15 Valentine Place. Pamela Bauer
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CHAPTER THREE
Dear Leonie: It’s been fourteen years since I had my first crush on a guy. Now I’m twenty-eight and he’s back in my life and all those old feelings have come rushing back. I don’t want to feel anything for him. What should I do?
Signed: Wanting to forget the past
Leonie says: You’re only attracted to him because he rekindles those adolescent feelings of first love. My bet is once you spend a little time with him you’ll realize that’s all it was—puppy love.
THERE WAS ONLY a two-hour time difference between Minnesota and Saint Martin, yet Dylan awoke feeling as if he had jet lag. Maybe it was because he’d had a restless night. Strange beds often did that to him.
Or it could have been his guilty conscience that had caused him to toss and turn last night. He should have apologized to his mother before saying good-night to her, but his confrontation with Maddie had left him in a sour mood and, instead of focusing on the matter of most importance—his mother—he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of the belly-dance teacher.
But that was last night and today would be different he vowed as he showered and shaved. When he walked into the kitchen his mother was alone at the table, reading the paper.
At the sight of him she smiled. “You look much better this morning. See what a good night’s sleep will do for you?”
He chuckled to himself. If she only knew.
“Smells good in here. Like oranges.” Before she could speak he held up his hands. “Don’t tell me. Maddie made orange bread before she went to work this morning.”
She clicked her tongue in admonition. “No, she did not. I just ate an orange. The peeling is still on the counter.” She nodded toward the cabinets.
“Sorry.” He gave her apologetic smile. “Mom, about last night…” he began. “There’s something I think you should know.”
“If it’s about you and Maddie having words, Dylan, I already know about it. She told me this morning.”
So Maddie had already talked to his mother about their confrontation. Dylan could see she was going to be a more formidable opponent than he’d expected.
“Well, I can see one thing hasn’t changed. She’s just as annoying now as she was at fourteen,” he remarked.
That had his mother gasping. “She most certainly is not annoying!”
He held up his hands in surrender. “All right. She’s not.”
“She’s a dear and if you must know, I’m surprised by your behavior toward her last night,” his mother chastised him.
“My behavior toward her?” He should have known she’d come to Maddie’s defense, not his. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Mom, it takes two to disagree.”
“And just what was this disagreement about?”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
So she hadn’t run to his mother with her version of what had been said. She went up a notch in his estimation, but only a small notch. He still found her irritating.
“It was nothing important, Mom. We just rubbed each other the wrong way, sort of like what happened the summer she stayed with us. Remember how she’d always bristle when I’d talk to her?”
“No, I don’t.” She gave him a blank look. “I only remember her being very sweet and shy and having to put up with the roughness of four boys who at times could be a bit overbearing even for their own mother.”
“Well, there’s only one Donovan boy at home now, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I know you’re very fond of Maddie. I’m sorry about last night and I promise I’m going to do everything I can to not repeat what happened.”
His mother stared at him, her finger on her chin. “You know, that’s nearly the same thing she said to me this morning.”
“Great. Then we’re in agreement on something.” He went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk.
“I know you had a long day yesterday because the plane was delayed, and you weren’t yourself. Why don’t we just forget about last night and start over?” she said with her usual optimism.
“I’d like that. I know I said some things I shouldn’t have,” he told her as he poured himself a glass of milk. “Not just to Maddie but to you as well. If I upset you, I’m sorry. I was tired and I wasn’t expecting to find so many things had changed around here. I had the weird feeling that this wasn’t home anymore.”
“It hasn’t been your home in a long time, Dylan,” she reminded him gently.
“I know and I had no right to act as if you’d done something wrong by getting on with your life. The house looks great and so do you. I should have said that as soon as I saw you.”
She smiled warmly. “Thank you.” Then she got up to give him a hug. “Have I told you how happy I am that you decided to have the surgery here? As long as I own this house you’ll always be able to call it home.”
“I appreciate that, Mom.”
“Being home will be good for you. You’ll see,” she said with confidence. “I know there have been a lot of changes, but there’s a lot of things that are the same.”
“I can see one thing that hasn’t changed. You still know how to make a kid feel better with words,” he said with an affectionate grin.
She smiled, too. “I’ve had lots of practice. Now, would you like me to make you some breakfast?”
“No, I’m fine. I don’t eat much in the morning,” he answered, then drained the milk from his glass.
“That hasn’t changed, has it? You were always in too much of a hurry to take time for breakfast when you were a kid. I still make a pretty good omelette.” She tried to tempt him.
“I’m sure you do. Maybe another morning? Now tell me why you’re all dressed up,” he ordered with a cocked eyebrow. “You look nice, by the way.”
“Thank you. This is a new outfit. I have several appointments today.”
“Ah, business,” he said in a knowing tone.
She fixed him with a questioning gaze. “Does it bother you that I’m a romance coach?”
He didn’t want to tell her the truth, yet he couldn’t lie to her, either. “I’m not exactly bothered by it, Mom, but I wasn’t expecting to come home and find you so involved with your work.”
“I needed something to fill my days. Dad’s gone, you kids are all gone…” She trailed off. “I like people too much to sit home by myself.”
“I thought maybe you would have gone to work for Shane when he took over the business.”
She wrinkled her face. “I never really liked doing tax forms.”
“Then why did you do it all those years?”
“Because I liked working with your father.” A contented look came into her eyes. “Sometimes even the most tedious tasks don’t seem so bad when they’re shared with the one you love.”
Talk of her love for his father always made him uncomfortable and this time was no different. Ignorance may have been bliss for his mother, but for Dylan, knowledge of his father’s infidelity continued to color his perception of his parents’ marriage.
He didn’t want to think about that, so he said, “Then it’s a good thing you tried something different. It’s obviously been good for you because you seem happy.”
“I am happy, but I still miss him,” she