Page 14 of The Summer We Made Promises (The Destin Diaries #3)

W as Lacey breaking a promise? Smashing it with both hands? Risking the best job, greatest mentor, and coolest friend she’d ever had?

Maybe, but she might also be giving the most amazing gift to Tessa Wylie.

Lacey couldn’t be sure until she met Roman Matteo in person. That was all she hoped to accomplish with this trip. It was a brief opportunity to meet the man Tessa had brought into the world—she couldn’t deny she was beyond curious—and determine his feelings about his adoption and birth mother.

And, possibly, it could be a chance to help two people who really wanted to know about each other but didn’t know exactly how to proceed. If they didn’t want that, she would let the whole subject drop after this rendezvous at a diner in the famously adorable town of Rosemary Beach.

She drove nearly an hour along the highway that hugged the Gulf. Nerves made her stomach twist like a knot, and she couldn’t help but glance at her phone on the passenger seat, half-expecting someone to call and catch her in a lie.

She’d told her mother and Tessa that she was meeting an old friend from college who was vacationing in Rosemary Beach . Ugh. Lacey hated lying, but what else could she do?

Guilt gnawed at her, but it wasn’t enough to make her turn around. She had to do this. In her deepest soul, she knew this was the right thing to do. She knew Tessa well enough to believe she would embrace the chance to come face-to-face with her son.

And Roman had jumped at the opportunity to learn more about his birth mother. He’d agreed to drive to the Panhandle all the way from…Jacksonville? She didn’t know where he lived, but that was the team he played for, so it was a reasonable guess. He wanted to come.

So maybe Lacey was actually facilitating a lifelong dream for them. And not betraying her “second mother.”

Clinging to that hope, she navigated the wide, clean streets of a town so new, it hadn’t existed back in the days when her parents came to Destin as kids. The buildings were blinding white, with sloped roofs, darling shops, and plenty of tourists taking it all in.

She glanced at her GPS to see how close she was to the restaurant and decided to pull into a lot rather than try to push her luck with street parking. After a quick check of the time and a deep breath, she climbed out and eyed the side street that led to a place called Gloria’s Diner.

She had no idea how he’d picked the place, but he’d messaged her to meet him here at one o’clock. The location was far enough from Destin to avoid running into anyone who might recognize her, but close enough to not feel like she was going on a cross-country mission.

Strolling the wide, covered sidewalk, she passed a women’s clothing shop optimistically named Young at Heart. She barely noticed the cute clothes in the front window display, or the mannequin being styled in a springy floral dress by a woman about her age.

She pulled the diner door open and took a deep, steadying breath.

“Hello, there, welcome to Gloria’s,” a woman greeted her from the hostess stand. “Table for…”

Lacey swallowed and looked around, her gaze falling on a man sitting at a bench in the entryway. She recognized him instantly, and not just because of the expectant look on a face she’d already over-studied on Instagram.

Holy…wow . Better in person, if that was possible.

Roman Matteo rose slowly to what had to be a few inches over six feet, pinning her with that lion’s gold gaze. “Lacey?”

She managed to nod, not yet trusting her voice.

He turned to the hostess and slayed her with a smile. “Now it’s a table for two, Liz. Thanks.”

Liz beamed at him, a soft flush in her cheeks as she gathered their menus. “Of course. Right this way.”

A moment later, they were sitting across from each other in a booth by the window that looked out at the busy sidewalk and charming architecture.

After they took Liz up on her offer of coffee, they just sat there for a long, slightly uncomfortable moment, neither uttering a word.

“So,” Lacey finally said on a sigh. “Thanks for meeting me. It’s a long way from…”

“From everywhere,” he finished with an easy laugh. “What can I say? I love a good adventure and this sounded like one.”

She couldn’t help smiling. Makes friends easily, loves a good adventure?

So Tessa.

“’Cause I sure wasn’t expecting this when I checked my DMs.” Roman leaned back casually, one arm draped over the back of the booth. “But just to be clear—you said you knew this woman. You’re not, like, my sister or something, are you?”

Lacey couldn’t help but laugh, some of her nerves fading. “No, I’m not…we’re not related.”

“How do you know her?” His smile faded and he dropped his arm. “I guess you should start with her name.”

“Her name is…” She stopped and swallowed. “I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

His eyes flickered with surprise. “Wasn’t that the point of this meeting?”

“It could be, but…” She took a sip of water when a server brought it along with the coffee, waiting until they were alone again to finish. “She has no idea I’m meeting you. No idea who you are, in fact.”

Again, surprise lit his eyes. “Oh, I thought you were like some kind of messenger or, I don’t know, go-between.”

“No, I’m some kind of…” She closed her eyes. “Meddler. I found you on my own and I thought that maybe you two would like to know each other.”

“Oh.” He nodded, taking a moment to process that. “Does she want to know me?”

“She’s curious but that’s all she’s said. I assume she doesn’t want to upset your life.”

“Or maybe I’d upset hers.” His amber eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t want to do that.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know. The fact is, no one else knows she had a baby and gave it—you—up for adoption. Well, her father knew, but he died last year.”

He regarded her for a long time, silent, thinking as he took a sip of black coffee.

“I’m curious, too. Really curious. There’s only one reason I haven’t tried to find her—well, two.

My mom and dad are the greatest, most supportive, most amazing humans who ever lived.

I don’t want them to ever feel like they’re not enough. ”

She smiled at that, intrigued by the unexpected proclamation, so not what she would have predicted from a muscular, handsome football player who probably cultivated a deliberately tough image.

“I never wanted to hurt them,” he continued. “They did tell me I was adopted— chosen is the word they use—at a very young age. They made it seem like the greatest privilege of all time, and I have to admit, it was. It is . Most of my life, we all just forgot I was adopted.”

“But you’re curious.”

“Sometimes burning with it,” he admitted on a laugh. “When you find out you climbed out of a totally different gene pool, you wonder, you know?”

She understood. Especially that gene pool.

“So, is she doing okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes. “Is she healthy? Happy? Having a good life with more kids and all? How old is she? What’s she like?”

The questions poured out like they’d been pent up a long, long time.

Lacey considered her responses, wondering how to best describe an enigma like Tessa Wylie.

“Well, for starters, she’s amazing,” she said. “And she’s one of the most unique women I’ve ever met.”

“Tell me about her,” he said, the tiny note of urgency in his voice making her heart shift in her chest.

Lacey finally poured some cream into her coffee, stirring as she gathered her thoughts.

“First of all, she’s beautiful. Like…you-can’t-look-away gorgeous. She’s a bundle of energy and loves to dance and sing—off-key, but everything she does and says is hilarious. She tries to act like she’s super cool, but has a heart made of pure mush.”

She looked up from the coffee and sucked in a soft breath at the expression on his face and the glistening tears in his eyes.

Oof . That was more than…curiosity.

“Yeah,” she said quickly, kind of unnerved by the sight of this athletic god looking like he might come apart at the seams. “She’s great.”

He took a deep inhale. “That’s good,” he said. “I’m glad…that’s good.”

After a beat, Lacey felt like she should address his more practical questions and not merely gush over Tessa.

“Let’s see, she’s about to turn fifty, has no kids and never married, and she’s an event planner,” she added. “Worked for the Ritz for years, but just started her own business and is, no surprise, very good at it.”

He drank some coffee again, processing. “Never married?” he asked, as if that fact stuck with him. “Why not?”

“She claims no man has ever matched up to her father, who I never got to meet, so?—”

“How did you meet her? When?” He frowned. “It seems like you’ve known her a long time.”

“Only a few months,” she admitted. “But my mother knew her as a kid. It’s a long story, but the short version is that they vacationed in Destin together as kids. They reconnected after a long separation, and now my mom and I are living with Tessa in?—”

“Tessa? That’s her name?”

Dang it! She grunted at her mistake. “Yeah, Tessa. Short for Theresa.” She closed her eyes. “Goodness, I hope I’m doing the right thing.”

“You are,” he said quickly. “For me, at least. What about my dad?”

Ouch . She just sighed and shook her head. “She, um, doesn’t really know…him.”

His eyes flickered, then softened. “Hey, we all make mistakes. God knows I’ve had my share of dumb overnights.”

She sighed with relief because he clearly wasn’t going to hold Tessa’s decisions against her.

“I mean, it would be cool to know him, but I’ve always felt more connected to her.”

He’d always felt connected to her? Again, Lacey wondered if he’d given the whole thing a lot more thought than he’d admitted.

The server returned, giving Lacey a much-needed break from the conversation. They both ordered omelets and bacon, and just as they were alone again, a middle-aged man came up to the table.

“’Scuze me, but can you settle a bet?” he asked Roman. “My kid says you’re Matteo, number 14? For the Jags?”