When he laughed, it actually set her heart aflutter a little. She couldn’t deny that she liked Sean Marshall, but that little voice in the back of her mind cruelly reminded her of The Love List. “How about pork fried rice, spring rolls, and sesame chicken? I know a great Chinese takeaway that delivers,” he suggested.
“How could I pass that up? There’s the phone. Do you want something to drink? Wine, beer, soda?”
“Soda. I’m driving, so not a drop of alcohol for me, thanks.”
“You got it,” she said, and headed into the kitchen.
After two hours of conversation, Chinese takeout. and laughing more than she had in what seemed like forever, Maisey was prepared to forget all about The Love List. Sean Marshall was an absolute joy, and she hoped their newfound friendship would continue to bloom.
“So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” She asked the question and held her breath, hoping for a positive answer. She had no plans, and hoped he didn’t either.
“Oh…I’m having dinner with my in-laws.”
She swore at that moment, her heart stopped. In-laws! He was married? Standing up from the couch, she began to gather takeout boxes, silently lamenting what a fool she was for letting her hopes get so high that the perfect, single guy might have walked into her life.
“Ex in-laws,” he added as he, too, stood and stacked the dishes onto each other and followed her into the kitchen.
Her heart’s rhythm returned to something nearly normal, but her face burned. Maybe he was divorced, but still spending holidays with the in-laws and likely his ex-wife? That wasn’t something she wanted to be involved with. There was no way she would set herself up to fall for this guy only to have him return to his former love of his life.
“So, you’ve been married. Do you have any kids?” She strove for a casual tone as she scraped the plates into the trash and then loaded them into the sink.
He reached out and gently turned her to face him. There was a perplexed expression on his face. Did he truly not understand that mentioning an ex-wife, and spending the holidays with her family, was a new relationship deal breaker?
Well, maybe the new relationship was something she?d created in her mind.
“No, I don’t have any kids.” He paused, and then asked, “Did I say something to upset you? Ever since you mentioned Thanksgiving, and I said I was going to my former in-laws, your whole…I don’t know…countenance changed.”
“Countenance? Interesting word.” She forced a chuckle.
“Is it weird that I spend my holidays with my former in-laws?”
“No, I guess not. If you asked me to spend the holidays with your ex-in-laws, that would be weird.”
“Maisey, listen”—he reached out and touched her. “My wife was killed in an accident a few winters ago. Spending time with my in-laws is just something that makes them feel good.”
So, his wife was dead. Now she felt even worse. She averted her eyes. “I’m sorry about that, Sean, truly I am.” Things made a bit more sense now such as the long hospital stay he’d mentioned, followed by the extended rehabilitation. Not to mention the odd gait he walked with. But he didn’t seem at all interested in sharing anything deeper.
With his fingertips, he turned her face back to his, locking his blue eyes to her brown. “This isn’t something I plan to do forever, Maisey. I’ve slowly started putting separation between them and myself. It’s tough though, with them losing their daughter. Still, I have to get on with my own life, too.”
She nodded. “I understand that.”
He lifted a brow. “Do you, Maisey? The truth is, although we just met, I feel like something sparked between us. I like you, and I would like to continue getting to know you...If that’s something you want. I had the best time tonight just being around you.”
“I like you, too, Sean. I would like to keep seeing you as well.” There was so much more she wanted to say, but at that point in their newly budding relationship, she couldn’t just blurt out that she didn’t want to live in the shadows of his deceased wife, or their marriage, or that she?d never dated a widower. Her mother used to say that no matter what someone was like when they were alive, when they died, their memory got put up on a pedestal and worshipped.
“I promise that if you want me, you get me for the entire Christmas holiday and New Year’s too,” he offered.
“That sounds like a plan, Sean. I would love to spend Christmas with you, and maybe if you’re up for it, you can stop by Thanksgiving night for dessert. Maybe on Friday we can get a tree and decorate. What do you think?”
When he gently took her into his arms and his lips descended to meet hers. She knew that his answer was yes.
What a complete and utter mess.