“I’ll wait.” Madeline went and sat on a bench against the wall and watched while Paul talked quietly with the patrons who came in. She texted her secretary to let her know she wouldn’t be back at work on Monday or probably Tuesday either.
Madeline couldn’t wait to get to Comfort Crossing and see Josephine’s face when she set eyes on Paul. But first she needed to call Gil to set up the surprise. She’d call him first thing in the morning.
~ * ~
Gil didn’t know which aunt he should visit first. He knew they were both upset and wanted to check on both of them. He was hoping to smooth things over between the sisters, but he was pretty sure it would take some time. He decided to head over to the Sweet Tea and check on Aunt Catherine first.
Rebecca answered his knock on the door and ushered him into the sunny front room. “Your aunt hasn’t come down to breakfast yet. Would you like to join me for coffee and wait for her? I doubt it will be long. I heard her stirring upstairs.”
“Yes. Coffee sounds great.”
Gil followed Rebecca into the dining room where she served him a piping hot mug of coffee. She sat down across the table from him and picked up her knitting. “So, have you talked to Madeline and told her about Catherine hiding the letter?”
“No, I had Aunt Josephine call and tell her.”
“Gil Amaud. What is your problem with Madeline? I thought that you two hit it off. Now you’re running and hiding and you’re just so cold about her.”
Gil was tired of being chastised like he was the one who had done something wrong. “Look, I know she got back with her city guy ex-boyfriend.”
“What in the world makes you say that? Did she tell you that?”
“I saw them.”
“Saw them where?”
“Right here at the B&B.”
“You mean when he came down here and begged for her to come back and she sent him packing?”
“What do you mean?” Gil eyed Rebecca suspiciously. “I saw him kiss her.”
“Gil Amaud. I swear. Males can be so… wrong. He might have kissed her, but if he did, it was a kiss goodbye. He wanted to get back with her, but she said no. No chance at all.”
“But Larry said he spent the night here.”
“And he did. In a separate room. At the other end of the inn, I may add.”
The weight of the world suddenly lifted off his shoulders… then it immediately came crashing back down. His heart pounded in hope, and then despair. He’d been such a fool. Jumped to conclusions. “Oh, I really messed things up, didn’t I?”
“You sure did. You really hurt her, and she had no idea why you just shut her out.”
“Because I’m a fool? Because I didn’t trust her? Because I didn’t think she’d want to be with me, a small-town man, when she could have her hotshot city guy?”
“Yes, pick any or all of those.” Rebecca grinned at him. “Now, the important thing is, what are you going to do about this mess you created?”
“I’m going to try and fix it. Beg her to forgive me. Beg her to give me another chance.”
“That would be a start. Why didn’t you just talk to her when you saw her with her ex? Who is a big old pompous jerk, by the way. Not that I like to talk bad about people, but seriously, he was all wrong for her. I could tell when I first met him.”
“I should have talked to her. I was wrong. I just thought it was like the thing with Crystal all over again. A city woman deciding she wanted to get back with her city guy.”
“Madeline is nothing like Crystal, though I only met Crystal that one time at Magnolia Cafe. She looked like she thought she was too good for the place.” Rebecca scowled. “There I go talking bad about someone again. I better go do something to up my karma points. I’ll go make some soup and bring it over to Greta Miller. I heard she was feeling under the weather.”
Gil grinned at Rebecca. “That should even your karma. That and the fact you set me straight about Maddy.”
He pushed back from the table. “Tell Aunt Catherine I was here. I’ll stop by later. I need to go see if I can get ahold of Maddy.”
“You do that. Make sure you tell her how sorry you are and that you’re a great big fool.”
“That I am, Rebecca. That I am.”
~ * ~
Gil scrolled through the numbers on his cell phone until he got to Maddy’s number. He hit dial and prayed she’d answer if she knew it was him. The phone rang four times and went to voicemail. Darn it all anyway. He debated leaving a message, but the phone disconnected before he could make up his mind.
What was he going to say to her? She must be so hurt. First her ex had dropped her, and then as far as she was concerned, Gil had done the same thing. He was a jerk. A first-class jerk.