Love Me Not, page 20
I was not a crier by nature, but I also wasn’t totally dead inside. Fighting my own tears, I hugged her again. “I’m going to miss you, too. But one day I’ll come see you on stage in New York, and I expect to be thanked in your Tony speech.”
“Oh my gosh, I’ll never win a Tony, but if that miracle happens, you’ll be the first one I thank.”
Knowing that wasn’t true didn’t dim the sentiment in the least.
“Looks like we need tissues over here,” said Trey, appearing out of nowhere. “I hope these are happy tears.”
Emma nodded as she plucked a tissue from the box in his hand. “I’m really happy right now.”
“We need to go meet the others,” Kaitlyn said, snagging a tissue of her own. “Burke’s dad is taking us all out for pizza. You two are coming, right?” she said, looking from Trey to me.
“Are we?” he said, looking to me for an answer.
He didn’t mention that he was hosting our friends at his place, and I was tempted to see what he’d do if I agreed to the pizza. Presumably, he thought I didn’t know about his little get together yet.
“We’d love to,” I started, and watched his shoulders fall, “but Coach Collins is hosting a gathering of some friends at his place, and the host can’t not show up for his own party.”
“Then you can come,” Emma replied, pointing at me.
With a smile, I cut my gaze to Trey. “I’m actually going with him, but maybe next time.”
The girls took a second to catch on, but then their faces split into knowing smiles.
“Right,” Emma said. “That makes sense.” Taking Kaitlyn by the hand, she called, “See you tomorrow then,” over her shoulder as they hurried off to meet the others.
Trey watched me, his lips curving up in a grin. “How did you know about the party?”
“Josie told me.” My phone dinged and I checked the screen. “And now I have the address. Guess I’ll see you there.”
“Wait,” he said, snagging my hand as I turned to walk out. “Are we good? You had me worried before the show started.”
How should I answer that? Was I supposed to pretend I didn’t know? Let him keep his secret and act like I wasn’t a complete basket case for the last two weeks?
Who was I kidding?
“Carole told me what you’ve been doing.”
Disappointment swept the grin away. “I asked her not to do that.”
“Why?”
Trey sighed. “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to be a hero. I saw a problem and I set out to fix it if I could.”
I was not a schmoozer, nor did I have the connections he was afforded due to being the great Coach Collins. There was no way I could have pulled off what he did, and I never would have thought to try.
“What’s wrong with taking credit for that? You could have told me from the beginning. Not that you needed my help, but keeping me in the dark and letting me think we were over was a really crappy thing to do.”
“I never meant for you to think that.” He took a step closer.
Dropping my head, I whispered, “I thought I blew it.”
“No, Lindsey.” He lifted my chin with a gentle touch. “You were honest with me. Never apologize for that.”
I rolled my eyes. “There’s honest, and then there’s dramatic. I tend to be too much of both.”
“You aren’t too much of anything,” he assured me. “You’re just the right amount.” With a smirk, he added, “You can be a challenge, but I like that. Keeps me on my toes.”
That’s what he said now. “In my experience, guys get tired of being on their toes. Won’t that get old eventually?”
Taking my hand in his, he rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. “Are you asking if I’m going to get tired of you?”
My pride said change the subject or make a joke, but I needed this answer. “Yes.”
Trey tucked a stray lock behind my ear, stepped closer, and offered the gentlest, most heart-stopping smile I’d ever seen. Then he whispered, “Never.”
The weight of the last two weeks fell to my feet and before I knew it, my cheeks were wet with tears. “I want to believe that,” I said, forehead pressed to his chest.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in. “You’re it for me, Lindsey. I knew it the day you fell off that ladder and stormed out of my classroom with more grit and grace than anyone I’d ever met. I won’t let you doubt that again.”
Aware that I was getting his shirt wet, I lifted my head with a sniffle. “No one has ever called me graceful before.”
His laughter shook us both. “Well, I think you’re graceful. And beautiful and kind and fierce and smart… Should I go on?”
The compliments were unnecessary. His actions showed me how much he cared already. But they were still nice to hear.
“We should go,” I said, sniffling again and remembering that the others were likely at his house by now. “They’ll be waiting for us.”
Pulling me into a full hug, he rested his chin on the top of my head. “They can wait. It’s taken three months to get you in my arms. Let me enjoy it a little longer.”
Breathing him in, I relaxed and rested my head on his shoulder. “Thank you for not giving up.”
He kissed my hair and said, “You’re worth fighting for, Lindsey. Giving up was never an option.”
And just like that, I crumbled again, thanking whatever higher power found the perfect man for me, and then sent him my way.
Chapter Twenty-One
Friendsgiving was officially underway.
A timer buzzed on the stove sending Donna on a frantic search for an oven mitt. Down the counter, Becca and Megan debated whether the rolls should go on a plate or into a large bowl. One claimed better aesthetics and the other argued the bowl would keep them warm longer.
I was team bowl, but chose to stay out of the fray.
Off in her own world, Josie was documenting the decorations and side dishes on her phone from every possible angle.
“What are you doing?” I asked, curious why she needed seven pictures of a green bean casserole.
“This is our first Friendsgiving in Donna’s new house. She’s going to want pictures.”
There were more important memories to record than a casserole, but who was I to argue?
“Since you guys have everything under control in here I’m going to join the guys.”
The guys were watching football, which I would normally avoid, but I’d recently changed my mind on that. Slightly. Trey convinced me to watch a game with him on Monday night, and I was so exhausted from the play weekend that I’d been too tired to put up a fight.
To my surprise, I didn’t hate it. Sitting next to Trey and playing on my phone as the announcers droned on, the game was actually tolerable. Though anything was tolerable so long as Trey was around.
The sappy thought made me roll my eyes as I strolled into the living room. One week together and the man had turned me into a lovesick twit already. Though there were worse things for a girl to be, I supposed.
“Dang,” mumbled Miles as I crossed the living room to join Trey.
“You have to get rid of the ball,” Ryan informed the man on the television peeling himself up off the ground. “Your receiver was wide open.”
“He’d have been covered by the time the ball got there,” Jacob countered, bouncing Noah on one knee.
“Doesn’t mean you take a sack,” said Calvin.
I slid in between Trey and the arm of the couch, expecting him to give his professional opinion on the subject, but he just smiled and put his arm around me.
“Hey there,” he said. “Did they kick you out already?”
“They didn’t kick me out. I wandered off on my own.”
When Trey heard that we needed to contribute something to today’s meal and that I was planning to pick up cupcakes from the grocery store, he insisted that we make a real dish. From scratch. I explained that pigs would fly before that happened, but that if he wanted the sister who cooked, I would introduce him to Janet.
Her husband might put up a fight, but Pete was a pretty open-minded guy. He also loved football. They could be a throuple made in heaven.
Thankfully, he didn’t take me up on the offer. Not fully. We did call Janet for Babka Maja’s potato pancakes recipe, which Trey mistakenly thought we would tackle together. After I sliced off the top of my finger while grating the potatoes, he accepted his fate and made them on his own. I got to watch, and what a show it was.
Turned out a hunky bald man in an apron was way sexier than I knew.
The other three men exploded in various expletives as Ryan leapt off the couch to pace around the coffee table. Hands in his hair, he muttered, “What the hell, dude?”
Voice low so as not to disturb the angry wildlife, I said, “Why aren’t you as upset as they are?”
“Because the Steelers aren’t my team,” Trey whispered back.
“Oh, that’s right. You like Philadelphia, huh?”
“Yep.”
I squinted at the TV and saw no black and gold. “Are the Steelers playing?”
“Not today.”
Now he’d thoroughly confused me. “Then what are they upset about?”
He pointed toward the screen as the teams lined up facing each other. “That team needs to beat that team for the Steelers to maintain their playoff berth.”
He could have said roses need to eat Buicks to have babies and it would have made as much sense. “That sounds like total nonsense.”
“Do you really want me to explain?” The man knew me already.
“I do not.”
“Dinner is ready,” announced Donna from the doorway to the kitchen. “Come and eat.”
Jacob swung Noah onto his shoulder and headed for the kitchen with Miles behind him. Trey rose first, then pulled me up, and as had become his habit, he kissed my forehead before tucking me under his arm as we walked together. Ryan and Calvin lingered in front of the TV until Donna snapped her fingers.
“Let’s go, gentlemen. The game will go on without you.”
Contrary to how it seemed, this was not a women do the cooking and the cavemen only come in to eat situation. Calvin made the stuffing the night before, as well as providing high-end wine from Hickamore House. Jacob made his mom’s kimchi fried rice to add some culture to the meal, and Ryan didn’t get his hands dirty, but he did pick up three pies from The Pie Place, which made all in attendance a little more grateful.
I skipped breakfast so was more than ready to eat. Because we all had family gatherings later in the day, Donna’s shindig was more of a Friendsgiving lunch. None of us minded the early start time as we all recognized that there was something special in the air this year.
Somehow, in a relatively short period of time, we’d all found our happily ever after. Too soon for me and Trey to know that for sure, of course, but I already couldn’t imagine my life without him. He made me smile so much my cheeks ached at the end of the day, and when he wasn’t around all I could think about was when I’d see him again.
Ironically, his house wasn’t far from my apartment. A fact I learned only a week ago when we’d all gathered after the play. He, too, could have walked to the restaurant that night, but kept that little factoid to himself until I called him on it. He said he wanted the excuse to both pick me up and walk me home.
He looked so cute when he made the confession that I couldn’t even be mad about it.
Food was passed back and forth, across and around, the table as we all filled our plates. Becca plopped this amazing silicon baby bowl down on Noah’s high chair tray, which stuck in place as if she’d glued it down. Then she loaded the little sections with mashed potatoes, peas, and a few green beans from the casserole.
Within minutes the child was wearing most of it.
Once everyone had what they wanted, Calvin said, “Who’s going to start?”
We offered a collective stare of confusion.
“Start what?” Donna asked.
“Saying what we’re grateful for.”
Oh. He was one of those.
Again, he was met with silence. Except for Noah, who was shoving peas into his mouth between fits of glee.
“Come on, it’s Thanksgiving,” he said, as if we had no idea why we’d gathered for this meal. “It’s tradition.”
Mom tried getting us kids to do this once when we were little. Janet was grateful for Sal DelMonti being assigned the seat beside her in her fourth grade class, five-year-old Frankie gave thanks that the marble he got stuck the week before came back out of his nose, and I thanked God for giving Joe pimples. Yes, I was a horrible child.
After that, she never made us share our thoughts again. On anything.
“I’ll do it,” Ryan said, drawing all eyes his way. “I’m grateful that I found the most amazing woman in the world, and that she agreed to marry me.”
Megan blushed as Jacob went next. “I echo that and add my thanks for our little one. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have a whole family again, so I’m really grateful how my life has turned out.”
Were they trying to make me cry?
Jacob leaned over to kiss Noah’s head before mouthing an I love you to his wife on the other side of the high chair.
“My turn then,” said Miles. “I’m grateful to be here. After a lot of Thanksgivings eating ramen on my couch, this is nice.”
“Enjoy it,” Josie said. “Because dinner with my family won’t be nearly this relaxed.”
“I know.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “But don’t worry. Someday your mom will like you as much as she likes me.”
Josie rolled her eyes. “That will never happen.”
We all laughed before Becca said, “I’m grateful for all of you.” She teared up, which triggered tears for the rest of us.
“Dang it, woman,” Josie said, chin up and blinking at the ceiling. “Don’t make me cry.”
Donna hurried to the counter to grab a box of tissues, then passed it around the table. Even Calvin took one.
“When I moved here during the summer,” Trey said, clasping my hand under the table, “I wasn’t sure how things would turn out. I definitely didn’t expect to be celebrating the holiday with all of you. Thanks for making me feel welcome.” Turning my way, he added, “And thank you for changing your mind about dating.”
The girls laughed, which was the perfect antidote to the tears.
“I wouldn’t have changed my mind for anyone else,” I said in a moment of honesty. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
As Trey leaned in for a quick peck on the lips, Calvin raised his glass. “To friends becoming family. And to many more holidays like this one.”
A collective hear hear filled the room as glasses clinked together, and baby Noah squealed along, clueless what we were celebrating but understanding the joy surrounding him. Calvin was right. We had become a family. All of us. And Donna was right too. Sometimes a person came along who made you happier than you ever thought possible.
Trey was that person for me.
With a sigh, I squeezed his hand and whispered, “Thank you for choosing me.”
His smile lit up his eyes. “Thank you for choosing me back.”
The meal went on with lots of laughs, a few more tears of gratitude, and way too much pie before we all dispersed to our next gatherings. As expected, my family adored Trey from the moment they met him. Even Joe and Gloria were nicer than usual. The nieces and nephews acted as if I’d brought a celebrity home, but I was getting used to that.
Trey Collins had that kind of charisma, but he was also down to earth and completely unaffected by the adoration he received. What amazed me most was his ability to make me feel taken care of without it seeming as if I needed to be taken care of. If that made any sense.
Most of all, he never made me doubt that I was enough, and I never had to apologize for who I was. In a million years, I would not have believed that such a man existed, but for once in my life, I was happy to be proven wrong. I had a loving family, the best friends a girl could find, and the perfect man for me.
Who could ask for anything more?
Other Books by Terri Osburn
Anchor Island Series
Meant To Be
Up To The Challenge
Home To Stay
More To Give
Love On Anchor Island
In Over Her Head
Christmas On Anchor Island
An Anchor Island Collection (Books 4, 5, & 6)
Ardent Springs Series
His First and Last
Our Now and Forever
My One and Only
Her Hopes and Dreams
The Last In Love
Shooting Stars Series
Rising Star
Falling Star
Wishing On a Star
Among the Stars
The NOT Series
Not You Again
Not Playing Fair
Not Going There
Almost Not a Wedding
Not So Easy
Love Me Not
Stand Alones
Ask Me To Stay
Wrecked
Awakening Anna
Love Me, Cowboy
About the Author
Author Bio
Amazon #1, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Terri Osburn writes contemporary romance with heart, hope, and lots of humor. Her work has been translated into five languages, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. She resides in Pittsburgh, PA with two frisky felines, and two high-maintenance terrier mixes. Learn more about this international bestseller and her books at www.terriosburn.com.
Terri Osburn, Love Me Not
