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only a short while. If he could talk to Maggie, he could find out what went wrong, why
she ran scared.
If it was too soon after her divorce, he could work with that. He could be a patient
man, within reason. They had all the time in the world, the rest of their lives, to find out
where their relationship was going, what lifestyle best suited their needs. But that
would only happen if she talked to him.
* * * * *
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Ari Thatcher
Maggie pushed open the door to Mrs. Miller s apartment after unlocking it for her.
Here you go. Now, let s find your keys so you don t get locked out again.
She followed the tiny woman into the main room of the small suite. Mrs. Miller was
at that sad stage of life where her forgetfulness was increasing. Her children had hired a
nurse to come by daily with her medications, to be sure they were taken correctly. Her
close friend, Mrs. DeBerry, stopped by on her way to the common dining room for
meals, to be sure Mrs. Miller would remember.
Soon, though, the family would need to hire a full-time aide, or think about a more
structured facility. The saddest part of Maggie s job, in just the six weeks she had
worked at the retirement community, was seeing the residents fade to the point of
needing to move to a nursing home.
Mrs. Miller found her purse on the counter in her kitchenette and pulled out her
keys. Here they are.
Oh, good. Now, slip that little stretchy band on your wrist so you have them with
you the next time you step out. Maggie said goodbye and slipped out into the hallway,
nodding to a passing couple.
Seeing them walk arm-in-arm made her sigh. She d heard they d been married for
more than fifty years. Even as their bodies wore down and their steps became shuffles,
they moved in practiced synchronization.
Without warning, tears welled and the lump returned in her throat. She took the
stairs down to the main level and followed the hallways to the back entrance of her
office. The last thing she needed was for someone to see her crying over something as
stupid as seeing an old couple walk together.
Divorce made her moods swing like crazy. Giddy one minute, tearful the next.
Knowing she wouldn t have fifty years beside her husband still made her ache.
It was Ted she pictured herself walking the hallway with, wasn t it? It had to be.
She had given up dreams of happily-ever-after with Gabe years ago. Maybe in twenty-
five years when she was ready to retire, she could look him up, see if he was still single.
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Maui Rekindled
Then she d be ready to sell her house, move to wherever he was, and spend their
dotage together walking the beach, watching sunsets in the tropical warmth of an
evening.
In the meantime, she had to get the accounts payable processed.
She shut out the image of Gabe s face that slipped into her mental photo album on a
regular basis each day. She turned up the radio to drown out the memory of his voice
on the answering machine, her mind replaying his one-sided conversations when she
least expected it.
One day soon she d have recovered from the pain of leaving him, and she could call
and give him the apology she owed him. Tears threatened again, as she thought of how
she d treated him.
You don t deserve a man that perfect. You deserve to spend your dotage alone, and all the
years between now and then. How could you sneak out when his back was turned, without even
saying goodbye?
She gulped down the last of her watered-down lukewarm iced tea, the ice having
melted long ago. Blowing her nose, she sat up straight and opened the folder with the
bills she needed to enter into the computer.
She d only processed the first three bills when the interoffice line on her phone lit
up. She picked up the handset. Hi, Kelly.
Maggie, you have a visitor at the front desk.
A visitor? That was odd. The weekend before, she had filled in for the sales
person on her Saturday off, and on occasion, a client would insist on seeing her once a
decision had been made to move in. But she couldn t recall anyone seeming close to
making that step.
Yes, a man is here to see you. Kelly s voice dropped to just above a whisper.
He s tall and hot. And he has flowers.
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Ari Thatcher
Dear God, was her ex here to beg for a renegotiation of their divorce settlement?
Look, if it s Ted tell him I m at lunch. Tell him to call my lawyer if he needs to talk to
me.
Maggie, you need to come out here. His complexion is a bit too& dark to be your
ex, and if you were married to a man who looked like this, you were a fool to divorce
him. Now, get out here!
Too dark? It had to be Gabe. But what was he doing here? How had he found out
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