“You’re full of surprises, Mom.”
“No, she is. I just wanted you to know how well it went.”
“I’m glad.” He was happy for her, he knew even better now how much she worried about all of them, especially Milagra, who had seemed like a lost soul for so long. One by one, she was finding her children, and getting to know them better as adults. And in his case, her grandchildren. They had shortchanged Maddie for so many years. He still felt bad about it.
“Well, finish your breakfast and kiss everyone for me. I just wanted to check in and tell you about the visit with Milagra, it was terrific.” And very unexpected.
They hung up and she called William next. He was working in Big Sur and sounded distracted when he answered, then became alert the minute he realized it was Maddie.
“I’m on my way back from Mendocino,” she told him.
“How was it?”
“Amazing. My children are full of surprises. My daughter has been hiding a boyfriend for eight years. He’s a great guy. He’s a fisherman up here, and he’s perfect for her, simple but also complex, uncomplicated and loving. He adores her.”
“You sound happy, Maddie.”
“I am. I just wanted to let you know I’m on the way back to the city. I’ll be there in about two hours.”
“I’ll be there roughly an hour after you get there. Are we still on for a day in Napa tomorrow?”
“Why not? My desk in New York can wait another day.” She hadn’t called Penny yet, but there were no messages or texts when she turned her phone on, so Penny obviously had things under control.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He was relieved when she told him. He had already booked a reservation for dinner that night at a new restaurant he’d heard about, just in case she called him. It was supposed to be elegant but unpretentious, with great food. “I’m staying at The Fairmont too. I’ll call you as soon as I get in.”
She got a text a few minutes later, thought it would be from Penny, and was surprised when it wasn’t. It was from Sean. “They’re here! Madison Andrea Wyatt and Julie Nicole Wyatt, 8 lbs, 2 oz and 8 lbs, 9 oz. Everyone doing fine. Love, Sean.” They’d had their twins, and used her name as he said they would, and Andy’s. She wanted to send them a gift when she got back to New York.
The rest of the drive into the city was easy, and she got there sooner than she expected. She checked in to a room, washed her face, and brushed her hair while she waited for William. She wasn’t sure why she was seeing him, except that she liked him. They lived on opposite coasts, and once she started traveling for work again, she wouldn’t stop. This was the longest break she’d ever taken, and she probably wouldn’t do it again for years. She was spending the last two days of it with him because he’d asked her to. She knew she couldn’t let herself get too deeply involved with someone she’d never see. But she was still under the spell of the vacation atmosphere she had indulged in for the past three weeks.
She sent Milagra an email, telling her how much she had enjoyed her visit and loved meeting Bert, and that she had had a terrific time going fishing with him, and being with them both. It had been their best visit ever.
William got there while she was watching the news on TV, and he called her from his room. He was on another floor, but it was fun being at the same hotel. She hung up and they met in the lobby a few minutes later. He gave her a hug as soon as he saw her and noticed that she looked happy and rested. As usual, she was wearing one shoe and the familiar cast, now autographed by her grandchildren. She couldn’t wait to get rid of it. She was sure her ankle was fine now.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” he suggested. They went to the Marina and walked along the bay, watching the boats, and she told him about her day on Bert’s boat.
“That sounds fantastic,” William said enthusiastically.
“It was.”
“Did your daughter go?”
Maddie shook her head. “She gets seasick. But it gave me a chance to get to know him. I think you’d like him a lot.”
“I’m sure I would,” he said, smiling down at Maddie. He had thought of her incessantly for the past three days. He couldn’t get her out of his head. “You’ve bewitched me, Madison Allen,” he accused her.
“No one’s ever said that to me before.” She smiled at him.
“Well, I am. What am I going to do when you go back to New York? I like knowing you’re here, nearby, where I can get in my car and drive to see you in a few hours.”
“You’ll do whatever you did before we met,” she said smugly, as they sat on a bench to rest for a while.
“Oh, you mean write, do research, answer emails from my agent and publisher, and despair of ever meeting anyone like you? You’re not an ordinary woman, you know. Believe me, I tried. I was single for a long time before I got married, and I’ve been divorced for eight years. You’re unique, Maddie. I can’t bear the thought of going back to mediocrity after meeting you.” It was very flattering, but she didn’t know what to do with it.
“We live three thousand miles apart and I travel all the time, to some pretty awful places, or remote anyway. If we fall in love, we’ll never see each other,” she said practically.
“I can meet you in your awful places, Maddie. That’s not a valid excuse for cowardice,” he said and she laughed. She wasn’t cowardly about other things, but she had been about romance for a long time.
“I’ve been divorced for a lot longer than you have. Thirty-three years, and I haven’t found the right combination yet.”
“I suspect you didn’t want to. Maybe that’s changed,” he said hopefully.
“I’m not going to sleep with you,” she said suddenly, and he laughed.
“Well, now that we have that settled, we can discuss the rest. Do you have a preference for chaste relationships?” He sounded very British as he said it and she grinned.
“Only recently. I don’t want to get it wrong again.”
“I don’t think you have. From what you’ve told me, you walked away from the wrong ones. That sounds very right to me. And you’ve proved it to yourself, driving all over the country for the last month, checking on your old boyfriends to make sure they were as wrong as you thought. What makes you think I’d be wrong for you?” he said. He was being very bold, and she liked it.
“Because I don’t want drama in my life anymore, or a broken heart. I do what I want, when I want, go where I want. I’m not sure I could compromise anymore. I’m pretty spoiled. I don’t think you’re ‘wrong,’ but maybe I am, for you.”