Just The Way You Are Part 15

"I want to. I'm not leaving, Phoebe. Not without you. I've waited too long. Do you remember what you said to me Sunday morning?"

"No."

"You said you'd consider marrying me. It was as close to a yes as you've ever come."

She did remember. Because he'd been battering her resolve for so many years that it had become almost impossible to say no to him. And it wasn't that she didn't care for him, she did. But she still loved John, and William couldn't understand why. He was convinced she'd married John because of her parents, and not because she'd fallen head over heels, crazy in love with her husband.

"I can see that you do remember." William smiled tenderly. "I can make you happy, Phoebe. I have more money than I'll ever spend, houses in three cities, servants to take care of your every whim. It was the way you were supposed to live."

She was too tired to argue with him now. Too weary to think beyond getting out of bed.

"It will be wonderful," he said. "Just as soon as you get better, we'll make plans."

She nodded, more concerned with the immediate future. "The girls must find the last pearl. It's important to me, to them."

He didn't want to talk about the pearls, about the symbol of her love for John. That was apparent from the sudden frown that turned his face to stone.

"Whatever you want," he said.

"I'm afraid."

The frown softened. "I know you are, Phoebe, but I'm here for you. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"Maybe you can't stop it."

"Don't talk like that."

"I'm not ready to die."

"Of course you're not."

She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she thought about all she wanted to do. Summer was coming, the Fourth of July. She wanted to fly a kite in the festival, eat clam chowder, sit on her deck and watch the fireworks.

She wanted to watch Megan grow up and see Alli's business take off, and read about Tessa in the magazines. She wanted to know how everything would all end, if Sam and Alli would get back together, or if Tessa would come between them. She didn't want to miss a second of what happened to her girls, her family. Yet there was a part of her that felt like she was slipping away, until William's tight grip on her hand yanked her back.

"You are not dying, do you hear me?" he said forcefully. "We're going to be together. I know we are. I'm not giving you up."

"I want to go home."

"You will, soon."

"What if I have another stroke? Can't live like my mother."

"Stop worrying. The stress isn't good for you. You're not your mother. You won't have another stroke. This is our time, Phoebe. Our time."

His stubborn persistence made her feel better, anch.o.r.ed to the real world and not the hazy one in her mind.

"Those girls of yours are going to find the luckiest pearl in the entire Pacific Ocean and then you'll feel better," he promised.

"You're a good friend."

"I intend to be more than that."

Chapter 12.

*"Do you think Jimmy will come with Tessa today?" Alli asked Sam as they drove into the parking area next to O'Meara's Oyster Farm on PrincetonBay. It was almost lunchtime on the last Wednesday in June and unseasonably warm, Alli thought, as she rolled down the window and turned her face toward the breeze. "That feels better," she murmured.

"Is he still hanging around?"

"I think so. He didn't seem in a hurry to leave last night. I heard Tessa tell him she'd give him a ride back to the hotel. Do you think they're sleeping together?"

"How would I know that?" Sam asked, as he turned off the engine.

"Does the idea bother you?"

He sighed. "Does it bother you?"

"Why would I care?"

"I have no idea." Sam checked his watch. "What time is Megan's soccer game this afternoon?"

"Five o'clock."

"I don't want to miss it, so let's make sure we get out of here by four."

"Megan will be thrilled. I think she's playing forward today."

"Our girl likes to shoot," Sam said with a grin.

Alli smiled back at him, feeling warmed by the friendly look in his eyes, yet a bit unsettled by his nearness. They were so close, just a foot between them. If Sam slid over, if she moved a bit ... no, she was absolutely not going to make that move. They were getting a divorce, for heaven's sake. They were supposed to be distant now, their relations.h.i.+p cooled by their obvious incompatibility and Sam's continuing interest in Tessa. But she didn't feel cool toward Sam. In fact, she felt as hot for him now as she had nine years ago, when she'd made the biggest mistake of her life.

Alli s.h.i.+fted in her seat, acutely aware of Sam's eyes on her. What on earth was he staring at? Her blue jeans weren't new, neither was the gray cap-sleeve T-s.h.i.+rt she wore. And she hadn't refreshed her makeup since she'd put it on at seven in the morning.

Finally, she drummed up enough courage to look over at him. "What?" she asked.

"I can't look at you?"

"You haven't in a long time."

"Well, maybe I feel like it now."

Alli took in a breath and let it out. In the past three months, she'd tried to separate herself from him. Slowly she was beginning to understand herself better, to believe that she could survive without Sam. But surviving and being happy were two different things, and being near him made everything so much harder. She decided it was time to change the subject.

"Megan wants to know if you can work on the kite tonight after the soccer game."

Sam groaned. "I forgot about the kite."

"Is there a problem?"

"I planned to work on the Thunderbird tonight."

"You can't wax it another day?" She felt a bit peeved by his response. If Tessa had always had one half of his heart, the T-Bird had had the other.

"I'm not waxing it, I'm showing it to a potential buyer," he replied.

Her jaw dropped. "No way. You love that car. You've spent half your life caressing it with hot wax. I can't believe-"

"I'd hardly call a few weekends half my life."

"I'd hardly call it a few weekends." She searched his eyes for the truth. "You said you'd never sell the Thunderbird. When we had that horrible summer of rain and we had to repair the roof, you wouldn't even consider selling it."

He played with the keys still dangling from the ignition, his gaze fixed on the front window. "You said I was stuck in the past. Well, maybe you were right." He glanced over at her, his eyes serious. "I need some things for the business, equipment, maybe a new boat down the road. I could use the money. And the car is a good place to get it. I saw an ad for a Thunderbird on-line recently and the car went for thirty thousand dollars."

"Unbelievable."

"I know. It's a lot of money."

"Not the money, you. You're unbelievable."

He turned sideways in his seat. "Why?"

"Because you love that car. You worked forever to buy it from Mr. Carlton's widow-nights, weekends, summers. You were obsessed."

"I was sixteen. A car and s.e.x were pretty much all I had on my mind."

"But I can still see you and Tessa driving around town in that car. You thought you were so cool."

"It was a long time ago, Alli. And you and I have driven in the car since then. h.e.l.l, we've done a few other things in that car as well, if you remember."

She cleared her throat at the piercing look in his eyes. She didn't want to be reminded of exactly what they'd done in that car. "I must admit you've surprised me."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."

"Maybe I don't," she admitted. "When did you decide to sell it?"

He thought about her question for a few moments, then said, "Since I moved it out of our garage and into my father's garage. I started wondering why I was holding on to it so tightly when everything else in my life was slipping away."

She caught her breath at his words. "I never thought you wanted to hang on to me, Sam. I thought I was hanging on to you."

He opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as a loud motorcycle sped into the loosely graveled parking lot, kicking up dust and tiny pebbles. Alli was surprised to see Tessa hop off the back of the bike and pull the helmet from her head, shaking out her blond hair with a laugh. Tessa on a motorcycle? Tessa dressed in faded blue jeans with holes at the knees? Tessa?

Alli snuck a glance at Sam, who seemed as dumbstruck as she was.

"Hey," Tessa called out with a wave.

Sam opened his door and stepped out, leaving Alli to follow.

"I can't believe you're riding a motorcycle. What happened to thinking that was like riding down the road in a garbage can?" Sam asked her.

She laughed again. "Oh, I still think that, but Jimmy has a way of convincing me I should try new things."

"Nice to see you," Jimmy said to Sam, then he flung a charming grin in Alli's direction. "And I'm more than happy to see you again."

Alli couldn't help responding to Jimmy's s.e.xy smile, especially since Sam was staring at Tessa like he'd never seen her before. So much for thinking he was having second thoughts about their marriage. "Likewise," she replied.

"So what do we do now?" Jimmy asked.

"We'll take a boat out to the far end of the bay and pull up some fresh oysters. Hunting for a wild pearl is a little like looking for a needle in a haystack," Alli continued. "We often had to try several oyster farms before we found anything."

"I do hope this involves some actual eating of oysters."

"By the time we're through, you'll never want to see an oyster again," Alli promised.

"Maybe, but I bet my libido will be in overdrive," he replied with a wink in Alli's direction.

"We better get started," Sam interrupted, his tone decidedly frosty.

Alli smiled to herself as they walked up to the entrance. Sam didn't like Jimmy. Good. Not that Sam was jealous on her account, more likely he was afraid that Tessa had something going on with the rugged photographer who had actually convinced her to get on a motorcycle. Oh, well, at least Jimmy would make things more interesting in what was probably going to be a long afternoon.

Jimmy dropped back next to Alli as Sam and Tessa spoke with Timothy O'Meara about going out in one of his boats.

"So, Alli," Jimmy said.

"What?"

"You and Tessa don't like each other?"

"Very good, Sherlock."

He tipped his head. "I'm intuitive. It's a gift."

"One of your many, no doubt."

"Why is it you MacGuire girls seem to be immune to my charm?"

"You mean Tessa isn't falling at your feet?"

"Does it look like she is?"

Alli glanced over at Sam and Tessa in deep conversation with Timothy, an old friend of her grandmother's. "They fell in love with each other when they were twelve, you know."

"Then how did you end up married to him?"