His dad wasn’t done and turned back to Reggie. “Son, romance is about love and respect. I loved your mother like crazy. About broke me when she passed. But I think she’d understand my need to find someone new.”
“Of course she would.” And especially after so much time.But we don’t have to talk about it.
“Chrissy was a lovely lady, but she didn’t want anything serious, and I respected that. Layla though, she’s a sweetheart.” Harry’s eyes glowed. “Turns out her dad was in the Navy back in the day, so we have the Navy in common. But even better, that woman candance.And she likes my kind of music.” He looked to be in heaven.
Reggie was glad his father had found a new lease on life. And that turned his thoughts to Maggie and Emily and what the hell he thought he was doing even thinking about dating a woman with a kid again. Which he totally wasn’t. Mostly.
“Is that how you know, Dad?” Lisa teased. “When you find that other person who likes your kind of music? Is that true love?”
“No, but it’s a beginning.” Harry turned a keen eye on Reggie. “And it helps if she shares your same interests.”
“Jazz andromance?” Nadia said, wiggling her brows.
At their father’s wide grin, the siblings groaned.
“You just had to ruin my appetite, Nadia,” Lisa complained.
Reggie agreed…in theory. His father’s cobbler was too good to pass up.
***
Hours later, Reggie sat with Frank in his backyard, enjoying a beer while the puppy trotted carefully, mindful of his back leg, checking out the freshly mowed grass.
Life was good. Reggie knew that. He had a house, a garden with potential, great friends, and now a cute little dog needing his help. He loved his family, though he could do with fewer details from his dad and less dating help from his bossy older sisters. They did make him laugh though.
His dating life might be nonexistent, but his sisters were no better. Nadia could barely commit to a cat, and Lisa hadn’t yet found a man good enough for her, despite everyone in the family crying over her ex, a guy Reggie had loved and of whom even Nadia had approved. The guy liked kung fu movies, pop culture references, and disco. But he’d wanted to marry Lisa, so of course Reggie’s commitment-phobe of a sister had dumped him.
And they said he had problems.
“I’m telling you, Frank. Women aren’t any easier than men at finding love.”
The dog looked over at him before sitting under the maple tree in Reggie’s yard, enjoying the shade. The weather continued to be a lovely seventy-four, and Reggie had done some much-needed landscaping.
After finishing off his beer and watching the dog and the tree while feeling like he should be doing something other than lazing around, Reggie headed back inside and tore into a project he’d been putting off.
Decluttering his guest room.
For months after his breakup with Amy, he’d put off the chore of cleaning up all evidence of his relationship, storing it in the guest room no one ever used. His house in North Beacon Hill was a work in progress, but he’d bought at the right time, seeing the potential in the space.
An older home, its rooms were larger and had wood floors that had seen better days. But as Nadia would say, it had great bones. His bedroom had an attached bath, with another bathroom in the hallway for visitors. Two extra bedrooms, a large living area, dining room, and kitchen big enough for a table and chairs took up the first floor, with a roomy basement that could be turned into a man cave or finished entertainment area, if Reggie decided to do anything with it except store extra crap.
The one-car garage typically housed his car, not because he worried about leaving it in the driveway to get stolen, but because he didn’t like cleaning it, and keeping it in the garage kept the bugs and dirt away.
Reggie lived by the phrase “work smarter, not harder.” Unlike Mack, who lived and breathed to clean his car, Reggie considered his vehicle nothing more than a conveyance. His house was for living in, eventually, with his family.
A family he no longer had a right to.
With a sigh, he emptied the first box containing a few of Rachel’s forgotten toys, items Amy had told him to throw away. A few dolls and a blanket he’d once bought for the little girl he’d considered his own.
Pictures of Amy, Rachel, and Reggie filled the second box, and though he told himself he didn’t care, it hurt to see what could have been.
He’d been genuinely in love with Amy, a lovely woman with bright, hazel eyes and an infectious smile. Gorgeous and vulnerable, she’d called to the protector in him, and they’d had two years of togetherness that made him feel good, like a man should. Her daughter, Rachel, had been a blessing, a beautiful girl whose smile made the world brighter. Giving, sweet, and funny, she’d been the best part of Amy, bringing out a love Amy sometimes had trouble expressing.
Unfortunately, Rachel’s father had problems. He’d left Amy destitute, and Reggie had helped her pick up the pieces. Just when he thought they’d finally gotten past their troubles, her ex had come back into her life, claiming he’d missed her and their little girl. Two fucking years after having been a ghost while Reggie had been the one to help take Rachel to dance class and ceramics class and school. While Reggie had been there for Amy, helping her with everything from rent money to community college tuition and a place to live.
But it had never been about money or helping Amy out. Reggie had done for her because he’d loved her. So much. It physically pained him to remember all their good times, and there had been many.
But in the end, he had to admit his friends and family had been right. Amy had been a taker, and she cared more for herself than for Reggie. He didn’t begrudge Amy or her daughter a relationship with Rachel’s father, but he knew it would be at their expense sooner or later. Just a few weeks into rekindling things with her ex, Amy had confided that she thought he might be stepping out on her again.
