Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (3 page)

Beth sat down beside him, pushing her knee
into the side of his leg, her hands clamped onto one of his tight
quads. She squeezed her eyes shut. A month. She could give him a
month to figure things out. He would do the same for her with ease
and grace. This was a sacrifice she could make for the man she
loved. Besides, the sex when they got back together would be
utterly mind-blowing. But no quickies for a month? That was going
to be hard. Harder than scaling a mountain in flip-flops.

"A break will be good for us," Oz said,
tilting his head so their foreheads rested against each other. Her
eyes flooded with tears and she swiveled away. She already missed
him so badly her chest ached. He brought her face back to meet his,
kissing her long and slow, her tears slipping between their lips.
He broke off the kiss and said, "You'll have some time to follow
your dreams, too."

Beth resisted the urge to push him away and
snap that she didn't need time because, unlike him, she knew who
she was and what she wanted with her life. Exactly. Down to the
finest detail. Cut and pasted in her scrapbook. Hello? Rather
obvious.

"It's been a hard couple of months. Dad...
man, his heart attack just kind of opened my eyes, you know?" Oz
said. "Thank you for understanding, Beth. For not letting us turn
into everyone around us."

Chest tight, her voice barely able to strike
its way out, she said, "What's wrong with everyone around us?" The
town was full of wonderful, happy people who went about their lives
with an ease that came with having a contented routine that
provided fulfillment. There was security and comfort in that.

He passed his arm through the air as though
encompassing the town. "Everyone's moved forward without knowing
who they really are. Like they're scared to find out. They just
keep clomping one foot in front of the other, working at the same
boring job all their life because it's easy and they don't know
what else they would do. Everyone starts popping out kids and it's
like game over. They just settle in and grow old without ever
exploring their dreams and the things they could do if they had the
courage. There's so much life out there."

Beth pushed away from Oz, her mind
spinning.

"I mean, look at your sister. She gave up a
scholarship to play volleyball. She was going to become a big
coach. She had what it took." He cupped his hand as if holding
something tangible. "Both you and I know she could have competed
nationally."

"But instead she raised me when Gran and my
dad couldn't." Beth turned away. "Don't worry, I get it." Tears
thick of guilt blocked her throat and prevented her from saying
more. She knew she'd altered her sister's future. When Gran's
health started failing and she had to be moved to the continuing
care facility, Cynthia, who had just finished high school and was
about to embark on her semi-charmed life, stepped in to support
Beth through her final two years of high school instead of sending
her off to be raised by their father who was working in
God-knows-where.

For that reason, she had to let Oz go. She
couldn't put her life before his. She began to leave the room, but
Oz snagged her hand, holding her back.

"I want something more for us, Little B. I
want us to enter our marriage knowing full well who we are so we
don't become one of those resentful, bitter couples who always
think the other one held them back somehow."

"You think I'm holding you back?" Beth said
in disbelief, yanking her hand away.

"I think we're both capable of more," he
said in a soft voice, his breath warm on her skin. She stepped
back, wanting space. "What would you do if anything were possible?
There's got to be a secret dream in there bursting to get out.
Everyone has one."

She stalked to the room's
doorway, swiping at her tears but unable to keep up with the flow.
"You know what my dream is. I want a family. I want stability. To
be smothered with love and a sense of belonging. I want people to
lean on, and for us to be there for each other. I want to have a
crowded table at Thanksgiving where everyone is laughing and shares
a history. More than just Cynthia, Gran, and me reading a postcard
from Dad.
That's
my dream." She flexed her hands. He didn't get what it was
like not having a real family. Unlike him, she knew exactly what
she wanted and had ever since she saw him rescuing Fluffy:
him.

Her breathing became
labored as she fought for control.
Breathe, girl, breathe.

Oz tugged her to him and wrapped his strong
arms around her, making it even harder to breathe. "I'm so sorry
baby. I'm so sorry. But we've got to. I can't see any other way. I
love you."

Beth sniffed and tried not to bawl. It was
only a month. She could do a month. It would be fine.

"We'll be even better than ever after."

She nodded, trusting him. She pulled in a
deep breath, trying to relax and be okay with the idea. What was
she going to do about the wedding? Keep planning? Or was she
supposed to hold off on that, too?

Oz said quietly, "I'll move out. Just for a
bit."

Beth shoved him hard,
sending him scrambling to stay upright. "No. No! People don't fix
themselves in
a bit
. I can't live here without you, Oz." She gestured to the
shelf of photos. "This isn't a home—
my
home—without you. I can't be
surrounded by happy memories knowing you weren't happy when we were
together and that you felt trapped and unsatisfied. That you wanted
out." It was that simple. She had to be the one who left. She
couldn't be the one sitting here waiting for him to come
back.

Oz reached out. "Beth, it's not like
that."

"Well, that's how it feels. Call me when you
want me again." She wrenched the engagement ring off her finger and
set it on top of the TV, tears streaking down her cheeks. She
bolted from the trailer, slamming the door behind her.

Sobs rose up in her throat as she revved her
Volvo, then popped it into gear. The tires screeched as she flew
away from the trailer like a tornado. She pointed the wagon toward
work, wiping away her tears with the heel of her hand as she wove
down the road. Son of a bitch.

How did she become
that
woman? How had she
misread his cues about him wanting family and a big house? And what
the heck was wrong with being like everyone else? She shivered and
cranked the car's heat. How was she going to survive being away
from him for a whole month when they lived in the same town? The
rumor mill was going to lock it into overdrive and steamroll them
until there was nothing left.

She flicked on the wipers, swishing the cold
spring rain to the side. She slowed her thoughts to match the
wiper's pacing. Her Plan A for all crises was to run to her sister.
But with Oz's words still ringing in her ears, she knew she
couldn't ask her sister to save her. Not this time. She had to let
her sister live her life. Just like she had to let Oz live his.

Plan B was always Gran. But Gran couldn't
take her in. Which meant Plan C.

Unfortunately, there was no Plan C.

Her best friend, Katie, lived in a
one-bedroom basement suite and was also Oz's kid sister meaning she
couldn't put her in a position where it looked like she was
choosing sides. And everyone else in town... well, she didn't want
to go there for a whole month.

The problem with standing on her own two
feet, which was exactly what she needed to do, was that her own two
feet couldn't afford setting her up in a new place. And a new place
for one month was unrealistic. She'd really screwed the pooch
thanks to her stupid pride.

She hunched over her steering wheel, hurt
clenching her soul as she stared at the delicate buds trying to
leaf out on the trees lining the road. She stared until the world
fuzzed out of focus and a car tooted cheerfully behind her. She
bolted upright, forcing herself to steer her car through the
four-way stop and on to work. Although the wipers creaked their way
across the windshield, her vision remained blurred by water. She
dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan and wrestled
with the urge to run. Run from Oz and the pain of his rejection.
Run from the town and the inevitable gossip, meddling, and
kind-hearted looks which would break her down piece by piece. Run
from this place, so laden with memories. Run from everything.

But she couldn't. She couldn't run out on
Gran, Cynthia, and her patients just because she was experiencing a
painful speed bump in her love life. Sighing with resignation she
pulled into the hospital's parking lot and stared at the low brick
building. Finishing her afternoon shift while she looked and felt
like a bag of run-over crap was going to suck big time.

Sighing, she plopped one foot out of the
car, then the other. She stomped through a cold puddle, squelching
her way down the hospital's hallways seeking Katie who was on day
shift. Despite knowing Katie couldn't save her, she needed some
no-nonsense advice from the friend who'd been there since the day
she found Beth hiding in a corner of the funeral home bawling her
eyes out over her mother. Katie had rubbed her back and handed her
tissue after tissue without saying a word. When Beth was finally
all cried out, Katie had pulled her down the alley behind Main
Street and told her to wait outside the back door of Benny's Big
Burger. With a confidence that had surprised fourteen-year-old
Beth, Katie had strode into Benny's unused delivery entrance and
returned a minute later with a pie plate containing half of his
well-known chocolate maven pie and two forks. They'd plunked down
in the alley, their backs against the rough brick wall, and dug in.
When they were done with the pie, not only were they best friends,
but Katie had slipped back into the restaurant to return the plate
and forks putting Beth at ease.

Pausing in the quiet hospital hall, the
smell of antiseptic clinging to her, Beth peeked around the corner,
hoping to spy Katie's familiar kitten-patterned nursing scrubs.
Katie sat at her nursing station, head bent, a slight smile on her
face—without a doubt reading a romance novel. Beth checked her
watch. She'd missed over an hour of her afternoon shift. Taking a
deep breath, she scurried to Katie, keeping her head lowered so
nobody could see her bloodshot eyes.

"Oh, hey," Katie glanced up, slipping papers
into an uneven stack, almost like she was stashing a novel in among
them.

"Hiding a gushy romance?" Beth asked in a
gloomily voice, her attempt at humor failing. God, this was going
to suck. Everyone was going to know there was trouble before coffee
break even hit.

Katie cleared her throat and cast her eyes
to the side, her fingers fidgeting with the stack of papers. "Did
Dr. Leham find you? He paged you, like, twenty times."

"What? Who?"

"The new guy. Dr. Leham."

"Oh, right. No."

Katie frowned at Beth. "You feeling okay?
You don't look too good." She swiftly brought Beth behind the
protection of the nursing station's high counter and pushed her
into a chair, twisting her away from an incoming nurse.

Beth rubbed her bare finger and tried to
smile. "Know anyone who needs a temporary roommate?"

Katie spit out the coffee she was drinking
and began coughing and sputtering. "What!? Where the hell is your
ring?"

Beth bit her lower lip, trying to stop from
tearing up. "We're taking a break."

"Holy tarnation! Is this because of Mandy? I
know she's still yearning after him, but I thought he'd learned his
lesson with her ages ago."

Beth sniffed and shook her head. "It's not
Mandy. It's me. He wasn't ready." She buried her head in her hands
and stared at her wet sneakers.

"Men," Katie grumbled. "Such
commitmentphobes. It's nothing more than cold feet." She hoisted
Beth out of the chair. "You need to put on a push-up bra and stomp
over there and let him know that he's going to lose a good thing if
he keeps acting this way."

Beth resisted Katie's physical directing. "I
can't. If I push him on this... that'll be it. I know it. He's
freaked out, Katie. Something's wrong." She met Katie's dark eyes.
"I can't lose him."

Katie studied Beth for a moment, then pulled
her into her into a tight hug. She sighed heavily. "Well, whatever
you decide, I'm with you, okay? You'll get through this. And we'll
smarten him up if it's the last thing we do."

Chapter 3

Beth sat at her desk, back to her office
door, and stared at the small square of blank wall across from her.
Sticky notes of all colors crowded the square and she jabbed a
fresh magazine photo of a mountain view into the spot. She crumpled
up last week's view of their proposed honeymoon destination and
sighed. Propping her chin in her hands she tuned out the hospital's
PA system and stared at her pretend window view until her eyes lost
focus and the room swam.

Maybe it was just cold feet. Maybe Oz was
freaked out by his dad giving him the business and all the
responsibility that came with it. Maybe it was all just too much,
too soon. Because really, Oz had never complained about the job,
only his dad riding him hard about how to do things. Once he saw
that he could run the firm the way he wanted it would all be cool
again. She just had to be patient and let him see it.

But it still hurt. A lot. She slapped a
nearby photo of her and Oz onto its face, spilling a container of
craft supplies over her desk. She stared at the mess, flicking a
few googly eyes and making them bounce back to her when they hit
the wall. She kept flicking until her finger grew sore. Katie had
insisted Beth crash at her place until Oz "straightened up and
popped his head out of his ass." Hopefully he'd be working late so
she wouldn't have to face him when she went home to pack a bag.