Double update today.
Patrick wondered why Tessa volunteered for the scholarship. He felt a little strange that he wanted to kiss her, when she would award money in his wife's memory. Unlike Noelle, who had no connection to his town, Tessa's life intersected with his life. He was the one who had babbled about when his wife was sick. Part of getting to know a person was sharing.
He wanted his daughter to win the scholarship, but he wanted her to earn it. Erica worked hard and never cheated. She would get upset when they played cards with his family. They always cheated. Not the sneaky ways with cards up the sleeve. They talked to each other and peeked at others' hands not held close to their chests. It was in good fun, but Erica saw it differently.
He sighed. He hadn't been to visit on the west coast since her first remission. They stupidly thought she had beaten the odds. The closest he came was a layover at LAX when they flew to Hawaii. They left the secure area and met with Erica's parents for an hour.
His in-laws were second generation Americans. In fact, his father-in-law was the son of an American GI. They were not happy when he took their daughter across the country because of his residency in Boston. They had expected them to return to California, instead he was recruited for the job in Maine.
When they decided to give Maine a try, it was with the caveat that it didn't have to be permanent. Their first vacation back to the LA area, neither could imagine raising their kids in the congestion and smog. Once they moved to the house on The Point, it was home.
Maybe Erica's illness would have been easier with family, but Kristi made up for it. He felt bad and texted her. Thanks for helping Hannah.
His friend was going to flip out if she found out he was seeing Tessa. He had thought about their kiss over the past few days. Kissing Noelle hadn't felt like that. Physically, he was definitely attracted to Tessa. For that reason, he wanted to keep seeing her. Smiling, he was already looking forward to Wednesday.
"Dad, what are you smiling about?"
Gabby appeared with Ivy in tow. His daughter was destined to be a teacher or some other profession which worked with children.
Quickly inventing a lie, he said, "How much fun tonight will be. We have a special dinner planned."
"I already told Ivy we were making our own pizzas."
"My mom never does that. We only order pizza from Marios."
"We do plenty of that too in this house, right Gabs."
"Yup, Dad. When can we get started?"
"Soon. I'll pull the dough out."
He went to Hannaford that morning before they surfed. He kept looking around every corner, hoping to see Tessa. Instead he saw a lot of other people he knew and spent more on groceries than three pizzas would have cost him, but it was fun.
"Sophie's dad used to work at Marios."
"Cool! Let's go see what's on TV."
Patrick shook his head. Kids were so easy to please. Adults were harder. Why was Kristi so critical of Tessa? Obviously, she was a private person. He hadn't cracked her at all during their lunch. What she didn't know was he liked a challenge. He always had. His dark-haired beauty hadn't been interested in him at first. She was convinced he was just a surfer. A big kid with no future. He was really a guy blowing off steam while at UCLA dental school. He won her heart, but it wasn't a heart he was after this time. He didn't know what his needs were now, just that they were different.
He sat and listened to his kids as they talked and laughed with their guests. Feeling more than content being home on Saturday night, he wondered why he felt the need to date. Noelle had only satisfied the one obvious need.
His mind wandered to Tessa. Because she was adamant about not leaving her children, she must have been home too. Based on their bedtime, she would soon be alone. If he had her phone number, he could call her to say hello. Texting was the modern thing to do. He would like to knock on her door and take a taste of her lips.
Even if he didn't have Kristi's two, it was one way to scare her off. Patience was what he needed. Patience, he had. With four years of dental school, three of medical school and his surgical residency, he knew the value of long-term goals and patience.
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Promises (TP 6)
Romance(Complete)Patrick Bennett promised his wife lots of things before she died. He lied when he agreed to look for love. Two years later, he is ready to start dating, but dating with three teenagers is not easy. Tessa Simon has spent six years sweeping...
