Page 15 of Meant for Me (Magnolia Bay #3)
Zoey took a deep breath and released it, along with her annoyance at Linc. He was doing the best he could—they all were. “Maybe you could just give your dad a break?”
Amelia snapped her head to look at Zoey. “He’s not my dad. He’s just a guy I don’t know who gets to boss me around now.”
“I can see how it feels that way, but…” Zoey tucked her hair behind her ears. “He would have been there for you sooner, had he known.”
“Easy for you to say.” Amelia huffed.
“Amelia, trust me on this one.” Zoey touched her arm, stopped walking. “Maybe you don’t know him yet, but I do.” Better than anyone—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Unfortunately, Linc was showing the bad right now.
They were all overwhelmed.
“Why should I trust you?” Amelia crossed her arms, lifted her narrow chin.
Zoey resumed walking, slower this time. Was any of this even her place? And yet, how could she not try to help? “Because I haven’t ever lied to you or betrayed you. Because I want to be here for you.”
“For now.” She rolled her eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen how this goes.” Amelia hurried to keep up. “You’re temporary. Just another live-in until the next shinier woman catches his atten?—”
“Look.” Zoey abruptly stopped again, turned to face her. “I don’t know what you experienced with your mom and her relationships, but this is different. It has nothing to do with being shiny .”
Had Kirsten been shiny?
The errant thought ricocheted in Zoey’s chest, lodged a little. She tried to shake it off. Jealousy was a wasted emotion, and besides—Linc wasn’t hers.
Not like that.
“I’m not an idiot.” Amelia jabbed her finger into her chest. “I know how the world works, and I know how men and women work. So I know at some point”—she fluttered her fingers in a sarcastic bye —“you’re out.”
Zoey opened her mouth, then slowly closed it.
How could she argue with such a fair assumption?
She and Linc knew the truth between them, knew the innocence of their friendship and the circumstances surrounding their decision for Zoey to stay at his house.
But Amelia…all she saw were facts filtered through a very jaded lens.
A lens she shouldn’t have ever been forced to wear.
Amelia studied her from the corner of her eye, sniffed. “How old are you, anyway?”
“Almost twenty-nine.”
She squinted, as if doing the math. “You’re not even old enough to be my parent.”
Ha. “Good thing I’m not, then, huh? Why don’t I just be your friend?” Hope waved a flag. Maybe this could be a breakthrough moment. A tiny step toward bond?—
Amelia shook her head. “You’re way too old for that.”
Ouch. Okay. “Well, what about a cool aunt?” Zoey struck a pose, both hands by her face in an old-fashioned Vogue pose—realizing too late that was the exact opposite move that a cool aunt would make.
“You can’t be.” Amelia scowled. “You’re not related to my mom or dad.”
So now she was getting technical. Zoey lowered her arms back to her sides. “What do you want me to be, then?”
“Probably won’t be around long enough to matter.”
Ouch again.
“Look, I know my mom isn’t perfect, but I knew what to expect.
And I knew how to take care of myself. I made myself breakfast, got to school on time, even made some B’s.
” A warm breeze ruffled the teen’s dark hair, the exact shade of Linc’s, and her brown eyes watered.
“Now I’m just starting all over doing the same stupid thing, but with different people in a different town. ”
Man. That was a lot. Just the thought of this young girl having to parent herself every morning—and having apparently done a decent job at it—made Zoey’s heart ache. Attitude or not, Amelia needed help. Needed her.
Needed her dad.
Zoey shoved her hands in her pockets. “I get that, but?—”
“No. You don’t get it.” Amelia’s cheeks flushed pink. “You haven’t been in my shoes.”
“You’re right. I didn’t mean it like that.” Zoey held up both hands, fighting to hold her optimism. Maybe she was just screwing this up as much as Linc. Then an idea struck. “I know it’s different from your situation, but my parents moved across the entire world when I turned eighteen.”
Amelia squinted with suspicion. “How come? Were you that bad of a kid?”
“ No . They’re missionaries.”
“So they just left you at the first possible second to go serve God?”
Zoey blinked. “It wasn’t like that.”
But it’d felt like that a little, hadn’t it?
She shook her head, pushing aside the past. She was proud of her parents—and they loved her. They were just…busy. “I’m only saying I know how unsettling all that felt, suddenly taking care of myself and being so responsible for everything. And I was legally an adult.”
Amelia jutted her chin. “So?”
“So…” Zoey held Amelia’s gaze. “I’m trying to say you don’t have to do it alone this time.”
“Well, maybe I want to.” Amelia broke eye contact, jaw clenched, hands fisted. Across the street, joggers ran through the park, while a yoga group stretched under a shade tree. A sprinkler whistled across a nearby yard.
How was life continuing like normal when all three of their worlds had been completely upended? It didn’t seem fair. Then again, neither was the fact that Zoey’s shop had burned down.
She drew a breath. Thankfully, Linc wasn’t catching the brunt of this conversation. Zoey felt better equipped to handle it than Linc right now—he clearly still needed time to process this massive change. Helping Amelia helped her best friend, so it was the least Zoey could do.
Besides, taking care of someone else helped her forget her own dumpster fire of a situation. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t ask for any of this.”
Amelia rolled in her lower lip, remained silent.
“And I can only imagine how hard it is to trust someone. This happened really fast, didn’t it?”
Silence. Then a small nod.
Zoey hesitated. How much could she say without speaking for Linc? Without committing to too much?
Then she had it.
“Follow me.” Zoey headed toward the park and the gazebo across the street without looking back. Thankfully, Amelia fell into step behind her.
Zoey led her down the path, straight to the lamppost, hers and Linc’s, and turned to face Amelia with a somber expression. She gestured to the post with both arms, like a game show hostess revealing a prize. “Ta-da.”
Amelia huffed. “What? It’s just a light.” She wrinkled her nose. “With a spider web.”
Zoey brushed at the web. “Yes, it is, but it’s more than that. Turns out, you can’t lie if you’re touching this pole.”
“What?” Amelia rolled her eyes. “That’s dumb.”
“You sound like your dad.” Zoey snorted. “But hey, even he believes it.”
The teen’s expression faltered a bit. “He does?”
“Yep.” Zoey nodded. “It’s like the ultimate pinky promise. Lying in this instance would be worse than even, say, lying in court.”
Amelia studied the post, her expression morphing from skeptical to curious. “So why did you bring me here?”
“Because.” Zoey slapped her hand against the black iron and held on tight. “I’m going to tell you some things that I deeply believe are true.”
Amelia shifted her weight, crossing her arms once again. But her eyes darted between Zoey and the post with interest. “Whatever.”
Zoey drew a deep breath. “Truth number one—I know your dad is doing, and will keep doing, the best he can.”
Amelia frowned.
Zoey pressed on. “And number two—I know it’ll get better.” There. Now, if only Linc would prove her right.
Amelia studied the glow from the lamp. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Zoey hesitated, then added one more. “And I’m here for you too. However you need me to be.”
Amelia looked down at the ground, sniffed. Then lifted her chin, clearly trying to appear unaffected. “Can we get ice cream?”
Conversation over, apparently.
Zoey squinted up at the post as she let her arm hang back to her side. All the parenting books would probably suggest she say no to the obvious manipulation attempt but—as they’d just clearly determined—Zoey wasn’t the parent, was she?
“Sure. Let’s go.” Seemed like the lamppost promise had worked a little magic, maybe bought a bit of time, but it wouldn’t hold up for long. Only action would. If Amelia didn’t believe Zoey was going to stick around long enough to fully trust her, then there was only one thing to do.
Zoey was going to have to move out.