She finally said yes. He'd asked her three times to marry him. The first time, they'd only been dating three months. He was certain she was the one for him.
She
was not so sure. The second time, after one year together, she believed he was probably the one, but she really wasn't ready to get married. However, she accepted his proposal on condition of a long engagement. After the second year, he asked more to question when she would be ready. By then, she was, but hadn't really wanted to commit until then. So, she did.
Of course, Peter was thrilled to death. Zoe was a bit more circumspect. So, they started discussing wedding plans, but really got no further. She would have been content for a date a year out, but she compromised on six months.
Yes, Zoe Cane loved Peter McCoy. He was a good man, and he would make a good husband. He was even a pretty good fuck. Pretty good because she'd only been with a couple of other guys. Her parents and friends liked him and felt he was right for her. So, what more could she want?
His
parents lived farther away in another city. So, the time came when he wanted he and Zoe to travel to his hometown to meet his family. But he wanted their engagement to be a surprise. She found that strange, but agreed, and was actually excited about meeting them and looked forward to it. That is, until the day of their departure arrived and Peter received an important and urgent business call. A career-changing deal he had been working on had finally been agreed upon and he had to move on it immediately.
"You go on ahead and I'll catch a flight tomorrow," Peter suggested.
"Are you
serious?"
"Yes."
"You want me to fly to your hometown and go to your parents' house
without
you?"
"Yes. It'll be okay. They'll love you and you'll have a day to get to know them before I get there."
"How will I--"
"Take a cab from the airport. I'll text you the address."
It was all happening so fast; Zoe's head was spinning. As such, she didn't carefully consider the wisdom of doing what he was suggesting, but she went along with it.
The flight was short and unremarkable, except that her luggage never showed up on the belt. How could they lose her luggage on a direct, non-stop flight? Zoe waited at the baggage claim belt for a while in case they were just behind. But it never showed up. She called Peter on her way to the baggage lost office, but it went directly to his voice mail. She left him a message.
Zoe couldn't help but notice the very handsome man ahead of her in line to report lost baggage. She listened as he told the agent how important the contents of his suitcase were. The agent tried to explain that he would be compensated, but he argued that it was artwork
he
had created and that their compensation could not replace something
he
had created. He was given the paperwork to complete.
Artwork caught her attention as she was an artist herself and owned a small art gallery.
Zoe's only question to the agent was how her luggage could have been lost on a non-stop flight. The agent merely shrugged helplessly and directed her to a small area to sit to complete the forms. The handsome man was not there as she had expected, thus ending her fantasy of him. However, he did show up minutes later with a cup of coffee and took a seat across from her.
"Do they really need to know all of this?" the man wondered aloud as he studied the papers.
"It does seem excessive," Zoe commented.
"You lose anything important?" the man asked. Of course, he had given her a second glance. With red hair, she was very attractive in a girl next door kind of way.
"Just clothes and toiletries. Nothing that can't be replaced. But I overheard you lost artwork?"
"Yes."
"I'm an artist myself. I own a small art gallery. What kind of artwork?"
"Paintings."
"My medium, as well."
"Wow! What are the odds?"
"Indeed."
They both went back to completing the forms.
Finally, the man said, "Hope they find your stuff. See you around."
"Hope
you
get your artwork back." Zoe watched him walk off. She would have never pegged him as an artist. As she finished her own paperwork, she stood and took her phone out to attempt to call Peter again. Fumbling with her purse, phone and forms, the handsome man turned, saw her juggling and rushed over to help her.
"Can I help?" he asked.
However, his sudden return actually startled her causing her to drop her phone, which fell right where he was about to step and put his foot down. The crunch was unmistakable. They both looked down and then up at each other, mouths agape in shock. Stooping to pick it up for her, the face was completely cracked, the case was well and truly smashed, the screen blank.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, genuinely meaning it.
"Oh,
shit!"
Zoe exclaimed. "I'm on my way to the home of my fiancé's family. Their address was in my phone."
"Where
is
your fiancé?"
"Last minute meeting. He'll be up tomorrow."
"This is definitely my fault," the man said. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You have a phone I can use to call him? I have no idea where my fiancé's family live."
"Sure." He handed her his cell.
She got Peter's voice mail again and left a message about what was happening.
"Can you remember anything about their address?"
"Only that it's in a nearby town called Jamesville."
"Jamesville? Are you serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
He offered a big smile. "That's exactly where
I'm
going.
My
family lives there. What's your fiancé's family's name? Maybe I know them."
"McCoy. His name is Peter McCoy."
With a completely surprised look, the man said, "Pete McCoy is my brother. I'm Jesse McCoy."
Zoe's shock equaled Jesse's. "Are you serious?"
"Of course. Except, we always called him Pete. When did he start going by Peter?"
"I've always known him as Peter."
Jesse shrugged. "He moved to a big city and became a big businessman and went formal."
Zoe shrugged also.
"I didn't know Pete was engaged."
"He wanted it to be a surprise. I don't know why. Guess it won't be now. And
I
didn't know he had a brother."
"Really?"
"He doesn't talk much about his family. I was kind of surprised when he wanted me to come meet all of you."
"He always had to do things with surprise. Well, at least we know where you're going and how you're going to get there." Jesse held out his hand. "This is amazing. It's fate. What's your name?"
With a big grin, Zoe took his hand. "Zoe."
"Wish we'd met under other circumstances," Jesse said.
"How do you mean?"
"You're very beautiful and we have something in common. I could have seen a relationship with you."
Zoe tried to remember when was the last time Peter had told her she was beautiful.
And
what they had in common. "Well, fate isn't always what you want it to be. And speaking of having something in common, what was your painting that it's so important to you?"
"It's for my grandfather's birthday. He'll be eighty. My grandmother passed a few years ago and he misses her very much. He often tells the story of how they met in New York and of their first date at a little Italian restaurant in New York. Forlini's. So, I traveled there to paint a picture of it for him."
"Aw, that's so sweet. I've heard of Forlini's." She'd never heard anything so sentimental from Peter.
"He's a great guy. You'll get to meet him." After a few minutes silence, "So, how did you and Peter meet?"
"Mutual friends at a party."
"A
party? Pete,
Peter at a
party?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Pete was never a party person. He never went to school dances, and in college he didn't go to parties or anything, either."