Love and Leftovers Read online

  She rolled over to face him. “Bad news, I’m not running. For anything. Ever.”

  “I don’t want you to. I love … everything about you. Just the way it is.”

  He heard her swallow. Damn it. He shouldn’t have said that. It was way too soon to have the feelings he was having. They’d been together, what, two weeks? And with another month ahead of them. There was an end date to this relationship, and he couldn’t let this thing between them distract him. He was having fun with Lucy and Alexa, but his real priority here was the damn cookbook that still just wasn’t coming together.

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “I love being with you, too.” She sat up. “But Alexa is going to be back soon, so I need to get dressed, and you’ve got some work to do. We’ll see you for dinner?”

  “Yes.” Tate replied, knowing he should tell her no. But he’d been all work and no play with his last girlfriend, and look where they had gotten him. Maybe Alexa and Lucy could be the distraction he needed. Sometimes inspiration struck when he wasn’t chasing it with a knife and cutting board.

  Tate went home and showered, then set out the ingredients for a feta bacon salad dressing he’d been meaning to try. Around noon, he heard the crunch of tires on gravel and saw Mike pull up with Alexa.

  Lucy dashed down the back steps and Alexa charged into her arms. Lucy picked her up and spun her around as Mike walked over and set down Alexa’s little flowered suitcase. Anyone else catching a glimpse of this happy scene might think the three of them were still a family. And the way Mike was staring at Lucy, standing closer than a divorced guy had the right to, he was undoubtedly wishing they were together again.

  Alexa tugged on her mom’s shirt and said something. Lucy ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes as Mike touched her arm. Lucy sighed and held up two fingers and Alexa jumped in place and pumped her fist in the air. The smile on Mike’s face left Tate pretty certain he was not going to be happy with whatever just went down.

  Alexa led Mike inside their house while Lucy walked over to Tate’s with her head down. Tate stepped out onto the patio. “Everything okay?”

  She crossed her arms and gave him a tight smile. “Can you make extra beach rolls tonight? Mike is staying for a few days in the apartment over the garage. I was hoping he could join us for dinner.”

  Tate forced a great big smile. “No problem,” he lied.

  What is Tate’s internal response?

  Tate panics and invites agent over.

  Tate feels guilty about coming between Mike and Lucy

  Tate doubts the relationship with Lucy will continue once summer ends

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  This story is not intended to be read front to back in a linear fashion. As you make choices (by clicking the links) the story will unfold for you. If you need, you can go back to the table of contents to find choices you made previously.

  You can also read this story at https://www.silkwords.com/stories/love_and_leftovers in your web browser.

  Tate feels guilty

  Tate set down the giant platter of lobster rolls for the world’s most awkward dinner.

  “Yum, beach rolls!” Alexa rubbed her hands together. “Daddy, did you know Tate is a famous cooker?”

  Tate laughed, surprised at how pleased Alexa’s pride made him.

  Mike waited for an explanation. Why did the Lucy’s ex have to be so good looking? He’d been hoping for a rude, ugly brute.

  “Tate’s a TV chef,” Lucy said.

  Mike’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. So that’s your place door?”

  “It’s my agent’s. I’m up here working on a cookbook.”

  Mike smirked. “I bet you’re getting a lot of work done.”

  Lucy shot him a dirty look.

  Tate bit back the sarcastic comment he was going to make about the fun he’d been having instead of working.

  Alexa chattered on during dinner about all the clamshells she planned on decorating. “I sell them on the weekends, Daddy. Lemonade, too, and Mommy’s driftwood.”

  “I haven’t bought one of your creations yet,” Tate said.

  “I need to find some more shells, first. I’m all out,” Alexa told him.

  Tate slapped his head. “We should boil some clams and you’ll have all the shells you want.”

  “Really? What are clams anyway?” Alexa took a huge bite of her beach roll.

  Lucy cringed. “Remember the lobster?” she whispered to Tate.

  He nodded. “Uh, they’re the things that make shells.”

  Alexa nodded, happy with the answer.

  “You want to look for shells?” Mike asked. “We can do that after dinner.”

  “Yes! Mommy, will you come? Tate, you too?”

  Tate stood up. “Actually, I have to work on a few recipes tonight.”

  “Then you can come, Mommy,” Alexa said.

  Lucy crossed her arms. “I should help clean up.”

  “We can all clean up,” Mike said. “That way, you can join us, Lucy.”

  “Maybe you’ll find some driftwood,” Alexa suggested.

  Lucy twisted her lips. “I do need some more.”

  “What are you doing with driftwood?” Mike asked.

  Lucy walked over and picked up one of her creations from the railing of the deck. “We’ve been busy this summer making beach crafts.” She explained to Mike.

  Mike took it, examining the smooth piece of wood with bits of old rope and shells glued to it. She’d added a few sparkly baubles here and there, and Tate thought her projects had a unique and upscale look.

  Mike set down the piece. “That’s really neat. You always were so creative. I’ll help you find some.”

  After cleaning up, they walked off the deck toward the beach, and Lucy looked back at Tate. They shared a smile, and she walked away. Tate thought she, Mike, and Alexa looked like the perfect, beautiful family. He wished poor Alexa still had that. Even now, he could remember the TV episode of The Cosby Show he was watching when his parents had come into the family room, turned off the television, and told him they were getting a divorce.

  He’d been an only child, just like Alexa, but a little older - seven instead of five. Based on his own experience, Tate believed divorce was harder for a one-child family. He hadn’t had any siblings to confide in or share his pain with. And while he had never let his parents know how much he was hurting inside - he’d never shared that with anyone - the divorce had taken a hunk of his heart that could never be replaced. His anguish would’ve killed his parents if they’d known, so his struggle with their divorce had been a private agony he’d locked away, deep down.

  Would the divorce do the same to Alexa?

  He went inside and stood in front of the refrigerator with the door open, the cold air pooling around him. There was no way he could concentrate on cooking tonight. He wanted to be with Lucy, but she was off with her ex.

  And maybe that’s where she should be.

  *

  Tate hoped she would stop by before turning in for the night, but it was ten o’clock and she hadn’t come. He stared out the window at the driveway where he’d first seen her showering just two weeks ago. So much had changed since then. Was it really possible to fall for someone so quickly? He’d thought this would be a fling at best. Maybe a one-or two-time thing.

  But Lucy was like the ingredient that had been missing in his life. Alexa, too.

  “Mike, I don’t want us fighting in front of her.” Lucy’s v
oice drifted in from outside.

  Tate peered out the window and saw them leaving the deck, walking onto the grassy area between the houses. Tate stepped aside so his silhouette wouldn’t be visible in the window, but he could still hear them.

  “We’re not fighting, and she’s asleep,” Mike said.

  “At this rate, we’re going to wake her up,” Lucy replied in a harsh whisper.

  “I don’t understand why you’d be mad that I want us back together. I want us to be a family again. The divorce was a mistake. Neglecting you was a mistake. Give me another chance.” The guy was pleading.

  “You’re only doing this because you know about Tate. You just don’t want me to find happiness.”

  “Lucy, no. I think - actually, I know that our best shot for happiness is as a family. I don’t want someone else raising my daughter, and I’m sure you don’t want a stepmother for Alexa.”

  Lucy made a strangled sound. “Please don’t do this.” She turned away from him.

  “Lucy, come back.”

  “I’m going for a walk. I need to think.”

  Tate doubted he’d ever be able to forget her pained cry as she ran toward the beach, alone.

  *

  Lucy walked along the shore, watching the white foam glowing under the moon. The ocean was frighteningly dark at night. Her summer in Maine was supposed to clear her head, not make things more confusing. Her time with Tate had been amazing, and she didn’t want it to end; she’d felt more passion with him than she ever had with Mike.

  But had their whirlwind romance been real? She’d been alone with Tate for a week. They both had responsibilities that they’d set aside for a glorious stretch of time together. Would the chemistry between them be the same when the summer was over?

  There was only one way to find out. She couldn’t go back to Mike, not if she was going to be miserable and he was going to be absent. Alexa might think she wanted them back together now, but in the long run, staying divorced was the right thing to do.

  She ran along the cold, wet sand, back to her house. The legs of her jeans were soaked to the knee, and the breeze made her shiver. Tate’s back patio light was on. She had to talk to him now before she lost her nerve.

  Softly, she knocked on his back door. “Tate?”

  The kitchen light flicked on and he opened the door. “Are you all right? It’s late.”

  “Did I wake you?”

  “No, come in - you’re freezing. I was just sitting here, thinking.”

  She sat on his couch, and he pulled a blanket around her. He sat next to her, leaving space between them.

  “We have to talk. It must be confusing for you that Mike’s here. I know what he’s trying to do - he wants us to get back together.” She looked up at him. “But I don’t want that. I want to be with you.”

  Tate rubbed the back of his neck. Then he gazed out the window at the ocean.

  She swallowed nervously. “Tate?”

  “Lucy, I’ve had a lot of fun with you. But there’s no future for the two of us. This can’t ever be more than a summer fling.” He kept staring at the ocean. “I’m sorry. Sure, we could’ve had a few more weeks together, but I don’t want to string you along when you have the chance to patch things up with your ex.”

  She tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. How had she been so wrong about their time together?

  “You’re really great, but I live in New York … and you live in Providence.” He shrugged.

  She nodded, and folded her arms across her chest. “And I have a daughter, and we’re someone else’s leftovers.”

  He moved closer and took her in his arms. His voice softened.

  “No, you’re not. It just wouldn’t work in the long run. I’d love more time with you this summer, but not if it’s going to jeopardize things with Mike.”

  Her hands folded into fists. “I don’t want to be with Mike.”

  “I don’t want to be the reason you make that decision.”

  Lucy felt tears streaming down her face. He was right. This had all been a one-week fantasy. Endless days on the beach with all the time in the world to eat, drink, and make love? They would never have a time together like that again. But just because she had to return to reality didn’t mean she had to go back to Mike. Waking up from this wonderful dream just meant things were over with Tate. If she was lucky, maybe she could find something like that again.

  She looked up at him through her tears. “Can we have one more night together?”

  Tate cupped her cheek in his hand and gently kissed her. Were his lips trembling?

  “I would love one more night with you,” he said.

  *

  A few hours later, they lay in bed saying nothing. Lucy shouldn’t have tormented herself with one last time together. Their lovemaking made leaving Tate all the more painful.

  Tate swung his legs from under the covers so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m going back home in the morning. I’m not getting any work done on the cookbook, and I’ll be out of the way for you to enjoy the rest of the summer here. Maybe Mike can stay.”

  Lucy’s throat was tight. “Can we stay in touch?”

  Tate dropped his head in his hands. “That’s not a good idea.”

  She slid out of bed, searching for her clothes in the dark. “I thought … I don’t know, I thought we were friends at least. But no, you were just using me for a good time. Having sex with you seemed like more than that. I guess I just don’t understand men. Not Mike, and not you.”

  Tate sniffed in the dark and his voice came out in a whisper. “Do you know how hard this is for me? I don’t want to leave you.”

  “Then why are you pushing me away?”

  “I wasn’t honest with you.” His voice was strained. “My parents’ divorce wrecked me. When I look at Alexa, I see my own hurt staring back at me. I can’t be with you knowing there’s a chance you can make your family whole again. If we were together, I’d always wonder if you could’ve worked things out with Mike.” He stood up. “I need to get packed and get out of here before I change my mind. I want you, but I can’t have you. I just can’t.” He got his suitcase out of the closet and started throwing clothes inside.

  “Tate … ” But she didn’t know what to say. His painful history meant a future for them was out of the question. No matter what she said or did, Tate would never feel right being with her. She swallowed a few times, trying to push back her emotions. His concern for Alexa only made her want him more. But she got it. She wasn’t going to beg.

  After putting on her clothes, she went to him and squeezed his hand. “Good luck, Tate. And thank you.”

  Standing in a shaft of moonlight, he gave her the saddest smile she’d ever seen. Then she stepped out into the cool night air and walked back to her house, too sad and stunned to even cry.

  She tiptoed through the house and peeked in Alexa’s room. She wasn’t in her bed. Lucy’s heart caught in her throat as she dashed into her bedroom down the hall, looking for her. She checked the living room and the guest rooms. She wasn’t there. “Alexa?” Her name came out in a strangled breath. Where could she be? Then she dashed up the stairs to the apartment.

  Alexa was sleeping next to Mike, his strong, tanned arm slung over her. Lucy blinked back tears. She must’ve had a bad dream and come looking for Lucy, and when Mommy wasn’t there, she went to Daddy instead.

  Lucy stood over the bed, watching them sleep. Alexa’s lips puckered and moved as she dreamed. A crayon drawing sat on the nightstand next to the bed. Lucy picked it up. Alexa had drawn a picture of the three of them holding hands underneath a starry sky. At the bottom, she’d written, “My Wish.”

  Lucy sucked in a breath. Tate’s words haunted her. Would Lucy carry scars from the divorce when she was grown?

  Her chest tightened at the sight of the two of them cuddled up. She tiptoed out of the room and went down to the living room. She plopped down on the couch and dropped her head back. Didn’t
she at least have to give it another try? Maybe Mike was sincere about trying harder this time. They could move back in together before making any decisions about getting married again. She loved Alexa more than anything. She wanted to make her wish come true. There was no guarantee it would work, but she had to try. Her heart might long for Tate, but it ached for Alexa.

  Lucy went out to the deck and stared at the stars until the blue-black of night gave way to the pastels of dawn. She slipped back inside and got out ingredients for breakfast. She fried up a package of bacon and made a stack of pancakes.

  Alexa charged down the stairs, followed by a groggy Mike.

  “I missed you last night,” Alexa said, wrapping her arms around Lucy’s waist.

  “Me, too. Can you set the table outside on the deck, and we’ll eat breakfast together?”

  Alexa nodded, looking happy to help.

  “What’s going on, Lucy?” Mike asked after Alexa dashed outside. “Breakfast at six in the morning?”

  Lucy’s heart banged against her chest. “I want to try again,” she said softly .

  His eyes bulged. “You mean it?”

  She nodded. “You can’t disappear, not ever again. You have to be there for us one hundred percent.”

  He reached for her hand. “Oh my god. You’re giving me another chance?”

  “I’m giving our family another chance. Alexa deserves it.”

  He pulled her into a hug. “What about your friend next door?”

  Lucy felt a wave of sadness, but she forced a smile. “He helped me realize I needed to give you and me a second chance.”

  Mike exhaled. “Thank goodness. I promise, I’m going to do it right this time.”

  “Do you want to stay here a few more days, before we decide what to do next? We need to take things slow for Alexa’s sake.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Sounds good. We have a lot of plans to make.”

  She squeezed back, her heart feeling … content. She could settle for content. She’d have to. Maybe someday she might even feel more than that.