“Take the time you need to sort this out. Just tell me when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”
She wouldn’t look at him. “I can’t.” And she walked out the door.
***
Carly missed him so much it hurt. Two weeks had passed since she’d last seen him. She’d been dodging her mother’s requests to bring Clark along for a triple date. She hadn’t had the heart to tell her she’d broken up with Clark. Her mother had been easing off the suffocating concern ever since Carly had “gotten a boyfriend” but she could only put her off so long.
Rob’s words haunted her, though. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been so spooked. Maybe having the four of them in the room together had been too much. The whole thing had “mistake” written all over it.
She finally agreed to come to dinner, and planned on showing up without her date. She wondered how Rob was going to handle “Samantha.” The two of them had to get used to just being friends in front of their folks. This was an important first step.
She put on her best little black dress, blew out her hair and wondered why she was bothering.
Her mother peered behind her expectantly when she walked in the restaurant. “Where’s your date?”
Rob stood up and pulled out her chair for her. She sat down and said, “He got called to an emergency meeting.”
“Well, poor Rob here has been dumped. Can you imagine? The nerve of that girl!” Her mother patted his hand.
Carly looked up at him from under her lashes. “What happened?”
Rob frowned. “Things were going so well that she got spooked and ran.”
“Is that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?” her mother asked.
Carly swirled her wine and took a drink—a very long drink.
“You’ll find someone else, don’t worry,” his father said.
He finished off his beer and set it down. “Yeah, but I really liked Samantha. I thought we had a shot at it.”
Carly stood up. “I need to use the restroom.” Locking herself in a stall, she tried to gain her composure. Should she just tell her mother she and Rob were a couple? But what if it didn’t work out? That could really drive a wedge between her mom and Wayne. The situation still seemed too impossible to consider.
She went back to the table but couldn’t eat much of her dinner. She was too aware of Rob’s eyes on her, remembering every touch, every place they’d made love.
As Wayne fished out his credit card to pay the bill, her mother planted a big kiss on Rob’s cheek. “If she means that much to you, I think you should go after her.”
“Really?”
Rob looked at Carly. “What do you think I should do?”
She looked at her half-eaten plate of food. “Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be.”
Her mother nudged her shoulder. “Hey, show your brother a little more support.”
“You’re right. Sorry, brother.” Carly stood up. “I have to go. Thanks for dinner.”
Rob was at her door half an hour later. She opened it a crack. “Please go home. It’s pointless to prolong things. You’re my stepbrother now, and we’ll just have to be happy with the memories.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to push you, but I don’t want to give up on you, Carly.”
She nodded. “I’m sure.” She didn’t let him say another word before she closed the door on him. She peeked out the window and watched him shuffle back to his car. He sat there for a while before driving away.
She looked in her freezer and realized there was no amount of chocolate or ice cream to deal with this heartache. She went to bed and wrapped herself in her bedspread, trying to find a whiff of his scent.
But every trace of him was gone.
Her mother called with an invitation to Wayne’s birthday party the following Saturday night. Wayne had sold his condo and moved into her childhood home with Mom. It was their first big shindig as a married couple.
“I can’t. I have plans with Clark.”
“Oh, honey. Your stepfather will be so disappointed. Please? Bring Clark. This is our first family event together. We want both our children there.”
Carly was quiet and finally gave in. It’s not like she’d be able to avoid Rob for the rest of her life. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She was tempted to dress up, but what was the point? She settled on jeans and a sweater, and fussed just a little with her hair and makeup. If she were lucky, Rob had met someone new.
She walked into her mother’s house and spotted him right away. Their eyes locked, and she ran her fingers over her lips. The person he was talking to turned around to see who had captured Rob’s attention, so Carly scooted to the kitchen, away from his view.
“Darling!” Mom rushed over and gave her a hug. “Where’s Clark?”
“He couldn’t come.”
“That’s too bad,” Rob said behind her.
She jumped. “Oh, hello.”
“Rob’s solo, too. Guess it’s a good brother-sister bonding night,” her mother said.
“Maybe we’ll play Twister,” Rob said.
“Good idea,” said her mother. “I’m off to mingle. Have fun you two!” She left them alone in the kitchen.
“How have you been?” He reached for her hand.
She stepped back and tried to force a smile, but she felt tears coming instead, so she turned around. “Not so great.”
He ran his fingers down her hair and rested them on her shoulder. “Me neither. I really miss you.”
She nodded. They heard someone coming and stepped apart.
It was her mother. “Honey, I forgot to suggest you should give him a tour of the house. He’s never been here before.” She shooed them out of the room.
Carly gulped and led the way. “Well, you’ve seen the kitchen. The family room’s packed with people, as you can see.” She led him through the crowded room into the empty dining room and then the living room. “Exciting stuff,” she said, as they stopped in front of the fireplace.
He pointed to the stairs. “I suppose the bedrooms are up there.”
She nodded, hoping she could control herself around him once they were up there alone.
He followed her up and she showed him her mother’s and Wayne’s room, the guest room, and the bathroom, and then her old bedroom. “And this is where I lived for eighteen years.” She pushed the door open and led him inside. The same flowered, pink wallpaper covered the room, and her white canopy bed sat in the same place. Her pictures and posters from high school still hung on the walls.
“’N Sync. Really?” he teased, pointing to one of her posters. He looked around, smiling. “It’s like a Carly shrine.” He closed the door behind them. “I’ve missed you. So much.” He held out his hand. “Come here.”
Stepping back and pressing her back against the wall, she tried to protest. He came to her, twining his fingers through her hair.
Her insides tumbled as he touched her. She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been miserable without you. Let’s tell them. Whatever happens, happens.”
His hands moved down to her shoulders and he pulled her into a hug. “Thank God.” He kissed her.
Tears stung her eyes as she squeezed his arms. “We’ll tell them after the party. It’ll be easier after a few drinks.”
“I’ll follow your lead.”
His tongue was skating a swirling path across her lips when the door opened. “Kids, it’s time for cake…” Her mother’s voice trailed off, and they pushed off the wall, rearranging their clothing and hair.
She dropped her wine glass. “What are you two doing?” she asked in a whisper.
Rob stood up. “Delilah…”
Wayne walked in the room behind her. “Did you find them?” He did a double-take. “What’s going on up here?”
Her mother’s mouth flapped open and closed, but nothing came out.
“She caught us kissing,” Carly said.
“It was more than that,” her mother shot back. “What about Clark? You told me you loved him and you’re cheating on him? You said he could be the one! And you’re with your…your…” She couldn’t get the words out and she pressed her eyes shut.
Rob looked at Carly. “You love Clark?”
She nodded and leaned into his chest. Rob kissed her head. “And I love Samantha.”
Her mother’s chest was heaving. “So then why are you kissing…your sister?
“Stepsister, mother. We’re not related, and Rob is Clark.”
Her mother straightened up and cocked her head. “What?”
Carly nodded. “I met Rob the night before your wedding and we…” she bit her lip. “Let’s just say I was very surprised to find out he was my new brother the next day.”
Rob wrapped his arms around her from behind. “And Carly is Samantha.”
Carly shrugged. “He was my lover before he was my brother.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Wayne asked.
“We weren’t sure it was more than a fling. We didn’t want to cause a rift between you two if things didn’t work out.”
Rob nodded. “But it’s definitely working out.”
Her mother stood there in a daze. “I never imagined…” She shook her head and shrugged. “I guess…I guess it’s fine. No, it’s great.”
Carly ran to her and grabbed her arms. “Are you sure? I don’t want this causing problems with you and Wayne.”
“Hey, if you keep Rob from moping around like he’s been the past few weeks, I’m all for it,” Wayne said.
“It’ll make for an interesting family photo,” her mother said quietly, reaching to hold the door for support.
“What are you going to tell people?” Carly asked.
“That our kids fell in love?” She threw up her hands.
“And we might as well go tell everyone now, since most of the family’s here,” Wayne said.
Carly’s eyes went wide. “Now?”
They walked into the dining room, where everyone was gathered to watch Wayne blow out the candles on his cake. The room hushed and he looked at the crowd and smiled. “Want to know my birthday wish?”
“Yeah, sure!” called out a few people.
He pulled Carly and Rob over to stand next to them. “I wish nothing but happiness for our children, Rob and Carly.”
The crowd interrupted with a chorus of ‘awwws’ before he could continue. “Because apparently, these two have fallen in love.”
No one said anything. Then Rob kissed Carly’s cheek and someone whistled. Then other people joined in, hooting and hollering, and clapping—and there was some whispering, too, of course.
He dipped her for a dramatic kiss and the cheering continued.
Then Wayne blew out his candles.
“Hope that wish comes true,” Rob whispered to Carly.
“It already has,” she said.
They excused themselves to leave early. “It’ll give everyone a chance to gossip,” she told her mother.
Her eyes twinkled. “Yes, I’m sure that’s why you’re leaving early. Want me to get that book I was telling you about?”
Carly looked at the floor. “Good night, Mother!”
The following spring, they lined up to walk down the aisle outside the Blossom Reception Grove on a warm, May night.
“You here alone?” he asked her.
She grinned. “Not for long.” She rubbed her damp hands together and looked up at Rob. “But I’m nervous. I’ve never done this before.”
He kissed her head. “I can tell. Total newbie.”
She whacked him with her bouquet and her mother turned around with a glare. “You two kids knock it off.”
They giggled and kissed. “Mom loves me better,” Carly teased.
“But no one loves you more than me.” He kissed her, and she blessed the bad karma that had sent nothing but losers her way until she’d found the most unlikely match.
“I told you that you’d make some guy very happy some day.”
She grinned and walked down the aisle with the last person she ever expected. Only a responsible girl like her would turn a one-night stand into the romance of her life.
* * *
Does she have the formula for finding love?
Desperately Seeking Cupid
By Lisa Scott
Scanning the room one more time at the Blossom Reception Grove, I lowered my expectations from meeting a hot guy, to scoring an extra slice of wedding cake—with a big honking flower on top. Every good-looking man I’d spotted had a date or a wife. It was clear that the one hundred and fifty dollars I’d shelled out for my new dress would’ve been better spent on a month’s worth of gourmet chocolate. Or buckets of coffee. At least I’d gotten it on sale.
I scowled at my seating card: Brianna Keller and guest; guest had been crossed off. With no one to bring and not a prospect in sight, I was stuck at the single girls’ table. Only, all of the “girls” around me were more like the Golden Girls than the Gilmore Girls. I loved my grandma, but I didn’t want to hang out with her peeps when I was supposed to be meeting men—preferably born in the same decade as me. They seemed to be lovely ladies, but not exactly the wingman material needed for scoping out dates.
“I said, Carly was my next-door neighbor growing up,” I told the white-haired woman wearing a big, peacock-brooch who was sitting next to me. She’d already asked me three times how I knew the bride.
“She looks younger than you,” said another lady, draped in rhinestones and squinting at the bride.
I faked a big smile. “She is.” And getting married first, the nerve of her. How many times had I slipped her contraband makeup on the bus ride to school? I showed her how to put on false eyelashes, for crying out loud. And this is how she repays me?
“Now, why don’t you have a date, dear?” one of the other women asked me. Her water glass had a big, red lip-print on it. This was like my weekly phone conversation with my mother. Only, I’d lied to her about my date for the wedding and said the “new guy” I was seeing couldn’t make it.
“Well…um…that’s a good question.” I stammered, unwrapping one of the personalized Hershey’s kisses the couple left as favors. This was going to be a long summer if I didn’t find decent date-material—I was invited to six more weddings over the next three months. My fake boyfriend couldn’t miss them all, and my mother would be at a few of them.
“You’re so pretty. I just don’t understand why you don’t have a boyfriend,” peacock-brooch woman said. Her eyes widened. “Wait, you’re not a Libertarian, are you?”