Built To Last

Erin laughed, folded her menu, and placed it on the table. “I’m going to have the enchiladas. I look at this menu every time I come here, and I swear, I end up getting the same thing.”

“I like to mix it up. I’m going to get the fish tacos this time.”

After she and Abby placed their orders, Erin dug in her purse and pulled out the papers. “Austin wanted me to give you these.”

Abby tucked them in her bag. “Thanks so much. I’ve been bugging him to bring them home for two weeks. But you know men, always forgetful. I figured if I told him to give them to you right then, maybe I’d actually get them.”

Abby’s retort may sound harsh, but love laced every word. If only Erin could find that kind of happiness.

And that was why she was here.

Erin took a sip of her water and dipped a chip, bringing it carefully to her mouth.

“So, what’s up with you? Why the last-minute lunch?”

Erin nearly dropped salsa in her lap. She should have known that she couldn’t pull the wool over Abby’s eyes. She put the chip back on her plate and linked her fingers together, leaning her head on them while she pondered the best way to approach this sensitive topic with Abby. “Why did you come back to Laguna Beach? After college, I mean. You could have gone anywhere, done anything, but instead you came home.”

Abby leaned back in her chair, an easy smile on her face. “I loved going away to college. Especially since it gave me a chance to be anonymous.”

It was easy for Erin to forget that Abby was on that reality show that had taken over Laguna Beach. She seemed so normal, not like some of the over the top fame-seekers that were on most not-quite-reality shows these days.

“I never wanted to be on television. But it helped pay for college. An education was important but all I ever wanted to be was a wife and a mother. I could be happy anywhere with Austin. It didn’t matter where we lived, as long as we were together. He’s my home.

Austin wanted to come back to Laguna Beach and open his practice here. So, it all worked out. Exactly like it was supposed to.”

That’s what Erin wanted. She wanted to be happy. She just didn’t think she could find it in Laguna Beach where she felt the responsibility of her family hanging over her head at every turn.

“Where’s all this coming from, Erin?”

She sucked in a breath. “I met a guy.”

Abby’s entire face lit up with a smile. “I know. Austin told me about Jake. We love him. He’s become like a part of our family. He loves the kids. Treats them like he would his own.” Abby reached her hand across the table and wrapped it around Erin’s clenched fingers. “What’s the problem?”

“He seems pretty settled here.”

Abby dipped a chip in salsa and popped it in her mouth. Was she afraid of hurting Erin’s feelings with her response? “Yeah, I think so. He built his house up at Laguna Woods himself. He’d planned to get married and raise a family there. But life had other things in mind for him.”

“Austin mentioned something about an ex-girlfriend.”

“Lindsay. We thought they were in love. At least for Jake’s part, I presume. I obviously can’t speak for her. They dated for almost two years before Jake proposed. He set up a beautiful dinner on the beach and poured his heart out to Lindsay. And she threw it back in his face.”

Lindsay must have been crazy. If Erin could list her criteria for a perfect man, so far, Jake met every one of them. Except he lived here. “Why would she do that? She must have loved him if she dated him for two years.”

“She thought Jake living in Laguna Beach was all a phase. What she wanted was for him to sell his house and move to Los Angeles with her. She had dreams of making it big in show business. I mean, you know how it can be around here. Anyone who hears anything about the reality show, or meets one of us, thinks they want the same. But the reality is rarely like the dream. I’ve learned that the hard way, as have many of us from the show.

“But Jake didn’t want that for himself. He’s more hearth and home. Once Lindsay realized he wasn’t going to change, she headed off to LA and left Jake behind… with his dreams crushed.”

Erin had seen his tender heart first-hand this weekend. Lindsay’s rejection had to cut deep. She still couldn’t understand how anyone, no matter what they wanted out of life, could say no to him?

But wasn’t that what she was thinking about doing right now? Granted, she hadn’t been dating him for years, but their weekend wasn’t meaningless either.

“Do you see things getting serious with Jake?”

“I don’t know. He’s pretty settled here.”

“And that’s a problem?” Concern laced every word of Abby’s question. Erin couldn’t blame her. She had lived here her entire life. She hadn’t told anyone that she was planning to leave town. But it was time to confide in her friend.

The waiter interrupted their conversation. After he slid their plates onto the table, she and Abby ate in silence for a few minutes while Erin debated the best way to broach the subject with Abby. “You know I’ve spent the last ten years taking care of my father and my sister.”