Page 59 of April Flowers

“And all this time, he was using her to learn more about our dad,” Margot said.

Sam hesitated. “Maybe it isn’t such a bad thing.”

Margot tilted her head.

“All Lillian wants to talk about is Frank,” Sam said. “And if you’re right, all Vic wanted to hear about was Frank.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Margot breathed. “Maybe they needed each other.”

But she still wanted to talk to him. She wanted to understand everything her mother had always left out of the story.

When it was dark, Margot hugged the Colemans goodbye and gathered her things. Noah was ready, too. They left to a chorus of goodbyes and demanded they see each other soon.

“We’ll be back,” Margot promised. “It was so lovely to spend the evening with all of you.”

Avery and Lillian led the charge outside. Lillian was wrapped in several layers of clothing plus a big coat, but still, she shivered until Margot got her in the car and turned the heat up. When she knew her mother was cozy, she got out to hug Noah and Avery goodbye. But when he wrapped his arms around her, Noah whispered in her ear, “Would you like to spend some more time together? Maybe tonight?”

The kiss they’d shared on the terrace still rang through her. She knew what Noah meant when he said more time. It meant he wanted to do much more of that kissing.

How could she resist him?

“What about Avery?” she asked.

Noah glanced back at the truck, where Avery was immersed in her cell phone. “She’s the one who told me to come over here and ask you.”

Margot laughed and touched his hair, scooping it behind his ear. Love shimmered through her. What she felt for Noah was night and day compared to what she’d felt for Pete or any of the other men she’d tried to date.

Was it too easy to fall back into Noah’s arms? Should she trust it?

Her lonely life in Boston had taught her to reject anything that felt too easy. But that didn’t seem right, either.

When Margot didn’t say anything else, Noah offered, “You’re probably right. We should take it slow.”

But, contrary to everything she was thinking, Margot suddenly wanted to say,We’ve wasted enough time as it is.

She was a mess of contradictions. She was a woman falling back in love.

“Give me an hour to help Mom get to bed,” Margot said, bringing herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye. “I’ll be waiting.”

Noah looked overjoyed. He remained in the driveway, watching as she backed out and drove them to her childhood home.

Beside her, Lillian sat in a sleepy silence. Margot marveled that this was one of the better days she’d ever spent with her mother. She thanked her lucky stars for it.

And then Lillian said, “I really hope Vic comes by soon.”

Margot felt the light in her heart dim. She adjusted her hands on the steering wheel. “What do you like about Vic, Mom?”

Lillian blushed. “He’s so handsome, isn’t he?”

Margot laughed. “I suppose he is.”

“You know, he looks just like your father when I first met him,” Lillian said conspiratorially. “He looks like he should be on a television show. Or featured in a painting. What is it about his face? I could stare at it all day.”

Margot blinked away tears.

Everything clicked into place after that. So many years after his death, Lillian still ached for Frank. Vic was practically Frank’s double, a son born out of wedlock in 1981 or 1982. At least, that was Margot’s theory.

“When did you first meet Vic, Mom?”

---