garden. She thought of all the times she’d returned home with a sense of dread, never knowing what mood her mother would be in, and realized that the dark times had colored the house in the mind.
“It feels strange being here. It’s not how I remembered it.”
“Things rarely are.”
She stepped away from the house and breathed in the sea air. “I’m almost sorry to be going home.”
“Me, too.” Matt turned her to face him. “We can come back again anytime you like.”
We.
The word made her catch her breath.
She’d never been a we before. Or an us.
It felt as strange and unfamiliar as the light press of the necklace against her skin.
Seeing her mother’s life crumble had made her determined to forge an independent life, and she’d done that to the detriment of her relationships.
Before they left the island they made one more visit, this time to Matt’s parents.
“Aren’t they going to think it’s strange you being here and not staying with them?”
“My parents understand that I don’t want to have scorching sex under their roof, and anyway, they had a houseful of friends this weekend.”
“That’s what I remember most about your house growing up. It was always full of people and your mom was always cooking.” But she wondered what Lillian Walker would think of the fact that her son was involved with a Cole.
As it turned out his mother was as warm and welcoming as ever, and if she guessed at the change in their relationship, she didn’t comment.
They ate lunch in the pretty garden, home-cooked food that Lillian threw together with the effortless ease of someone who entertained regularly.
“How was the wedding?”
They talked about the day, explained what had happened with the flowers and the conversation moved from Frankie’s skill with flowers to Urban Genie.
“I worry your sister is working too hard.” Lillian glanced at Matt. “Not that she’d tell me, of course. She hides everything from us.”
“The business is growing fast and she’s working hard.” Matt didn’t lie. “But she’s happy. And she’s well. Jake keeps a close eye on her, but don’t tell her that. He tries to do it without her noticing.”
“Jake’s a good man.” Lillian served the food. “The number of times he showed up at the hospital when she was ill—I was thinking of booking him a bed.” She paused, her attention caught by Frankie’s necklace. “That’s pretty. I remember seeing it in Something Seashore.”
Frankie tensed. How did she respond to that?
How did she prevent awkward questions?
“I bought it for her,” Matt said easily, and Frankie saw his mother’s gaze linger on the necklace and then shift to her son, registering the significance.
“It’s a pretty piece,” she said. “Skylar is a talented artist. I’ve bought one of her photographs for your dad for his birthday.” And just like that the subject changed and Frankie was once again reminded that Matt’s mother was nothing like hers.
Lillian Walker respected her son’s privacy and accepted his choices.
Gradually, Frankie relaxed, soothed by the warm family atmosphere.
“We’re spending three weeks in Europe in late October.” This time it was Matt’s father who spoke. “I have to be in Italy on business, so we’re adding in a little vacation time.”
“But we’ll be back for Thanksgiving,” Lillian said quickly. “You know you’re welcome. We’d love to see you.”
Matt didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be here.”
“Frankie, I hope you’ll come, too.” Lillian’s tone was casual. “And bring Eva. How is she? I worry about her.”
They’d always made her feel like one of the family, Frankie thought. In some ways she’d felt more at home in Paige’s house than she had in her own. It was no wonder Matt had no trouble believing in love. He’d grown up with it right under his nose.
“Eva has her ups and downs but she’s doing okay.”
“She’s lucky to have you and Paige.” Lillian stood up and cleared the plates. “What time is your flight?”
“Four o’clock.”
Michael Walker raised his eyebrows. “You’ll be caught in traffic driving back into the city.”
He and Matt argued for a few minutes about the best route, and Frankie helped Lillian clear the table.
“It’s good to see you back on the island.” Lillian opened the dishwasher and started loading plates. “It must have been daunting to come back after all this time.”
Frankie wondered how she knew. “It was. But the reality wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated.”
“I think that’s often the case with life. Sometimes it’s because we manage to inflate things in our head, but sometimes it’s because we underestimate our ability to