Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(66)

She realized what she had to do. Meridith turned. Stephen had followed her.

She released the blanket, and the wind tugged it from her shoulders, stole the flower from her fist. She eased the ring from her finger and extended it to him.

The frown returned, settling between his brows like claw marks in the sand. “Meridith. Put it back.”

She opened his hand and placed the ring on his palm, the certainty growing roots. She looked at his clean-shaven jaw, the short-clipped hair that wasn’t long enough for the wind to disturb, his high forehead and straight nose.

She was trading stability for chaos. Security for ambiguity. Predictability for uncertainty. In some ways, it would be her childhood all over again. But this time she was in charge. She was the one calling the shots. She was no helpless little girl swinging by the tail end of her mother’s illness.

Even if he agreed in the end, what kind of father would he be if he didn’t want the children? She wouldn’t do that to her siblings. They deserved far more.

“It’s over, Stephen.”

“You don’t mean that.” He took her hand. “We’re perfect for each other, you’ve said it yourself a hundred times.”

She had said it, believed it. She wondered now if it was true. She couldn’t deny the feelings that had sprung up for Jake, who was not at all what she needed, not at all the man for her. Still, if she truly loved Stephen, those feelings wouldn’t be there.

“My future includes Noelle and Max and Ben. Things have changed since I agreed to marry you, and I’m doing what’s right for these kids. I have to do what’s best for them. That’s my reality, but it doesn’t have to be yours. I understand it’s not what you want.”

His jaw twitched. “It’s that contractor, isn’t it?”

“No.”

“I saw the way he looked at you.”

The comment sent a pleasant warmth flooding through her. “This is between us, Stephen. My future’s taken an unexpected turn. I can’t leave the kids, and you can’t accept them. There’s nothing to do now but say it’s over.”

“Meridith . . .” His eyes pled, turned glossy. She’d never seen him get emotional, not even when his grandfather passed away last November.

She took his hands. “Our lives are taking different paths, but it’s going to be okay.” She knew it was true, knew to the bone she was doing the right thing, even if it pained her to hurt him.

“Maybe the uncle will come back tomorrow and—”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what the uncle does or doesn’t do. I’m their guardian. For some reason, my dad and Eva left them to me, and they’re my responsibility.”

“This isn’t how the weekend was supposed to go.” The look on his face reminded her of Piper’s when they were pulling from the driveway.

“I know.” And yet, there was a feeling of inevitability deep inside that soothed her the way a thousand deep breaths couldn’t. Meridith leaned forward and placed one last tender kiss on Stephen’s lips.





Thirty-four

Through a slit in the curtain, Jake watched Meridith open the taxi door for Stephen. The driver stowed the bags, but Jake only had eyes for her. She wore a white gauzy top that fluttered in the wind and a pair of trendy jeans that showed off her figure.

Stephen turned to Meridith, and Jake’s heart was like a jackhammer in his chest. What did she see in that guy? He was as tepid as day-old coffee.

Since Stephen had arrived, Jake had gone over and over the way Meridith had greeted him. The way he’d greeted her, with an apathetic kiss and a tame hello. If it had been him, missing his woman for weeks, he’d have swept her into his arms and kissed her until they were both breathless. He didn’t get it.

Movement below stole his attention. Meridith leaned forward and kissed Stephen. Jake hardly had time to feel the prick of pain before she pulled away. She reached up, laid her palm against the guy’s face. It was almost more than Jake could stand.

He started to release the curtain, let it fall into place, but then something caught his eye that made his fist clutch the sheer fabric. Jake swallowed the last bite of chicken alfredo and pushed his plate back. “Great meal, Willow.”

“Thanks.” She gathered his and Wyatt’s plates.

Wyatt took them away, standing. “Oh no, you don’t. You cooked, I’ll get the dishes, baby.” He laid a big wet one on her.

Jake turned his head, groaning. He stacked the remaining dishes, trying to ignore the couple.

“Should I leave?” he asked moments later, only half joking.

Willow stepped away from Wyatt, smiling innocently. “Of course not. I know a good dish washer when I see one.”

Jake took her hand and kissed it. “At your service.”

Wyatt flipped him with a towel. “Stop making a play for my wife and get your sorry rump into the kitchen.”

Jake carried the stack of plates into the kitchen and set them in the sink. “Where’s the dishwasher?”

“You’re looking at ’em.”

Whatever. It would give him a chance to talk to Wyatt, which was the main reason he’d accepted the invitation.

“I’ll wash.” Wyatt tossed him a towel, then rolled up his sleeves.