“So during this adjustment, am I supposed to just avoid her? Or risk being shot down every time I attempt to engage her in some conversation?”
“Don’t avoid her,” Holly stressed. “Madison is really a nice person to get to know, just as you are. Give her some time to come around. My sense is that she could use a friend like you there, and she’ll come to realize that, if she hasn’t already.”
“I doubt that she has yet,” Stuart said with a little chuckle. “But I’ll take your advice.”
“That’s what little sisters are for,” she told him. “You two will be best buds, and maybe even more, before you know it.”
“Let’s just stick to best buds right now, if it ever happens. I’m not looking for romance. Been there, done that and you see where it’s gotten me.”
“It’s gotten you two beautiful, precious little angels who I’m sure you wouldn’t trade for the world,” Holly said.
“Very true,” he conceded. He couldn’t imagine his life without Carrie and Dottie.
“So let’s not allow Fawn to spoil that any or keep you from finding someone right to share your life with.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. That didn’t mean he was anywhere close to being ready to throw himself back into the dating game. And certainly not with Madison, who obviously had her own demons she was busy wrestling. Stuart eyed his sister. “At least you’ve found someone to love you. I’ll settle for that for the time being.”
“You can be so sweet at times,” Holly said, blushing.
“Just at times?” he teased her.
“How about the majority of the time?”
“I’ll go with that and not press my luck.”
She laughed. “Good answer.”
Stuart laughed, too, feeling better about things now.
Chapter 3
It was the night of Valentine’s Day, and Madison was visiting her next-door neighbor Jacinta Poole. She and Jacinta had become good friends in recent weeks and Madison welcomed having a female friendship in Portland.
Jacinta was a year older and divorced. She was a professor of liberal arts at Portland State University and a longtime resident of Portland. Jacinta handed Madison a goblet of wine and the two sat at the table in the breakfast nook.
“Thanks for inviting me over,” Madison said as she reached for the glass.
“I figured you could use some company,” Jacinta said, brushing her Senegalese twists to one side of her head. “This is the day your ex is marrying your friend, right?”
“Yep, as far as I know.” Madison gave her a thoughtful look. She had poured out her heart to Jacinta last month, expressing both sorrow and relief that her life was headed in a different direction. Now that her ex, Anderson, had made it official with Holly, it truly was time to put this behind her once and for all. After all, why should the two of them be happy and not her? She deserved to find a man who could truly appreciate her.
Jacinta seemed to read her mind. “Don’t let it weigh you down, girl. If he chose to marry someone else, that’s on him, not you.”
“You’re right,” Madison agreed. “Guess it really hit home now that there’s no turning back.” Not that she had seriously considered going back to him since the moment things soured between them. She had too much self-respect to want to be with someone who couldn’t and wouldn’t commit to her.
“Honestly, I wish I’d known before I walked down the aisle that my ex would turn out to be a jerk,” Jacinta said with a laugh. “Believe me, I would’ve run in the other direction as fast as I could.”
Madison couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess it really is better to avert disaster before it happens.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Jacinta said. “This is a day for you to celebrate that you avoided what could have been the biggest mistake of your life.”
“You’re so right.”
They clinked glasses to toast the moment.
“You’re in the right city to find a real man,” Jacinta said. “Portland is swarming with eligible bachelors.”
“Oh, really?” In fact, Madison recalled reading something once about Portland being ranked as the first or second city in the country with the most single men. She couldn’t help but think of Stuart as one of those eligible men. Or was he spoken for? Holly had suggested months ago that he was still dealing with his ex-wife who left him. Was that still the case?
“Some of them just happen to teach at PSU,” Jacinta told her. “I’d be happy to introduce you around.”
“Though the idea is tempting,” Madison said, “right now, I think I’d rather let him come to me than go after him.”
“Okay, I can respect that,” Jacinta said. “Especially since I’m kind of in the same boat.”
Madison chuckled. “Didn’t I see you come home the other night with a good-looking guy?”
“Yes, I’m seeing someone,” Jacinta admitted, “but it’s pretty casual and I think we both know it’s going nowhere in the long run. And, really, that’s just fine right now, since I’m way too busy to become too emotionally invested in a man.”
Madison wondered what her excuse was. She’d love to become emotionally involved with a man, but only if he would truly appreciate her, unlike Anderson. She just wasn’t sure such a man existed. At least not in her universe.
She would simply have to bide her time and not put herself out there only to get nothing but heartbreak in return.
“Let me refill your wine,” Jacinta said, “and we can watch a DVD.”
Madison smiled. “Sounds like a plan.” It certainly beat sitting alone at home, with only a stack of books to review as her constant companion. She hoped that maybe by next Valentine’s Day she would have someone in her life to share the joys of romance.
* * *
Stuart watched gleefully as the girls played with Grace in the park. She had a way with them, and he had no doubt that someday Grace would be a fine mother to her own children. He only wished Dottie and Carrie had a real mother around who they could count on to be there day in and day out. In spite of them being well-adjusted and seemingly content with their real mother long out of the picture, he still felt that maternal affection was something all children needed. But he was doing his best to try to be everything they needed with some help from Grace.
They were two weeks removed from a trip to Houston where they had attended Holly’s wedding. Carrie and Dottie had served as flower girls and Holly was every bit the blushing bride. Anderson seemed to love her dearly and had been fully accepted into the family.
Stuart thought about his father and was glad that they’d had some time to visit while they were in Houston for the wedding. They had never been as close as he would have liked, as both were bullheaded at times and not always on the same page. But things had been improving lately between them. Both had lost someone dear to them, albeit in totally different circumstances, giving them common ground.
The fact that his father adored Dottie and Carrie went a long way in Stuart’s book, as they needed their grandfather as much as he needed them.
Stuart wondered how long it would be before Holly gave his girls a cousin or two. He had no doubt that Holly wanted a family, and Anderson seemed of the same mind.
It