Chapter 21
Buffy was bored out of her mind. No one has come into the store for over an hour and she was about ready to just head home. She glanced down at her hand to see the sparkling diamond that was there. It was a few weeks ago that Spike decided to propose to her and after the whole Darla thing; she was definitely ready to say yes. He was all romantic about it, too. She came home from work to find the house illuminated with candlelight, soft music playing, and dinner for two prepared. Tara was upstairs with the babies to give them some privacy. Spike got down on one knee after they ate and pulled the most beautiful, diamond ring out of his pocket. He claimed that it belonged to his mother, which just made her treasure it all the more.
“Nice place you have here.”
Buffy was broken out of her reverie by the familiar voice. She was too distracted in her thoughts to notice that anyone entered the shop. When she looked up to see who it was, a bright smile lit up her face. “Lindsey? Oh my god,” she said, then walked over to the man and gave him a big hug. “What are you doing here?” she wondered when she pulled out of the embrace.
“I would say business, but then I’d be lying. I just needed to get out of Boston for a while. It’s never too early for a vacation, figured I would pay you a visit. I see you’re doing well here,” he replied, looking around the store.
Buffy nodded. “I didn’t figure you for ever wanting to leave Wolfram and Hart, not even for a vacation. You love it there.”
Lindsey shrugged. “It has its moments, but things haven’t been the same without you. The secretary they hired after you left is a complete twit. She can’t do anything right. I’m starting to think that she might be sleeping with the boss. Why else would he keep her around?”
Buffy laughed. “Well, not everyone can be as great as me. It’s really good to see you, Lindsey. You’re the only person I miss at that hellhole. I’m sorry we kinda lost touch, I’ve just been pretty busy here.”
Lindsey glanced down and noticed the shining jewel on her finger. “Yeah, I can see that. I guess congratulations are in order. So, who’s the lucky guy?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Try me.”
Buffy took a deep breath. “Well, when I first came here I ended up being a nanny for my sister’s husband and daughter, who I didn’t even know existed. And well, I became more than just that.”
Lindsey’s eyes widened. “I have to say I never would have seen that coming. That has to feel a bit weird.”
Buffy nodded. “It did at first, but now I can’t imagine being with anyone else.” She went to her purse to take out her wallet, opening it to show him a few pictures inside. “These are our three little ones. Emma is Spike and Elizabeth’s daughter, and the other two are ours. I had them about six months ago.”
He gazed down at the photos. “They’re cute ones. You hardly look like you had twins. You got your figure back and everything.”
Buffy laughed and put her wallet away. “Walking everywhere would do that to you, but I really couldn’t be happier. I love my family and I don’t know what I would do without them. We’re planning on getting married around Christmas.”
Lindsey could tell how happy she was. It made his excuse for really coming to Sunnydale seem stupid, but she instantly saw through it.
“So, why are you really here? I refuse to believe you just wanted a vacation. I mean, you could have gone anywhere. Why bother coming to Sunnydale? I have a feeling it wasn’t just to catch up with me.”
Lindsey ran his fingers through his hair and thought about what to tell her. “I do have my reasons, but it’s nothing that matters now.”
Buffy could tell that he was nervous. “You know you can still tell me anything, Lindsey. We used to be really close.”
He nodded and took a breath to calm his nerves. “Well, you know that I used to like you. You said that you just wanted to be friends and I respected that, but I realized recently that I still have feelings for you. I guess I just came here to see if we could have a chance. I see that’s not exactly possible now.”
Buffy clearly wasn’t expecting that. “You came here just to see if we had a chance? I think you already knew the answer to that, even if I wasn’t with Spike. Things wouldn’t have worked out with us when I lived in Boston, so I doubt they would have now that I live here. You know long distance relationships never work out. That’s why I turned you down when I moved, Lindsey.”
“I thought it was because of that Riley guy. You hardly trusted anyone after him.”
She nodded again. “It was partly because of him, but you were just a good friend. I never felt that way about you. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I was expecting, but there is a method to my madness. I’ve been seeing someone recently and I just wanted to know if there was anything between us before I got too serious with her. I should have known that there wasn’t, but I just had to see you one more time. You look really great, Buffy. I can tell how happy you are and I’m glad that you’ve found that. You really deserve it.”
Buffy smiled and gave her old friend a hug. “We’ll always be friends, Lindsey. I’m sure that girl you’re with is great. She would have to be if you picked her. You should really give her a chance.”
Lindsey agreed and held her tighter. He pulled away at the sound of a throat being cleared behind him.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Buffy pulled away as well to see Spike standing there. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Tara’s watching the kids and I wanted to take you to lunch, but if you’re busy,” he said, looking over at Lindsey.
Buffy shook her head and introduced them. “Lindsey was a good friend of mine in Boston. He just decided to pay me a visit. This is Spike, my fiancé,” she finished.
They both shook hands, dropping them after a moment.
Lindsey took the awkward silence as his cue to leave. “Well, it was great seeing you again, Buffy. I should really head back now.” He gave her one more hug, then turned to Spike. “It was nice to meet you. You’re a very lucky man. She’s really special.”
Spike nodded. “That she is.”
Lindsey nodded as well, then left the store.
Spike gazed at Buffy once he was gone. “So, just a friend?”
She slapped his arm. “Yes, he was just a friend. Lindsey had a thing for me, but I never saw him as more than a friend.”
Spike felt relieved by that and put his arm around her. “That’s good to know. Now, let’s get something to eat.”