Chapter Five
Penny made certain Abbey’s minivan was already in the small parking lot behind the restaurant before she slid out of her own car. Together, she and Abbey circled the building to the front entrance. The air had definitely become colder, and Penny turned up her coat collar. The blue-checked curtains in the windows of Maggie’s Diner hadn’t changed from when Penny had been in high school, when she spent many an evening here in the booths with her friends. She wondered if Del had suggested the place, recalling fond memories of being a kid in Lobster Cove. Her memories of the few times she’d seen Del as a teenager had been plaguing her all day, but she couldn’t remember ever seeing him in Maggie’s.
Del already had a booth on the Oak Avenue side of the building and waved as they scurried inside.
Penny’s heart stuttered when she glanced at him again, and in a different setting than at work today. He had changed into jeans and a white t-shirt with a black denim jacket thrown over his broad shoulders. Altogether, his appearance reinforced Penny’s earlier assessment that Del had become a very attractive man. And he had shown some interest in her, of all things. Alarm bells clanged in her head as she returned his stare before glancing away. She fingered her seashell necklace, aware her limbs shook. She doubted she’d eat a bite. Dinner had been a bad idea, in more ways than one.
Del stood when they approached and extended his hand to Abbey.
She playfully swatted away the hand and grabbed him in a hug. “Old friends don’t shake hands, Del, they hug each other. And now that I’ve figured out we are, in fact, old friends, you’re not getting away with a mere handshake.”
Eyebrow raised, he glanced at Penny.
Stiffening beside Abbey, Penny couldn’t control the rosy flush climbing into her cheeks.
Smiling, he took her into his arms, too. “That’s right. And we are the oldest of friends, aren’t we?” He dropped a kiss on her cheek.
The warm gesture made her face further flame in embarrassment. And sent sparks radiating through her body. Images of them having a real lip-on-lip kiss rolled through her brain. As she broke from his embrace, she waged war with herself, surprised at where her thoughts jumped, and so quickly. She shuffled backward a step or two, hoping the distance would be enough to stop her out-of-control emotions.
Penny gave an “if looks could kill” glance at her sister.
Abbey quickly shifted her gaze to Del and smiled. “Let’s commandeer this booth, shall we?” She slid into place opposite Del.
The position left Penny to decide on which side of the booth she’d be more comfortable. She took a seat next to Abbey, facing her secret childhood crush.
In an instant, Abbey grabbed one of Del’s hands across the table. “Thank you so much for your appearance today. We broke a sales record, all because of you.”
Del glanced at the sisters. “Don’t give me too much credit. You have a wonderful store. I’m glad I could help in any way I could. We did blow through a lot of cards today, didn’t we? My hand is still cramped from signing so many autographs.” He grimaced and stretched his right hand. “You did a terrific job promoting the event.”
Arching her back like a cat being petted, Penny preened from the compliment. “Well, we had a lot of help from corporate, who promoted the event up and down the state. Although we did have flyers at the checkout, and we told everyone who set foot in the shop for the last week about the big reveal.”
Del’s gaze ping-ponged between Abbey and Penny. “And now, I’m sitting here, having dinner with the Beedle sisters. Abbey Road and Penny Lane. Your parents have a great sense of humor.”
Penny crinkled her nose. “And we’re the ones who had to suffer all through school from having hippie parents. Although, now that Dad has had a hip replacement, they’re calling themselves ‘artificial hippies.’” She made air quotes with her fingers.
Del laughed.
The sound curled Penny’s toes. When did his voice become so deep?
Del spread his hands over the checked vinyl tablecloth. “Boy, this takes me back. So, you two stayed put after high school? You didn’t get the urge to roam away from Maine the same way I did?” He might have been talking to both of them, but his gaze stayed on Penny.
Penny pointed to her sister. “Well, Abbey got married right after graduation, to Charlie Sizemore.”
“That’s a familiar name.” Del’s gaze shifted from Penny to Abbey. “The Sizemore kids. Nice family. Charlie was a couple of years older, so we didn’t hang around together much. And after my folks left the Cove I only got to see my old friends from school at ball games and dances.”
Distance didn’t stop you from getting friendly with Miss Double-D, though. Penny forced her jaw to remain shut. She didn’t need Del to discover he’d been the victim of an Internet search that afternoon. The knowledge would either stroke his ego or scare him away. Penny wrestled with her out-of-control thoughts.
Abbey leaned forward. “And now Charlie and I are having Sizemore kids of our own. Much to Mom and Dad’s dismay, we have given our two boys perfectly normal names—Charlie, Jr. and Thomas. They would have preferred our name choices to be Purple Rain and Bon Jovi.”
The ring of a cell phone stopped the conversation altogether.
Wide-eyed and blinking, Abbey glanced around.
Her look was way too innocent for Penny’s peace of mind.
“Oh, my goodness, that’s my phone! Who’s calling me now?” Abbey fished into her purse for her phone and squinted at the displayer before she answered. “Hi, Charlie, what’s up? Really?” She shifted in her seat. “Well, of course, I’ll pick you up. Hold tight, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She shut off the phone and glanced at her dinner partners as she shrugged. “Charlie locked himself out of his car. So I have to go home to get the spare key and then rescue him. Thank goodness he’s not out in the rain or snow. Poor guy.”
Del and Penny both stood as Abbey gathered her belongings and scooted out from the booth. Del offered his hand. “I’m so sorry you have to cut the evening short. You haven’t even eaten a French fry yet.”
Flashing a smile, she patted Del on his arm. “Charlie and I will get something to eat after we get his car unlocked. Don’t worry about me. You two have fun.” She hugged Del once more, grinned at Penny, and spun on her heel, leaving the restaurant.
“Could she be any more obvious?” Del inquired as they sat again.
Penny’s cheeks burned. “That’s my sister. She only thinks she’s being clever. I bet Charlie’s home on the sofa right now with a kid in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.” She stole a glance at Del as she squirmed in embarrassment. “Listen, we don’t have to do this. You can leave“
Del placed his hand over hers. “There is no one I’d rather have dinner with. Tell me what you’ve been up to since third grade.”
Penny gazed into Del’s eyes. Those lovely, clear blue eyes that haunted her long after their childhood. A tiny shiver of delight coursed down her spine at his touch. “I’d rather hear your story—local boy makes good in the Big Apple, and all.”
“You’ve been doing some digging since I left your store, if you’re aware I spent time in New York.” Del grinned.
As her cheeks flamed again, Penny shifted. She removed her hand from his and opened a packet of oyster crackers. She popped a couple in her mouth and closed her eyes momentarily, savoring their salty goodness. “Some of the information we got from corporate referenced private shows you did in New York, so we pieced things together. We didn’t mean to pry. How did you end up there?”
Del raised his hand. “Wait, I’m not letting you off so easily. Allow me to ask some questions first. I found out you and your high school sweetheart David never married, but what happened then? Did you leave town? Leave Lobster Cove?”
Penny glanced at Del, to make certain he really wanted answers and wasn’t just being polite. She couldn’t tell for certain. “My break from Lobster Cove happened years ago. Why rehash things?”
“Because those ‘things’ are part of what makes you who you are today. Please enlighten me.” His glance never wavered from her face.
Shifting in her chair, Penny studied the pattern in the vinyl tabletop. “Okay. David and I broke up right after Prom. We’d always been more friends than anything else, anyway. He actually got over me much faster than I assumed he would. Warp speed, really. He married someone else a few months after we graduated high school. They are still together and quite happy.”
With a finger under her chin, Del raised her gaze to lock with his. “I only wish I’d possessed your courage to back out of what would be a foolish marriage, but I forged ahead with mine. Couldn’t see any way around the situation once she started making the arrangements.”
Once again, Penny attempted to steer the conversation away from herself. “So what happened to your marriage?”
He rubbed the ridge of her knuckles with his fingertip. “Nice try, but we haven’t finished talking about you yet. Tell me what happened after graduation. Where did you end up?”
Her fingers began to shoot all kinds of feelings to the rest of her body. “I, uh, ended up in Nashville. I had big ideas about becoming the next Carrie Underwood. The reality ended up being much less than what I had hoped for. I rented a loft over a bar in the music district where I waited tables four nights a week while I wrote songs and participated in open mike nights.”
His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Sounds exciting. I had no idea you sang.”
“Yeah, well, I got my start in the Church of God children’s choir, and then high school choir. But you were gone by then.” She shrugged.
“How long were you in Nashville?” His gaze held hers and her body became warm.
Penny removed her hand from his. If they touched, she had trouble concentrating. “Long enough to get discouraged. I fell in love with a guy, another struggling singer, too. We ended up collaborating on some songs, and they propelled him to stardom.”
Del unfolded his napkin and placed it in his lap. “Seriously? I love country music. What’s his name?”
She raised her head. “Ever hear of Ricky Skeritt?”
Penny took a long breath, grateful the waiter finally arrived to take their order. She asked several questions about the selections, hoping Del would forget their dangled thread of conversation.
Finally, the waiter left with their choices and quiet prevailed.
Del’s gaze flashed across the table to her. “You were involved with Ricky Skeritt? Wow.”
So much for thinking he’d let it go. “Yeah, wow.” Penny fidgeted in her seat.
He leaned back in his seat. “So what happened?”
“He recorded a couple of my songs on his debut album, which launched him on his way, but me, not so much.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “Do you recall his song, ‘Whatever Willa Says Goes’?”
“The chartbuster from a few years ago?” Del’s eyes widened once more. “That’s your song?”
Loving his reaction, Penny chuckled. “One of them. I guess I’m more of a songwriter than I am a performer, although I still love to sing. I do some karaoke once a month or so when I get the urge.” She laced her fingers with his. “I returned from Nashville after a few years rather than spend Christmas by myself while Ricky did another one of his bus tours. Then I buckled down to get my college degree. I missed the salt air, the fog that rolls in at night, and the gorgeous sunrises over the ocean.”
Del picked up her hand and ran his thumb over her callused fingertips. “So you still play guitar, and write songs?”
She nodded. “Yeah, over the years, I’ve sold a few songs to a couple other country performers. I have fun at the bar singing the songs I’ve written that were made famous by other people. No one has any idea they’re my creations.”
“And what about marriage? Did you get serious about anyone after Ricky?” He bobbed his head toward the empty ring finger on her left hand.
She hid her hand under the table and studied the checked curtains. “Yeah, one other guy. Max. We were supposed to get married last Christmas. I had this crazy notion that if I had a good Christmas memory, I could erase the bad one Ricky left behind.” Her throat tightened. Penny shifted her gaze from the curtains to him and blinked away her tears. “I’m sorry.” She wiped away the tear escaping down her cheek. “Talking about my bad track record still makes me sad.”
Del leaned over and brushed away the trail of moisture the tear left behind with the pad of his thumb. “Which one bothers you more? Ricky or Max?”
“Ricky made promises he didn’t keep. Max revealed his wayward eye right before our wedding took place. Neither respected me enough to be honest.” Penny sniffled.
Del took a deep breath. “That’s why my marriage broke apart, too.”
“Sandra didn’t respect you?” She gazed at him with wide eyes.
He smiled. “I see you’re familiar with Sandra.”
Sucking in a breath, Penny lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry, Del. I never meant to mention her. But I’ll confess you were the victim of an Internet search after the event, and we found out about your marriage.”
“I don’t mind. She’s a small part of my past I’m forced to acknowledge every now and then. In fact, when she found out about my deal with the card company, she sought me out.”
Penny gasped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He shrugged. “We only stayed married for six months and have been divorced for years, but she got this wild notion of getting back together now that I might have some money.”
Penny grimaced. “I hope you told her to jump into the Atlantic.”
“I laughed at her suggestion. But I probably haven’t seen the last of her. Sandra’s sense of smell where money’s involved always has been impeccable.” Del twisted the napkin between his hands. “So, we’ve both taken some missteps in our younger days. Who hasn’t? But we’re both on the right track now. How long have you owned the store? I did some research on Baxter Greetings before signing on, so I’m aware of the kind of money you need to buy a franchise.”
Finally, they were off the topic of their former love lives. Mentally, she heaved a sigh of relief. Penny could talk all night about the business. “Even though both Abbey and I got college degrees that were sort of leading up to this, our big break came from Grandma Davenport, who left us a generous inheritance when she passed. We’ve owned the shop for three years now. But truly, enough about me. Tell me how you became such a successful artist.”
The waiter placed their orders in front of them and scurried away.
Del rolled his shoulders. “Okay, you asked for it. The way I got my break was the same way most creative people get discovered. One lucky break has been enough to make me a household name in the world of abstract art, as I suspect one big break could make a career in country music.” He nodded in her direction. “My career has been a fluke and never should have happened, but I’m grateful. One of my clients at the ad agency owned a furniture store. He needed a painting for the back wall of a photo shoot we were on, and I had one of mine in the car.”
Penny hung on every word of Del’s story, when she wasn’t too busy drinking in his handsome face, or being aware of how her skin warmed under his touch. She picked up her lobster burger and took a bite, hoping for a show of nonchalance. “And that constituted your big break?”
“Well, things kind of took off after that shoot. I used an alter ego for my art, since I couldn’t yet jeopardize my career with the agency. I’m aware of how fickle the art world can be, so I kept the job as a security blanket while I put my nose to the grindstone and made as much money as I could while my fake name stayed hot.” Del stopped to take a bite of his burger. “I’ve been running in a hamster wheel ever since the art world discovered me. A few years back, I quit the agency and focused on my craft. But not until the Baxter deal did I actually have time to stop and take a breath.”
Penny crossed her fingers for luck before she asked the question she most wanted answered. “And now Sandra wants back in the picture?”
****
Del smiled across the table. The bustle of the diner faded into the background as he focused on the only woman in the room that mattered. “Sandra’s the past, but once she finds out I’ve bought my parents’ old home, I fully expect her to be camped out on my doorstep until I throw a wad of money her way.”
Penny’s gaze faltered, and she swallowed, hard. “You’re moving back to Lobster Cove?”
“Yep.” He nodded, noticing her gulp, and hoping her response was one of interest. “Coming home to the Cove. I miss the smell of salt water in the air, too. And the way the icicles form on the pier in winter.”
Penny fingered her necklace again. “And you’re buying your parents’ house? The one just down the street from my where my parents live?”
He reached for her hand, stopping her agitated motion. “I had hoped your folks were still in the same place. Their proximity to my old home played into my decision about buying that particular house.”
She tilted her head in his direction, her lips pursed and her brow furrowed. “Why would you pick that house? Or this town? You’ve established an exciting life in New York City, and now you’re willingly coming back here, to our sleepy little town? Except for the summers, of course, when the tourist traffic makes things lively. You’re right about Sandra. She won’t leave you alone, since you’ll be living in the area.”
Del laughed at her questions. “Sandra won’t be a problem, but I see sentiment is lost on you. I needed to come home.”
Slowly, Penny shook her head and tugged her hand from his grasp. “Why, when you could live anywhere in the world, would you come back here?”
“This is where I need to be. I have some unfinished business to take care of.” He folded his hands in front of him on the table.
“What kind of business?” Her voice came out in a whisper.
“For one thing, Lobster Cove is convenient. Baxter Greetings is headquartered near here, and they have me lined up to give them a series of cards for all the major holidays next year.” He glanced at Penny, who nodded—which he took as a sign to continue. “So, I’ll go into Portland whenever they need me for something, and I’ll go on the road to promote them, as I’ve done today, but without all the mystery hype this time.”
Penny propped up her chin with her fist. “And I’m sure Abigail at Venus Gallery will want to mount a one-man show, showcasing your other art, now that she knows Dale McLintock is really Del Madison, a home-grown success story.”
He sat taller and grinned, pleased she had been thinking of ways to support him. “I should hire you to be my agent. You’ve got great ideas.”
She smiled. “I don’t know about becoming an agent, but a private showing makes sense to me. Especially if you’ve done some abstract seascapes. The tourists will gobble them up. But neither of those reasons qualify as unfinished business. What you have sounds more like an incredibly wonderful future.”
“Maybe.” He nodded in agreement as he studied her expression. “But I’m having trouble gearing up for Valentine’s Day. For years, I’ve hated that particular holiday.”
His palms itched as he fought the urge to touch her again. But more importantly, he needed to focus. His future in Lobster Cove depended on her reaction to him. He took a deep breath and paused to sip his wine, about to reveal himself.
Penny fiddled with her necklace again and then lined up the silverware before she leaned across the table. “Speaking as a card expert, I’ll be the first to admit Valentine’s Day is somewhat of a contrived holiday.” She playfully pummeled his arm. “Don’t you dare ever repeat that to the Baxter gurus, though, since traditionally February is our second best month of the year.” She flashed a grin. “But yes, Valentine’s Day is more a day for women to gush over their men. I can appreciate your reluctance to completely wrap your arms around the holiday, but hate? That’s a pretty strong word. Why do you hate hearts and flowers?”
He gave into his impulse and touched her. “You are one of the reasons. My main reason, in fact.”
Penny gasped, yanked away her hand, and then sputtered. “What do you mean?”
“Do you recall a Valentine’s Day long ago, when our teacher forced us to give valentine cards to everyone in our class?” At Penny’s nod, he continued. “I handed out my store-bought cards to all the other kids, as we were supposed to. But you’re the only one who got one of my pieces of art. I made your card myself.”
Penny glanced away and then back at him, her eyes shiny with unspent tears. “I assumed you’d done that for everyone, not just me! I still have your sweet card in my memory box. But why would that make you hate the holiday?”
His breath hitched as he stared at her. “Because you never acknowledged my hard work. I put my nine-year-old heart on my sleeve for you, and you brushed me off.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry.” Penny squirmed in her seat. “As a shy nine-year-old myself, I couldn’t come up with anything to say. But surely, you feel better about Valentine’s Day now since you’ve got a big fat contract with Baxter Greetings. The word small is not part of their vocabulary.”
“They’ve been quite generous, and because of them, I’m doing what I’ve always hoped I could.”
“Which is?” Penny’s voice came out in a squeak.
Del stifled the urge to grin. “To make Valentine’s Day fun again.”