“Recently, sort of. Except that we’ve known each other since we were four. So it wasn’t exactly a blind date.”

Gina laughed. “A couple of old friends getting together has great odds. Mac and I were best friends for years before we became Mr. and Mrs. Mac.”

“That’s right,” Iris said. “I had forgotten that.”

“I didn’t think this town would ever forget,” Gina said with a laugh. “They had all been taking bets while we stumbled around trying to get together.”

“I wonder how many in town have been watching me and Seth....”

“Oh, I think many,” Gina said, smiling. “You don’t look unhappy.”

“Just a little nervous,” she said. “His mother is going to need an explanation for why his car was in my drive this morning.”

“Child’s play,” Gina said. “We had to deal with two sixteen-year-old daughters! Talk about nerves!”

“But I’m an expert on sixteen-year-old girls,” Iris said. “I’m definitely not an expert on sixty-five-year-old mothers!”

“Same principles apply, I think,” Gina said.

* * *

Iris popped her head in the flower shop and met eyes with a grinning Grace. “How’d those calla lilies work out?”

“Very well. You’re quite a clever matchmaker.”

“I had nothing to do with it! I was in my pajamas and had just plunged headfirst into a smutty novel when he came pounding at the door, a desperate man, demanding flowers for you. What in the world did you do to him?”

“I told him he had to go away.”

“I’m going to remember that move,” Grace said with a laugh. “In fact, I’m going to call Sam Worthington and tell him to leave me alone! And that I’ll be right here if he’s upset.”

* * *

Iris bought a beautiful carrot cake from Carrie’s deli and walked up the hill to her house, except she went next door and knocked on Gwen’s back door. When Gwen opened the door, Iris immediately flushed pink. “Hi,” she said, holding out the carrot cake.

“Come in, Iris, come in. Bearing gifts?”

“And maybe an explanation,” she said a little timidly. “About this morning...”

“Shh. Seth would have a fit if he knew you were trying to explain. Besides, I’ve been hoping for years that the two of you would find each other. I don’t know what happened between you, but you and Seth sure stumbled around for a long time.”

“I was angry with him, Gwen. We had a fight in our senior year. It was all a horrible misunderstanding. Of course, it was mostly his fault....”

“Of course,” Gwen said.

“I brought you this cake. Have it for dessert. Norm will love it. I know you could bake an even better one, but this will give you a couple of hours to yourself instead. And about last night...”

“Shh,” she said again. “I’m dying to know everything, but you better keep it to yourself. Let’s just say I have a feeling those spare shirts he’s been keeping here are going to move out.”

Iris blushed again and felt so juvenile. “Possibly.”

“I can’t believe I went pounding at your door! He’s been so adamant that you’re just friends that when I saw his car there in your drive, I wondered if something had gone wrong! I didn’t even think! I just wanted to know he was all right!”

“That’s completely understandable,” Iris said.

“No, it’s not, it’s completely ridiculous. I know you kids think I grew up wearing poodle skirts to the soda shop, but that was the generation ahead of us. I was born in ’49—I came of age in the sixties! Free love, Haight-Ashbury, Vietnam, make love not war... Please, we were wild and daring. I married a man seven years older than me—I thought my parents were going to die! He didn’t have two nickels to rub together, either, but he just romanced me and I was sunk.”

Norm? Iris thought. Rule number one for Seth—he was not allowed to turn into a crabby old fart who just ignored her.

“At least you and Seth have some advantages. You have educations, good jobs, have known each other forever,” Gwen said.

“I’ve always loved Seth,” she said. “But, Gwen, we just admitted our true feelings last night. What if it doesn’t work out? Again?”

“Ach, don’t borrow trouble—if it’s meant to be, it works out. If not, just break an old woman’s heart and think no more of it.”

Iris burst into laughter. “You have a very mischievous side.”

“So it’s been said. I just want you both to be happy, together or otherwise. He’s my baby and you’re like a daughter. I’ve wanted this for longer than I can remember. And I promise—I’ll stay on my side of the fence.”

Iris was surprised to feel her eyes blur. She suddenly sniffed.

“Iris, what is it?”

She pursed her lips and shook her head, trying to gather strength. “I miss my mother at the strangest times,” she said. “I wish the two of you were sitting here with me, listening to my lame explanations and excuses and...and letting me tell you how much he’s always meant to me. I’ve missed him, Gwen. Seth is a good man.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know. And it’s good you’ve finally realized it. He desperately needs help picking out some undershorts!”

Iris laughed. “They’re awful, aren’t they?”

“I bet they were on sale. He’s a good boy, but he’s a little tight like his father.”

* * *

Seth called Iris in the early afternoon. “Why don’t you do whatever Saturday chores you have, then come over here. I’ll cook and you can see where I used to hang my hat before I found a way to stalk my obsession in Thunder Point.”

“Are you trying to avoid your mother? Because I talked with Gwen and she’s not going to be a problem if you’re at my house.”

“No, there’s no avoiding my mother. She’ll notice if my car is at your house and she’ll notice if your car is gone all night. And I hope your car will be gone all night. I just want to spoil you a little. I’m not a bad cook.”

At six o’clock she walked into a simple but classy town house in a nice little complex just north of Bandon. He had a yard the size of a postage stamp, a patio that could hold two people comfortably, a living room, dining room, kitchen and two upstairs bedrooms. After seeing the family tartan boxers, she was a little concerned about his furnishings, but it turned out he’d been friendly with Pottery Barn and had quite decent furniture.

There was no sign of another woman here. No distinctly female touches. And it seemed Seth was willing to spend hard-earned money on some things—like his furniture and his mattress—but there was no question he’d purchased his towels and dishes on sale.

She kicked off her shoes and sat at his small dining room table, letting him serve her. He, of course, wore his shoes. That simple thing filled her with great tenderness for him; the shoes kept him even and steady.

They each had wine and she touched his glass with hers. “We’ve really overcome quite a lot in our lives, haven’t we? Multiple losses and adjustments,” she said. He’d had his losses, his career plans shifted, the trials of dealing with a disability. As for Iris, she’d been raised an only child by a single mother, then had buried her, leaving her very alone.