Page 43 of Tempting the Heart

I smiled as Mae’s mom pushed her cart down the aisle, and my phone buzzed again with Mae adding wine to the list. I wrote back a quick text telling her I ran into her mom and should be at her house soon.

But as I added things to the cart and thought about Mae’s mom, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I didn’t have to rush out of town so quickly.

The house would be completed by the weekend, and my dad would or should know how to do physical therapy exercises at the house. Whether he’d do them was an entirely different story. There wouldn’t be a real need for me to be around them.

As I paid for the groceries and drove to Mae’s, I wondered if I was crazy or if the sea air was getting to me to even contemplate staying.

For some reason, merely wandering around the grocery store felt like the good old times when I could buy some candy and follow Brad back to his house, where I’d hopefully run into Mae or, better yet, hang out with her in the treehouse.

I smiled at the memories from that magical little shack sturdily, yet crookedly, built in the Evans’ back yard among two large, big-leaf maples and a Douglas fir tree.

By the time I pulled into Mae’s driveway, I felt so much lighter.

She swung open the front door and bounded onto the little stoop dressed in a dynamite strapless red sundress.

Mae looked stunning as she walked toward my rental pickup truck, offering to lend a hand with the groceries.

“I was wondering whether you’d gotten cold feet,” she teased.

“Your mom and I had a good time catching up, and she informed me that you’re very motherly.”

Mae rolled her eyes. “Oh, my word. Never mind that I own my business, home, and car. Let’s zero in on making babies.”

I chuckled and handed her a bag. “Some things never change.”

“Tell me about it.”

We carted the groceries into her kitchen, where several piles of vegetables were already chopped.

“Not that it’s my business, but are kids something you want?” I set two bags on her counter, and she did the same before spinning to look at me.

“I’ve always wanted kids,” she said, shrugging. “But I’ve realized that having kids might not be in my cards, and that’s okay. I’m not exactly great at getting out there and dating. I’ve heard that’s kind of an important step.”

I smiled, knowing now wasn’t the moment to blurt out that I wanted kids too.

It didn’t matter.

Because I didn’t want to have kids just to have them. I hoped to find a partner who saw a similar vision of growing a family together, facing the highs and the lows, and hoping to give love… lots of love.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’m in the same boat as you.”

She scowled and shook her head. “Not really. You live in two different states with highways, and towns, cities and… people.” She winked at me. “You have a way better shot at finding that special someone to start a family with. Marigold Island is kind of slim pickings.”

“There’s always Seattle,” I said, secretly wondering what Mae’s previous dating life looked like.

And I shouldn’t because it didn’t matter.

We were complete opposites, living on different sides of the world, and I had no intention of being within a hundred-mile radius of my parents.

“Seattle’s nightlife isn’t exactly my idea of a prospective gene pool. Any of the times I’ve gone with Audrey, I’ve regretted every second of it.”

“So, do you go out a lot?”

She twisted her lips into a playful pout. “What would you consider a lot? Quarterly? Bi-annually?”

I chuckled, realizing Mae wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t date much.

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