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“Really? I didn’t know the two of you had known each other that long.”
“Well, I was out of the picture for a long time. And I was hurt about what he’d done. I only found out last year that one of the reasons he’d entered the navy was to support Danny, who was totally torn up and out of his mind with worry about you.”
Alicia’s brown eyes met hers. Stephanie set her mug back on the counter.
“Jack said that?” She should believe it. Danny had hinted at as much. But it was different hearing it from Alicia. From knowing that Danny’s concern for her had affected his whole family.
“Yes. I know how reticent Jack is about sharing his feelings with me, so I can only imagine that Danny might be the same. But it’s commonly acknowledged among the Murphys that you’re ‘the one who got away’ for Danny. You’re the reason he’s hardly dated the last few years. You’re the reason Kyle had a crooked nose for years after Danny’s fist connected with it in an argument over you.”
Stephanie knew those things peripherally...well, except for the fact that he hadn’t dated much since her. It floored her to think his family all thought she’d played such an important role in his life. Still, was it because she meant so much to him? Or was it merely because she’d had a traumatic experience and he felt...sorry for her?
The thought caused a knot in her gut.
And yeah, it also made her question if she really was just pushing him away because she was still scared. Did she want to be the kind of person who would cut and run when things were tough?
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, more confused than ever.
“There’s one more thing.” Alicia blew on the surface of the coffee, causing a light ripple. “Jack broke my heart when he first swooped in and purchased the bed-and-breakfast we own in Maine. He knew I wanted to do it on my own. I’d worked out a plan and I’d been saving for years. But sometimes men—especially guys like the ones we care about—are so focused on an outcome, they fail to see the emotional fallout.”
“Kind of like Danny wading right into my personal business even though I said I wanted to take care of it myself.” She could see the connection. “How did you move forward from that?”
“I remembered that there was no one else I’d rather be with in the world. Even if we don’t see eye-to-eye sometimes, I love him like crazy.” Alicia smiled and Stephanie could see her affection for her fiancé shine through her eyes.
“And that was enough?” Stephanie hated to sound like a cranky cynic. But her feelings for Danny were so new and untested. She wasn’t sure she could dive in headfirst with him and expect love to carry her through disagreements like this.
Disagreements that would only be worsened by time and distance apart.
“Well, that combined with the fact that Jack means well.” She frowned. “Does that sound lame? I just came to understand that he thinks so differently from me and that sometimes the things that frustrate me the most are the things he’s trying to do because he cares.”
Alicia’s cell phone buzzed along the granite, lighting up with a photo of her and Jack hugging in front of a sprawling seaside property. The bed-and-breakfast, no doubt.
Snagging it, Alicia put it in her pocket.
“That’s Jack.” Standing, she leaned forward to give Stephanie a hug. “I told him to call me when my brother arrived at the main house. He was supposed to drive in from Boston to take me out to lunch and deliver a wedding gift, so I’d better meet him. Do you want to come with us? It’d be better than packing.”
She looked so genuinely hopeful that Stephanie had to smile despite the heaviness in her heart. Apparently, she wasn’t just losing Danny. She stood to lose a truly wonderful, supportive family that could have been an uplifting counterpoint to the relationship she’d always had with her mom.
“Thank you, but no. Enjoy your visit with your brother and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.” As much as she would like to have Alicia’s sunny outlook and assurance that love could carry her through disagreements like this, she had too much baggage to juggle. Maybe her captivity had made her more deeply wary of a relationship than she’d ever suspected.
With a clipped nod, Alicia was out the door, leaving the blueberry muffins behind. Leaving Stephanie to hope she could find Danny long enough to tell him goodbye without all the drama of their previous parting. She couldn’t just let things end on that note—with her tongue-tied and him walking away.
Her little bit of packing almost done, she searched for her phone. She needed to talk to him before she called for the cab, after all. He deserved that even if the thought of facing him and saying another goodbye almost tore her in two. She’d barely survived the first one five years ago.
