Once Upon a Summertime (14 page)

“Oh, in some ways it did.”

Sean laughed, then got more serious, looking at her intently. “I'm really impressed with what a good sport you've been today. Then the way you pulled yourself together—so quickly—now you look like a million bucks.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm. “Thanks. It must be the scarf. I borrowed it from Marley, and one of the roommates informed me as I was leaving that it's pretty special.”

“Well, you make it look special.”

Anna felt slightly light-headed now. Perhaps it was just hunger, or perhaps it was something much more. How could this
not
be a date? Why was she being so stubborn about it? Really, she finally thought, what did it matter? Why not simply do as she'd been doing most of the day—enjoy the moment?

The waiter came to their table now to tell them the specials and ask for their drink order. “Can I get us a bottle of wine?” Sean asked her.

“Oh, I don't know . . . I'm really not much of a drinker.”

“How about just a glass for the lady?” the waiter suggested. “A nice cabernet, perhaps?”

“I wouldn't even know where to start.”

“Perhaps a pinot noir,” Sean recommended.

“I don't even know what that is,” she confessed.

Sean looked at the wine menu, pointing to a spot. “We'll both have this pinot noir from Oregon.”

“Excellent choice.”

Anna felt a rush of excited nerves. This was all so amazing—out with Sean O'Neil, eating in a charming Italian restaurant in Little Italy, after a fabulous Sunday in New York. Really? Was it just one week ago that her dead-end life had
been so pathetic and boring? And now this. She looked around the restaurant, so unlike anything back in Springville. It felt like a dream, or like she was watching someone else's life or reading one of her grandmother's cheesy romance novels. How was it possible this was happening to her?

“What're you thinking about?
”
Sean asked as he sipped his ice water.

“Oh . . .” Anna made an embarrassed smile. “Nothing much.”

“You seemed deep in thought.” He waited.

“The truth is, I was about to pinch myself.”

He laughed. “Well, don't do that. Might leave a bruise.”

“I was just thinking about how I was working in Springville just one week ago. Now I'm here in New York. It's just so unbelievable. It's true what they say—you never know what's around the next corner.”

“You were actually
working
in Springville? I guess I didn't know that.”

She grimaced, wishing she'd left that cat in the bag.

“Tell me, what were you doing in our old stomping grounds?”

“It's kind of humiliating,” she confessed. “But if you promise not to laugh—or feel too sorry for me—I'll tell you.”

“I promise.” He leaned forward with genuine interest. She told him the whole pathetic tale, clear to the part of sleeping on her grandmother's couch and using the coat closet for her clothes.

“Pretty sad, eh?” She took a sip of ice water.

“It's obvious you love your grandmother a lot, Anna. Nothing sad about that. I think it's sweet.”

The waiter set their wineglasses down now. After the waiter left, Sean lifted his for a toast. “Here's to old friends . . . reunited.”

“To old friends,” she echoed as they clicked glasses. She wanted to add “old friends who never really knew each other,” but why spoil the moment? Besides, in some ways it really did seem like they were old friends. Like perhaps they really had known each other somehow. She took a cautious sip of the wine and was surprised that it tasted better than expected.

“Okay?” He watched her.

She took another sip, letting it roll around her tongue. “Yes. I actually think I like it.”

He grinned, holding his glass for a second toast. “Here's to old friends who like the same things.”

She nodded as their glasses made a pleasant ding. “Speaking of old friends,” she began, “my grandma told me a sweet story about how your dad helped her out one day.” Because Sean seemed interested, she told him Grandma's roadside tale.

“Sounds like something Dad would do,” Sean admitted.

“It must've been nice growing up in Springville with a dad like that . . . a family like that.”

Sean got a curious look now. “Did you always live with your grandmother? Or just after college?”

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was Sean's empathetic eyes, but Anna's usual reluctance to talk about her family life dissolved and she opened up, spilling out her sad little story. Sure, a part of her was shouting inside,
Shut up—don't let him know or you'
ll scare him away!
But another part of her just didn't care. If her family history was too much for him, she might as well find out now and cut her losses before she was in too deep. Or was she in too deep already?

Whatever the case, the cork was off and she was telling him how her mother got pregnant when she was seventeen, how she was caught up in the wrong crowd, and how her parents married at such a young age. Was it embarrassing? Yes. But on she went, telling him all the dirt, including how both her parents got caught up in drugs and alcohol and how they couldn't seem to escape it. “Besides their addiction problems, or because of them, they were totally clueless about how to be a family. Even as a young child, I could see that. I tried to make up for them, I tried to hold things together . . . but it was impossible.” She took a sip of water.

“I had a roommate in college who grew up in a family like that. Pretty sad.”

“Sometimes I feel guilty for blaming my parents. I mean, my mom's not even around to defend herself. She might've grown up in time. But the fact was, they were too young to have children. And they were too selfish . . . and too addicted.” She sighed. “My dad left Mom and me when I was in first grade. I've never heard from him since then. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in prison . . . or dead. My mom died a couple years after my dad left. I think it was an accidental overdose.”

Feeling tears coming, but wanting to hold them off, she paused to take a sip of water, steadying herself with a couple of deep breaths. Then she looked up to see how Sean, the golden boy, was taking the more gruesome chapters of her life. His face was creased with concern, but he was still attentive. “I'm sorry you had such a lousy childhood, Anna. What happened after your mother died? Is that when you went to live with your grandmother?”

She nodded. “I was nine when my mom died, but I only made it to school about half the time because I'd been taking care of her. That's when my grandparents took me in. They lived in this totally normal neighborhood in Springville. In a totally normal ranch house with three bedrooms. I went to a totally normal school and made some totally normal friends.” She grinned. “It was great. I felt like I'd won the kid lottery.”

“Is that when you and Marley became friends?”

“Marley and I became friends in middle school.”

“Yeah. I remember seeing you hanging around with her.”

“Seriously? You remember me from that long ago?”

“Hey, I might've been a little full of myself back then, but I wasn't blind. Marley had her little gang of girlfriends—some who were pretty obnoxious, but I remember you as always being kind of quiet and nice.”

“Really?” She was shocked. “I always thought I must've been invisible to someone like you.”

As they talked and ate and drank, they reminisced about things that had happened in Springville, retelling community events they each remembered from their own perspective. By the time they were finished with dinner and exiting the restaurant, it really did feel like they were old friends. Anna suppressed the urge to grab his hand.

“It's so nice out,” Sean said as they stood on the sidewalk. “We could walk home. I mean, if you feel up to it.”

“I'd love to walk,” she said happily.

“It's about a mile.” He pointed at her shoes. “Are you okay in those?”

She held out a foot and nodded. “These pumps have walked me back and forth to the Value Lodge—for many a mile. I think they can go one more.”

“Your feet okay too?”

“You bet.”

He laughed as he linked his arm in hers. “Then we're off.”

“Off to see the Wizard,” she said merrily. He joined her in singing a few lines, but neither of them could remember all the words, so they ad-libbed and wound up laughing like goofballs. Anna wasn't sure if her giddiness was a result of the wonderful day they'd shared, or perhaps partly due to the wine, but the walk home was entirely enjoyable. It felt like it ended too soon.

“Here you are, my lady,” Sean looked down at her as they stood at the top of her steps. “Thank you for a grand evening.”

“Thank
you
!” She paused to look into his eyes, which now looked dark . . . dark and romantic, making her feel less silly. “I honestly think this was the best day of my entire life. Thanks for making it great, Sean.” Okay, was that too much? But his expression seemed to match how she felt. In a moment he was leaning down toward her, and even though she knew she should say good night and nip this before it budded, she leaned in toward him. The next thing she knew, they were kissing. Really kissing. She felt like fireworks were going off in her head, and she didn't want him to stop.

“Sorry,” he said a bit breathlessly as he stepped back. “I didn't mean to do that, Anna.”

“No,” she said, fumbling for the door handle behind her and using it to steady herself. “I didn't either. Sorry.”

“Must've been the wine,” he said apologetically.

“Yes,” she agreed. “The wine.” She forced a goofy smile. “Thank you for a wonderful night, Sean. I'll probably see you at work tomorrow. Unless we're both über-busy.” She made a nervous smile.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Good night, Anna.”

As she turned to enter the security code, she heard his footsteps scurrying down the steps and away. Entering the building, she could not help but feel as if she'd blown it. She wasn't exactly sure how. Perhaps it was in allowing the kiss. Or perhaps she'd actually initiated it. She didn't even know.

She quietly let herself into the apartment but was barely inside when Marley lunged toward her, giving her a big hug. “It's so good to see you!”

“You too,” Anna told her.

Marley held Anna at arm's length, checking her out. “Wow, don't you look chic.”

Anna grimaced. “Because of you. I hope you don't mind that I took advantage of your generous offer.”

Marley fingered the silk scarf, gently slipping it off Anna's shoulders. “Tia told me that Hermes went out with you tonight.” Marley examined the scarf carefully.

“I'm sorry,” Anna said contritely. “I had no idea it was special. It was so pretty. Tia told me right as I was leaving. But I put it in my purse during dinner.”

“It's okay.” Marley put the scarf over her own shoulder. “Hermes seems to be in good condition.” She pointed to
the red suitcase by the door. “Now you have your own threads.”

Anna felt bad about the scarf but thankful that nothing had happened to it. “I'll go take off your dress—”

“Don't worry about that old thing. I don't wear it anymore. Last time I had it on, it was too tight anyway.” She studied Anna. “Seems to fit you just fine. Why don't you keep it?”

“Really?” Anna looked down at the simple dress. “Thanks. I do like it.”

“So, Tia says you were out at a business dinner. With the Newmans?”

Anna slipped off her shoes and started to unpin her hair. “No, not the Newmans.”

“Who then?”

“Actually it was with Sean O'Neil.”

Marley's brow creased. “You were on a date with Sean O'Neil?”

“Not a date.” Anna wondered if it was possible for anyone to see the top steps from the front window. Curious, she walked over to take a peek.

“You went out to dinner with Sean, but it was not a date?” Marley came over to see what Anna was looking at.

“Well, we'd spent the day sightseeing together,” Anna began. “Since we're going to be working at the Rothsberg, it's important for us—especially Sean—to know a little about New York. You know, in case guests ask for advice.”

“Right . . .” Marley sounded suspicious.

“Anyway, we got soaked by a thundershower around five, and we'd meant to get a bite to eat then. So we went home and changed clothes first.” Anna turned to smile at her friend.
Okay, she knew that wasn't exactly how it had gone down, but it wasn't really a lie either.

“Apparently that means Sean is single, right?” Marley frowned. “Or did his wife or girlfriend go along too?”

“He's single.” Anna sat down in a chair and for a moment considered telling Marley about Sean's ex in Ireland, simply as a distraction technique. But not wanting to betray a confidence, she started to talk about seeing Ellis Island instead. She went on and on about how amazing it was and how she wanted to go back there again after the damaged exhibits were repaired. “Did you know the island was completely submerged by Sandy?”

“I think I heard that,” Tia said. “But there was so much going on that it was hard to keep track.”

“You lived in New York during Sandy?” Anna asked.

“Yes. It was crazy.” Tia groaned. “It's painful even to remember what a mess it was.”

“I was here too,” Marley chimed in. “I'd just moved in. It was pretty freaky.”

Both of them began sharing their memories from the brutal storm and the chaos it brought to the East Coast. Anna felt like maybe she'd dodged a bullet in regard to Sean. Because the truth was, she'd almost forgotten about Marley's interest in him. But really, was it Anna's fault that she and Sean had hit it off so quickly? It wasn't as if she'd gone after him. It all seemed fairly serendipitous. Besides, it was a free world, wasn't it? And Marley would have her chance with him. It certainly wouldn't hurt that Max and Sean were still good friends.

As Tia and Marley argued about the date of the hurricane, Anna went over to her suitcase and picked it up. “I think
I'll slip into something more comfy. I'll get my stuff out of your room too.”

They hardly noticed as she slipped into their bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of sweats that Grandma had packed for her. Then she gathered her other clothes, put them back in her carry-on, and brought both bags out into the living room. Not wanting to add more clutter to the already cluttered space, she parked her bags near the door.

“Getting ready to go somewhere?” Tia teased.

“No. Just trying to keep my things out of everyone's way. And trying to figure out where I should sleep tonight.”

“Just use Kara and Sophie's room tonight. They won't be back until tomorrow night anyway.”

“You sure they won't mind?”

“Nah.” Tia waved her hand. “It's not like you're a real slob.”

“Thanks.” Anna smiled gratefully. “Then if you guys will excuse me, I'm going to call it a night. It's been a long day, and I start the new job tomorrow.”

As Anna got ready for bed, she knew it would take some finely tuned organizational skills to keep her act together in this tiny apartment with four other women and one bath. The living situation here made sharing a house with her grandmother look like a day at the beach. It seemed her best solution would be to organize her two bags in such a way that finding things would be easy. If that was even possible. Perhaps, if Mrs. Newman had no objections, she could store some of her clothes and personal things in her office and just keep a minimum of things here—kind of like camping.