Love in Between

“Charley!” Maddie exclaimed.

Luke shot her a look across the table.

“Well, I’m sure Lily had him over for coffee,” A

“I saw them kissing in the hallway the other day, and he sent her pretty red roses today.” She smiled.

“Peanut, you need to be quiet and eat your di

“No you’re not!” she whined.

“Watch me!”

“Mom, tell him to stop it!” she whined.

“For goodness sake, the two of you need to stop and eat your di

I leaned over to A

She patted my hand and smiled. “I understand.”

Di

“Do you want to go swimming with us?” he asked as he put his forehead on mine.

“I’m going to hang back with your mom and dad so we can get to know each other better. You go and swim with Charley; I’ll be watching.” I smiled.

As Luke leaned in to kiss me, there was a knock on the door. Suddenly, we heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Mrs. Matthews, how was your cruise?” Sam’s voice echoed through the hallway.

“Sam’s here?” I asked as I looked at Luke confused.

“Sam is mom’s second son, and she always invites him, but I thought he said he had plans tonight with Gretchen.”

Sam walked into the kitchen, gave Luke a high-five, and kissed me on the cheek.

“I thought you couldn’t make it tonight, man,” Luke said.

“Gretchen got called on a last minute photo shoot. The model they had got sick at the last minute, so they needed a replacement.”

Charley came ru

“Uncle Sammy, are you going to go swimming with us?!” she excitedly asked.

“You bet I am!”

Sam and Luke changed into their bathing suits and took Charley into the pool. I sat on the patio with A

A

“So, tell me about your family,” A

I smiled lightly because I knew it was inevitable. If Luke and I were going to continue our relationship, then they would need to know everything about me.

“My father was Joh

Tom looked at me and cocked his head. “The Joh

I nodded my head as I took a sip of my margarita. “Yep, that’s the one.”

A

I lowered my head as I moved my straw back and forth, banging the ice cubes against the glass. “Well, I’m sure all the alcohol he drank and all the drugs he did, didn’t help.”

“He was a brilliant musician, and that’s what you should remember him for.” Tom winked at me. “Do you play the guitar, Lily?” he asked.

“Yes, I do. Joh

“You’ll have to play for us sometime.  We’d love to hear you play.” A

I looked straight ahead at the massive in-ground pool where Luke and Sam were swimming with Charley. There was laughter and a lot of splashing going on.

“Maddie told us that you just moved to Santa Monica. Where were you living before?” A

“I grew up in Seattle, but I spent the last year living in Portland. I needed a fresh start and leaving Seattle was the only way to get it. I moved here because I was offered a year-long substitute teaching job.”

A

I looked at her and Tom and pursed my lips together. I took a sip of my margarita and sighed. They were great people, and I found them very easy to talk to—as if I’ve known them my whole life. I felt co

“I caught my ex-fiancé cheating on me, in the church on our wedding day.”

A

“The worst part is that my mother knew about it, and I guess it had been going on behind my back for a long time, but she was going to let me marry him anyway.”

A

Tom looked at me and held up his glass. “You got dealt a raw deal in life, Lily, but look at it this way, you never would have met my son, and we wouldn’t be in the presence of excellent company right now.”

“Now, I’ll drink to that,” A

Luke got out of the pool, grabbed a towel, and walked over to where we were sitting. “What are you toasting to without me?” he asked.

“We’re just toasting your beautiful girlfriend.” Tom winked at me.

Now I know where Luke gets all his winking from. I smiled as Luke leaned over and kissed me with his cold, wet lips. Maddie came out of the house with two more margaritas, and she handed one to me.

“I’ll be right back, babe. I’m going to go change,” Luke said.

Sam carried Charley out of the pool and set her down on the patio. Maddie told her to go inside the house, change into dry clothes, and then go watch TV while the grown-ups talked. She whined a bit, but I could see how tired she was.

27

Luke

I changed out of my bathing suit, rushing to get back to Lily and the others to a

“I have an a

“Dude! That’s awesome!” Sam exclaimed.

Lily looked over at me, smiled, and put her hand on my cheek. I knew she was happy.

“Luke, my boy, that’s wonderful news. If you need any help, let me know,” my dad said proudly.

My mom got up from her chair and hugged me. “I’m so proud of you, son. You’re finally going to put that settlement money to good use.”

Maddie stood up and high-fived me, because she’d be managing the bar once I take over, which meant better hours for her. I leaned over and kissed Lily on the lips.

“It makes me happy that you decided to follow your dreams,” she said.

“It’s because of you, babe.” I smiled.

My good news didn’t last long as my father decided to say something to Maddie about Charley’s dad.