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It was such a rich, warm, welcoming sound that Maureen found herself laughing along with him despite the fact that he looked very much like an adult already.She wasn’t a great judge of age, but Adam was definitely at least a few years older than her.
“What happens in the fall?”She took a little sip of lemonade.“Are you headed to college?”
Adam shook his head.“I just graduated, actually.”
She tipped her head and narrowed her eyes.“From high school?”
He laughed again.“From college.”
Maureen almost spat out her drink.“You’ve graduated from college already?”
He shrugged again; she was beginning to recognize the gesture as a way to deflect attention.“I recently finished my last exams in optometry school, actually.”
“Wow.Optometry school?”Maureen put both hands flat on the wooden table.“You mean, you’re a doctor?”
“An optometrist, yes.”Again, he shrugged.“Not officially, actually.I still need my exam results.”
She could tell he was being modest and wasn’t worried in any way about his exams.Maureen lifted her cup.“A toast to you, then.Congratulations.I should be the one buying you the drink.”
He met her cup with a cheers, and they each drank before he spoke again.“Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I could never let such a pretty girl buy me a drink.”
A blush heated her cheeks, and she had to look away.
“I also could never let another minute pass by without asking that very pretty girl if she would do me the honor of dancing with me.”
Her cheeks had to be flaming red, but there was no way Maureen could not accept the offer.She looked up to see a goofy grin on his face.
“May I have this dance?”
She nodded, her heart racing as she took his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor.
Present
“He must have been much older than you.”Elise wiggled her eyebrows, and Maureen couldn’t help but giggle a little.
“He was.”She nodded.“By almost seven years.But I didn’t know that right away.”
If Elise thought anything about the age gap, she didn’t say anything, but Maureen hadn’t expected her to.Back then, an older boy dating a younger girl wasn’t anything unusual.She was eighteen, a young woman capable of making her own decisions.And that summer, all her decisions revolved around Adam.
Maureen once more scanned the room, as she had been all evening.There was still no sign of him.There was no sign of anyone new at the inn at all.While they’d been sitting by the fire, guests had come and gone, helping themselves to warm drinks and taking in the Christmas decorations on their way to the dining room.None of them seemed at all concerned by the worsening storm outside.
They sat in silence for a moment while Maureen let the memories from that summer so long ago take over.She hadn’t allowed herself the luxury of remembering those magical, heady weeks for so long…too long.
After the solstice dance, they were nearly inseparable.Maureen would pack picnic baskets full of leftover fried chicken, deviled egg sandwiches, juicy strawberries, and of course, bottles of freshly squeezed lemonade for them to feast on as they lay on a blanket in a quiet corner of the beach, or in a grassy meadow, away from the crowds and Maureen’s nosy friends.
She never could bring herself to drink lemonade after that summer.
“Excuse me, ladies.”
Both Maureen and Elise turned to see a young male employee with an armload of wood.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll just be a moment stoking the fire.”
“Thank you, Billy.”Elise gave the boy a warm smile.“You take such good care of us.”
“I do what I can, ma’am.”They watched as he set about placing fresh logs in the fireplace.The wood snapped and crackled as it caught flame.“Is there anything else I can get either of you?”He glanced at their empty cups.“Some more hot chocolate, perhaps?”
“Oh, dear.I’ll be up all night if I have any more.”
