Page 39 of Stay for Me
“So many thought we’d make it, but it wasn’t in the cards. He was in such a hurry to get out of this town, and I was never going to leave.” She sighs dramatically. “And now he’s gone. He’s gone, and we’re left picking up the pieces of our broken hearts.”
I grab a napkin from the table and hand it to her. “It’s all right.”
Magnolia dabs her eyes, and I want to laugh. I’ve never heard of her. At all. Not once in all the years I was with him did he talk about an ex-girlfriend from home. But Magnolia seems pretty torn up over it.
“Thank you, honey. I was so sad to hear about his death. The town mourned for him. I think I’ll always have a part of me that feels sad about what could’ve been. I was going to stop by when you all moved in, but I thought it would be awkward.”
Jacob coughs to cover a laugh. I glance at him and fight back my own burst of laughter. This is the oddest and funniest thing that has happened since his death. I’ve cried, held friends crying, and dealt with a lot, but this is nuts.
Finally, Jacob gets control and takes pity on me. “Magnolia, why don’t you get us both some lemonade and buttered rolls.”
She shakes her head and rises. “Of course. Anything for Luke’s widow.”
Once she leaves, I cover my mouth with my hand and chuckle.
“Oh, that was priceless.”
My hand drops. “That was crazy.”
“Thatwas Magnolia. She’s a piece of work. I think she and Luke might have dated for a whole day before he realized her nickname Hell-no-lia was earned because that’s what you said when she asked you out . . . hell no.”
I stifle another laugh. “That was mean, I shouldn’t laugh.”
“That could’ve been his baby mama if he hadn’t been smarter. Magnolia would’ve gotten knocked up just to keep that man in her clutches.”
I can’t picture Luke with her, but then again, no one ever imagined he and I together either.
I glance over at Magnolia and smile a little. “Well, then I’m glad he saw the possible error of his ways.”
Jacob leans back with a sly grin. “Is that your professional opinion?”
“Maybe or maybe it’s just that, in the end, I won. I got the guy, the kids, the life and...well, I got the folded flag.”
As soon as I say it, I want to take it back.
“Brenna . . .”
I lift my hand to stop him. “It’s not what I meant. I didn’t say that for a reaction, and I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s all of us who are sorry.”
“You know, I never understood why people apologize for my loss. It’s not their fault. No one went in and broke a part on Luke’s plane just to see what would happen. It was a mechanical failure, and no one is really to blame. Why do we say we’re sorry?”
Jacob moves so his arms are resting on the table in front of us. “Because we’re sorry that someone we like or care about is hurting. We’re sorry that families suffer because someone they love is gone. I hated when people said it after my mother died, but as an adult, I get why they were sorry and where the apology comes from.”
I take my lower lip between my teeth and slide it back and forth. “And when you lost her, how was it for your father?”
He releases a heavy puff of air. “Let’s say that you’re handling it the polar opposite of him.”
“That good, huh?”
“It wasn’t easy for any of us, and that’s putting it mildly.”
This topic is definitely not what I had thought we’d venture onto, and honestly, I don’t want to talk about Luke right now. I know this isn’t a real date or anything, but it’s the first time I’ve been out with a guy who wasn’t Luke since I was eighteen.
Jacob won’t ever be anything other than a famous actor who was nice to my kid, but maybe this could be a sort of practice for whenever I am ready.
I’m attracted to him, and sometimes I get the feeling he’s flirting with me or, at least, he could think I’m pretty.
