He took her elbow, and they continued walking. So now her question was answered. It was a date.
As they neared her cottage, he turned to her. “Would you care to come over for a drink? Or is it getting too late?”
“I’d love to.” Anything to prolong this wonderful evening.
She settled comfortably on a chair on his deck as contentment settled over her. He soon returned with a bottle of red wine, a small platter of cheese and crackers, and a plate ofsliced apples. “I hope this is okay. I don’t know much about wine. Had to ask a guy in the wine section of the grocery store.”
His humble admission was endearing. “It looks great. That’s one of my favorite wineries.” She nodded toward the label and relief shone on his face.
“Oh, good.” He poured them wine and sat on the chair next to her. The night air wrapped around them like a soft blanket, and the gentle sound of the waves splashing against the shore was a soothing soundtrack.
For a few blissful moments, they sat in silence, the stars poking through the velvety darkness above them. He finally broke the stillness. “So, Amanda Kingston, tell me about yourself. I know you’re a big-shot event planner in New York. What else? Family?”
She took a deep breath, tracing the rim of her glass with one finger before setting it on the small table between them. “Not any close family,” she began, trying to make her voice sound steady. “My parents died when I was young.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I thought maybe Megan told you. We talked about it when she was here.”
“She didn’t say a word. Probably thought it was your story to tell.”
She fought back the pangs of pain that still dug at her when she thought about that time of her life. “We had just vacationed here on Magnolia Key. It was such a magical trip and I have such great memories of it. Only a few weeks later, they were killed in a car accident.”
She paused, and he nodded at her encouragingly. “Go on,” he said softly.
“Then my grandmother took me in. She was wonderful. She helped me adjust to… to everything. But then, she started having memory problems. At first, it was just not remembering a wordhere or there. Then one day she forgot how to make toast. She laughed about it, but from then on I tried to do everything I could for her.”
“That must have been really tough.”
She glanced up at the stars before continuing. “It was. Eventually, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I tried to hide the fact she had it from everyone, but the family found out and decided I couldn’t live with her anymore. That she wasn’t fit to take care of me. I moved around between different family members until college, and from then on, I lived on my own. I still went to visit her as often as I could. I tried to see her every week. She eventually had no idea who I was, and it broke my heart. Not only because I missed the woman she was, but she was lost in this world where she just didn’t know where she was, who she was, who anyone was. It’s such a horrible, horrible disease.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry that happened to her. To you. But she was lucky to have you for a granddaughter.”
A lone tear trailed down her cheek. “I… I miss her.” She dashed at the tear and cleared her throat. “And my parents, of course. But I lived with Nana for more years than I lived with my parents. It’s kind of strange to think of it that way.”
“You’ve had some pretty deep losses.” He still held her hand in his.
“Megan said you two lost your parents too.”
“We did. But we had each other, so that helped.”
“And Brooklyn’s father?” The question slipped out before she could stop it, curiosity getting the best of her.
He frowned as a touch of anger flashed in his eyes. “He’s… he’s out of the picture. Left when Brooklyn was a baby.”
“I think it’s nice that you and Megan are so close.”
“She and Brooklyn are my world,” he said simply. “Adore them both.”
She studied the man sitting next to her and wondered how different her life would have been if she’d had a sibling to lean on through all the losses. Someone to share the good and the bad times.
“So, is that why you came to Magnolia Key for your break?” he asked gently.
“It was. I had such great memories. I was a bit uncertain at first. Thought maybe it would be too hard to come back here. But I feel like I’m surrounded by good memories when I’m here. Like… like I’m still close to my parents.” She shrugged self-consciously. “That probably sounds silly.”
“Not at all,” he assured her, his thumb caressing the back of her hand, a simple, comforting gesture.
At that moment, she felt such a strong connection to him, one that went beyond the short time they’d known each other. It was as if the shared vulnerabilities and understanding had bonded them, drawing them closer.
