The Good Widow(38)

I had started to pull away from Isabella, but she held on to my shoulders, then leaned in closer, and I’d involuntarily inhaled a strong whiff of her Chanel No. 5 perfume as she whispered, “You can use this romantic getaway to start trying! James told me he’s ready.”

I’d stepped back so I could see her face. I studied Isabella’s hazel eyes. She was serious. James had talked to her about this? I shook off the uneasy feeling that washed over me. I thought about the check that Isabella had given us last month. The money she’d insisted was a gift for the nice big house she wanted us to buy. Which I now clearly understood was payment for the pack of grandkids I was to provide for her. I stood in the center of the ballroom at the Pelican Hill Golf Club and wondered: Would Isabella’s generosity always come with strings?

Now at the hotel, I adjusted my white straw hat to shield my face from the hot sun that was beginning to peer into the cabana. I knew we couldn’t wait long. James and I had talked about kids; I knew he wanted them. My stomach tightened as I thought of my last gynecologist appointment when I’d gone in for my annual exam. I swished the memory away. We were still so young, just twenty-five and twenty-seven, respectively—I still had plenty of time to figure things out.

“What have you been thinking about? You’ve been staring off into space for ten minutes.” James stood over me, his olive skin already a deep brown from the sun, drops of water falling from his red swim trunks to the concrete, creating a speckled pattern by his feet.

I swatted him playfully with my magazine. “Were you stalking me?”

“What if I was?”

“Then I’d say that’s pretty damn creepy!” I laughed.

“If you want to call me names, then fine. I’ll take it. But I blame you!” He pointed at me.

“Me?”

“Yeah. You. It’s not my fault if I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. You’re the most beautiful woman here.”

I smiled. “You said that to me the first time we met.”

“I did?” James sat on the edge of my chair and put his hand on my ankle, sending an electric current up my leg.

I cocked my head. “Yes! How can you not remember that? Or were there so many pretty girls at the store that day that you went from aisle to aisle until one of us took the bait?”



I had been chewing on my thumbnail, debating between a cabernet and a pinot, when I saw an arm reach past me and grab a bottle. “This one,” he’d said as he set the Wild Horse pinot noir in my cart.

I had whipped around, ready to be annoyed. Because, really, who did that? Until I saw his face. The way his eyes sparkled. The slight five-o’clock shadow. And his smile. It shone like a beacon.

“Why should I listen to you?” I’d teased, and pointed at the six-pack of Corona Light in his hand. “You look like a beer drinker to me. And also a fan of kid’s cereal, it seems.” I nodded at the Lucky Charms under his other arm.

“I’m multidimensional. When I’m with the guys, I drink this,” he said, and held up the Corona. “When I’m with the most beautiful woman in the room, I drink this,” he said, grabbing the pinot out of my cart. “And when I’m alone, I eat this.” He held up the red box with the rainbow and leprechaun on the front.

“So what will you be doing tonight?” I blurted before I could stop myself. He was cheesy and had obviously done this before—his charm was effortless, like a skill he’d been honing for years. Yet. There was something about him. In just one minute he’d made me feel more special than my last boyfriend had the entire three months we’d been together—he’d always made me work so damn hard for it. But this guy? He was making it so easy. I was ready for easy.

James had smiled and tucked the bottle under his arm. “Drinking the wine with you, of course.”

I knew Beth would roll her eyes so hard later when I told her the story. But I hadn’t cared. “Tell me when and where.”

That was the beginning of it all. We were married nine months later. And now we were in Maui.



James laughed and stroked my leg. “I may not remember what I said to you at the store that day, but I do know what I thought.”

“Let me guess. You were thinking, ‘She’d better have good taste in wine or this is never going to go anywhere.’”

“No way! I was hoping you’d have some milk for me Lucky Charms,” he said with a poor attempt at an Irish accent.

I pushed him in his tight abs. “You know, surprisingly, your cheesiness was one of the things I loved from the moment I met you.” I ran my fingers through his thick, wet hair. “You wear cheesy well.”

James smiled. “Thanks. I think? You should have seen the look on your face when I grabbed that wine bottle off the shelf!”

“I was about to reach for my Mace until I saw how cute you were!”

“Hey. Cute guys can be psychopaths too.”

I kissed him deeply. “I decided I’d take my chances.”

“Good thing.” He reached up and caressed my breast over my triangle top, and my body caved into his. “Maybe we should go up to the room,” James said. “That cabana boy is going to be here any second. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was coming up with excuses to check on you. He’s been over here every five minutes!”