Page 59 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
“Maryanne, damn it, would you listen to your parents?” Nolan barked. “What do you intend to do once Mom’s Place closes for remodeling?”
“Come home, sweetie,” her mother pleaded.
Too numb to speak, Maryanne stared at Nolan. She wouldn’t leave if he gave the slightest indication he wanted her to stay. Anything. A flicker of his eye, a twitch of his hand, anything that would show her he didn’t mean the things he’d said.
There was nothing. Nothing left for her. She couldn’t go back to the newspaper, not now. Mom’s Place was closing, butthe real hardship, the real agony, came from acknowledging that Nolan didn’t want her around. Nolan didn’t love her.
She turned her back on him and walked to her own apartment. Her mother and father joined her there a few minutes later, trying to hide their dismay at its bleakness.
“I won’t need to give my notice,” she told them, sorting through the stack of folded clothes for a fresh uniform. “But I’ll stay until Mom’s closes. I wouldn’t want to leave them short-staffed.”
“Yes, of course,” her mother answered softly, then suggested, “If you like, I can stay with you here in Seattle.”
Maryanne declined with a quick shake of her head, trying to conceal how badly Nolan’s rejection had hurt. “I’ll be fine.” She paused, then turned to her family. “He really is a wonderful man. It’s just that he’s terribly afraid of falling in love—especially with someone like me. I have everything he doesn’t—an education, wealth, and perhaps most importantly, parents who love me as much as you do.”
***
Maryanne hadn’t known it was possible for two weeks to drag by so slowly. But finally her last day of work arrived.
“The minute I set eyes on Nolan Adams again, I swear I’ll give him a piece of my mind,” Barbara declared, hands on her hips.
Nolan hadn’t eaten at Mom’s once in the past two weeks. That didn’t surprise Maryanne; in fact, she would’ve been shocked if he’d decided to show up.
“You keep in touch, you hear? That Nolan Adams—he’s got a lot to answer for,” Barbara said, her eyes filling. “I’m gonna miss you, girl. Are you sure you have to leave?”
“I’m sure,” Maryanne whispered, swallowing back her own tears.
“I suppose you’re right. That’s why I’m so furious with Nolan.”
“It isn’t all his fault.” Maryanne hadn’t told anyone the embarrassing details that had led to her leaving Seattle.
“Of course it is. He should stop you from going. I don’t know what’s got into that man, but I swear, for two cents I’d give him—”
“A piece of your mind,” Maryanne finished for her.
They both laughed, and hugged each other one last time. Although they’d only worked together a short while, they’d become good friends. Maryanne would miss Barbara’s down-to-earth philosophy and her reliable sense of humor.
When she arrived home, her apartment was dark and dismal. Cardboard boxes littered the floor. Her packing was finished, except for the bare essentials. She’d made arrangements with a shipping company to come for her things in the morning. Then she’d call a taxi to take her to Sea-Tac Airport in time to catch the noon flight for New York.
The next morning, dressed in jeans and a loose red sweatshirt, Maryanne was hauling boxes out of her living room and stacking them in the hallway when she heard Nolan’s door open. She quickly moved back into her own apartment.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, following her in. He was wearing the ever-present beige raincoat, his mood as sour as his look.
“Moving,” she responded flippantly. “That was what I thought you wanted.”
“Then leave the work to the movers.”
“I’m fine, Nolan.” Which was a lie. How could she possibly be fine when her heart was broken?
“I guess this is goodbye, then,” he said, glancing around the room, looking everywhere but at her.
“Yes. I’ll be gone before you get back this afternoon.” She forced a trembling smile to her lips as she brushed the dust from her palms. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you.”
“You, too,” he said softly.
“Someday I’ll be able to tell my children I knew the famous Nolan Adams when he was a columnist for theSeattle Sun.” But those children wouldn’t be his....
“I wish you only the best.” His eyes had dimmed slightly, but she was too angry to see any significance in that.
