “Lewis has been here for hardly more than a week. If he’s been stupid enough to knock you up, you wouldn’t even know yet.”

  “I’m almost five weeks along,” I said. “It’s from Hawaii.”

  “Hawaii?” Adrian looked at Lewis, confused. “You went on vacation together?”

  “No,” Lewis responded, finally seeming to find his voice. “We met there.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Adrian turned his attention back to me, “I know a gold digger when I see one.”

  His words felt like physical blows to my heart. It wasn’t just that this man I barely knew was hurling such accusations at me, what hurt was that Lewis didn’t open his mouth to defend me.

  “Adrian, that’s enough,” Sasha snapped.

  I felt tears filling my eyes, but I didn’t want Adrian to see them fall. It would just show him that he got to me. Pivoting away from the Sims family, I sprinted to the back door. I could hear the low sounds of conversation coming from the bonfire just out of sight by the water. I was glad that no-one was around to see me so upset. I made it halfway across the parking lot before I heard the back door open again.

  “Marie! Wait!” Lewis called out.

  I didn’t stop.

  I reached my car and started it up. Lewis was coming my way, but I backed out the parking spot. Cutting the wheel hard to the left, I took off down the driveway, sure that I was leaving a mess of gravel in the grass on either side. I’d have to find a way to make that up to Miles later.

  I sniffled, but blinked away my tears as I headed across town, to the apartment that Andrea had lived in for the past five years. I called to let her know I was coming over, but spared her the details. As I hung up the phone, I turned it off. After the disaster at the bed and breakfast, I needed some space to figure things out. I felt the rug had been pulled out from underneath me.

  I knew that the pregnancy was a shock, and he might not be happy about it, but I never expected such cruel accusations. Granted, Lewis wasn’t the one hurling them at me, but he didn’t jump in and defend me either.

  “What’s going on?” Andrea asked, as she pulled open the apartment door and stepped aside to let me in.

  “I had a rough night,” I said, heading straight to the living room and plopping down on the couch. I was here often enough to be comfortable making myself right at home.

  “Should I get you a bottle?” Andrea asked, holding up the beer in her hand for me to see.

  “No, I can’t.”

  “Can’t?” she asked as she joined me on the couch. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m pregnant,” I said without preamble.

  “Holy crap!” Andrea’s mouth fell open in shock, making me want to laugh despite how upset I was. “Pregnant? How did that happen?”

  “Do I really have to explain the birds and the bees to you?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “It was Lewis. In Hawaii.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked. “The first time you had sex? Didn’t use protection?”

  “Yeah, a condom. But I guess it failed.”

  “Ya think?”

  I ignored that. “I just found out today.”

  “Does he know?”

  I felt the resurgence of tears as I told her what ha
d happened with Lewis and his parents. She listened silently as I recounted the things Adrian had said, ending with me fleeing to her place.

  “Wow. His dad sounds like a dick,” Andrea said.

  “Yeah, but Lewis didn’t stop him.”

  “Well…” she hesitated. “It sounds like it was all really fast and obviously unexpected.”

  “Are you defending him?” I asked angrily.

  “Not really. I’m just saying, it was a lot thrown at him all at once.”

  “It’s a lot for me too,” I snapped.

  “Hey,” she reached out and placed a hand on my arm. “I’m on your side here. Always. I just don’t want you to get too upset at the father of your child.”

  My stomach clenched when she worded it like that. Lewis wasn’t just the man that I was falling for anymore. He was going to be the father of our baby. The life growing inside of me was half of him and half of me.

  Andrea went to the kitchen and dug around in the freezer until she found a package of frozen Ding Dongs. I laughed when I saw it. We had started a tradition of freezing the sweet snack and eating them cold while watching rom-com movies back when we were in high school.

  So, that was what we did, sitting together on the couch for the next two hours. It was healing, sharing in a little girl-time with my best friend. I felt myself relaxing as I tried to push all my worries to the back of my mind, just for now. The search for an escape worked, allowing me to slip into a dreamless sleep right there on the couch.

  The next morning, I borrowed an outfit from Andrea when I left her apartment. She insisted that I take another day off work, playfully telling me that it was a delivery day, and she’d enjoy the time alone with Brent. I just smiled and shook my head, sure that she’d never actually ask him out.

  I didn’t go straight home. I had a stop to make first.

  It was mid-morning when I arrived at the nursing home, but Grandma had been awake for a couple of hours. When I came to her room, the door was open, and I could see inside from the hallway. She was sitting in her recliner, watching a small television that was mounted on the wall. It reminded me so much of when she lived with me that my heart ached. I tapped my knuckles against the door and took a step inside.