It's Better This Way(32)

“Before Heath, you’d given up on ever meeting anyone.”

    She couldn’t deny it—Julia had given up, and with good reason. The memory of some of her dates was enough to make her want to smile.

“You know what I think?” Amanda asked.

Knowing her sister, Amanda was about to tell her. “Please,” she said, gesturing across the table.

“I think you should meet Frank.”

“Frank? The guy you wanted to introduce me to a few weeks ago. That Frank?”

“Yes, that Frank. He’s a good guy, Julia. A really good guy.”

Julia automatically shook her head. “I’ve already met the man you considered a really good guy.”

Amanda held up her hand, stopping her. “I admit Joe was a mistake. I’ve already apologized. I blame Robert. Joe was his friend, so please don’t hold that fiasco against me.”

“What makes you think Frank is any better than Joe?”

“I know Frank personally, whereas I only knew Joe through Robert. I should have known better than to take my husband’s word for it. His idea of a great guy is someone he can play poker with.”

The experience had been a disaster from the start. “Joe thought a good idea for our first date was to take me deer hunting.”

Amanda cringed. “I know.”

“Then he invited me to watch him bowl. I learned he was in three bowling leagues, which only left a few nights in the week when he was available to do anything with me. And don’t forget he entered his antique car in some show, and I was stuck, sitting in the hot sun, with him there all day.”

    “Please, don’t remind me of what a failure that was.”

“When I suggested a movie, Joe said he hadn’t been to a theater since the original Star Wars.”

“Like I said, Joe was a mistake.”

“I forgive you.”

“Which, in retrospect, is generous of you. I promise, Frank is nothing like Joe.”

Leaning back, Julia crossed her arms. “Okay, I’m listening. Tell me about Frank.”

Amanda beamed her a smile and, leaning forward, said, “He’s part of my quilting guild.”

“What?”

“That’s good, right? He’s artistic and creative and a lot of fun. He brings us girls homemade cookies. I mean, you can’t fault a guy who bakes cookies.”

“Widowed? Divorced?”

Amanda shook her head. “He’s never married.”

That should tell her sister something important. “Did he live with his mother until she died?”

“No. He worked as an underwriter for Pemco Insurance for over thirty years.”

“He has an interesting choice of a hobby.” Julia didn’t know many men who were into quilting. It wasn’t her place to judge, however.

“Are you sure he wants to meet me?” A man who’d remained single all these years would be set in his ways. He would be accustomed to being by himself.

“Yes,” Amanda insisted. “He isn’t looking to marry, which is something I thought you’d appreciate. All he wants is to meet someone with similar interests and companionship.”

    “I don’t quilt.”

“He knows that. You’re creative, though. He was impressed when I told him about West Coast Interiors, and how you built that business from the ground up with your talent and drive.”

Massaging her temples, Julia was confused. “I don’t know, Amanda. If I hadn’t met Heath…”

“Only you did meet Heath, and he opened your eyes to the possibility of there being someone out there to share the rest of your life with.”

“Frank…”

“Frank is someone who will be a companion and friend. Isn’t that what you really want? You’re not looking for love eternal. You want someone to enjoy a movie with or go dancing.”

“Or a pub crawl.”

“Exactly,” Amanda said, finishing her argument. “Won’t you give Frank a chance?”

Julia could never doubt Amanda had her best interests at heart. Her sister meant well. What Amanda failed to recognize was that her heart was bruised, and she wasn’t ready to leap into another situation that had the potential of bringing more rejection.

“I’ll think on it.”

“Don’t hesitate,” Amanda advised. “A couple of the widows in the quilting guild have their eye on Frank. They could easily swoop in and steal him away.”

More power to those widows.





Chapter 12




Heath had spent two restless nights going over every aspect of his conversation with his sons. He didn’t understand how he could have been oblivious to the fact that Laura had married Julia’s ex. She had mentioned Eddie any number of times, and he hadn’t made the connection, mainly because Lee always referred to him as Edward. Frankly, he hadn’t paid much attention. Lee was out of his life, and he’d taken pains to move forward.

For the last three days, he’d been completely unfair to Julia. He should have sent her a text much sooner, rather than leave her in the dark. He hadn’t meant to be insensitive. His only excuse was he needed time to think. Needed to sort out what all this meant for their future together, or if they’d be able to move past this.