LITMIR.BIZ

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Will Lincoln sat in that booth and ordered the day’s special. Today it was ham and cheese on a croissant with potato salad, Jake noted as he glanced at the chalkboard behind the counter on his way to the booth. When he got there, he stopped short. He wasn’t sure which shocked him more, that it was already occupied or that the person whose face was buried in the menu was Bree O’Brien.

      It took less than a heartbeat for him to note that her bare shoulders were pink from the sun, that she wore the turquoise sundress that had always been a favorite of his, that she looked exhausted.

      Before any of that could really sink in, he wheeled around and bumped straight into Mack, then brushed past him without stopping.

      “Where are you going?” Mack demanded.

      “Let’s go to Brady’s for lunch,” Jake said in a clipped, urgent undertone as he paused just long enough to give Mack a hard look that begged him to stop asking questions.

      Mack stared at him blankly, obviously not picking up on Jake’s signal. “Why?”

      “Because I’m in the mood for a crab-cake sandwich and a beer,” Jake said impatiently, weaving past three women blocking the aisle.

      He didn’t wait to see if Mack followed but headed right back out onto the street, where he stopped and sucked in a deep breath. Damn, that woman should not be able to get to him like this, not after six years. And she’d done it without even once looking him in the eye or opening her mouth. It was pitiful. He was pitiful. Why should it matter to him that she looked as if she hadn’t slept in a week?

      “Would you mind telling me why you’re both out here?” Will asked when he came upon them standing on the sidewalk in the blazing late-July heat. His crisply ironed sport shirt was wilting and he’d tugged off his tie. He was clearly anxious to get inside in air-conditioning.

      “I have no idea,” Mack responded with a shrug. “Jake’s apparently developed a sudden craving for a crab cake.”

      When Jake met Will’s gaze, he saw the knowing amusement in his friend’s eyes. That was the problem with hanging out with the same bunch of guys since elementary school. None of them had one damn secret from the others. Will, with his Ph.D. in psychology, was capable of guessing the source of Jake’s suddenly skittish mood.

      Will sighed. “I was wondering when he was going to find out that Bree’s in town.”

      Mack looked momentarily surprised, then nodded. “Just now apparently.”

      “It took longer than I expected,” Will said.

      Jake stared at them. “You knew Bree was here and didn’t warn me?”

      “I’d heard,” Will admitted.

      “Me, too,” Mack said, looking chagrined. “We figured she’d be gone before the two of you crossed paths.”

      “How’d she look?” Will asked, his gaze on Mack rather than Jake.

      Mack shrugged. “Jake was blocking my view.”

      “Well, it’s probably better that Jake finally got a glimpse of her,” Will said thoughtfully. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

      “Absolutely. Her family’s here,” Mack added. “It’s not like she’d stay away forever.”

      “Would you two stop talking as if I’m not here,” Jake grumbled. “This isn’t about Bree O’Brien. I just decided I’m in the mood for a crab-cake sandwich. That’s it.”

      “Last time I checked, Sally made a halfway-decent crab-cake sandwich,” Will remarked, calling him on the blatant lie.

      “Hardly anyplace around here that doesn’t,” Mack agreed.

      Jake tired of their amusement at his expense. “Oh, give it a rest,” he grumbled. “If you want to eat here, we’ll eat here. I just thought it would be good to try someplace different. We’re in a rut.”

      “And you realized that not five minutes ago?” Will inquired skeptically. “We’ve been in the same rut for five years.”

      “Six,” Jake muttered. “It’s been six years.”

      The three of them had started eating lunch together every day right after Bree had left Chesapeake Shores. It had been Will and Mack’s halfhearted attempt to boost Jake’s spirits, even though they weren’t a hundred percent certain what had happened between Jake and Bree. The couple had broken up, that much Jake’s friends knew, and also that Jake was hurting. That was all that had mattered.

      His buddies had rallied around him, being supportive in the only way guys knew how, by hanging out with him and trying to keep him distracted, and by not mentioning the source of his discontent unless he brought her up first. Which he hadn’t. Today was one of the few times in all these years that Bree’s name had even crossed his lips.

      Good friends that they were and happily single, Will and Mack had also dragged Jake out regularly for happy hour and tried to interest him in other women. More often than not, they were the ones who met someone attractive and left with her, while Jake went home alone to his empty bed and dark thoughts. He’d gotten used to the pattern and to the loneliness. It was pitiful, all right, but it was the life he had.

      And it beat the pain he’d felt when Bree had left. He wasn’t going through anything like that again, even if he wound up living like a hermit for the rest of his days, which his sister, Connie, told him regularly he was in grave danger of doing.

      “Maybe it’s a good sign,” Will speculated, his expression thoughtful. “Him wanting to shake things up finally.”

      “Could be,” Mack agreed.

      The two men exchanged a look, then turned toward Mack’s SUV, which was parked closer than Will’s fancy foreign sports car or Jake’s bright green Shores Nursery and Landscaping truck.

      “We’ll go to Brady’s,” Mack said, throwing a commiserating arm across his shoulders. “And then we’ll beat some sense into you.”

       2 _____

      Bree heard what sounded like a collective sigh being released and looked up to find herself the object of a roomful of staring customers and to see Sally regarding her with an oddly disapproving expression.

      “What’s going on?” Bree asked.

      “You didn’t see him?” Sally asked.

      “See who?”

      “Jake.”

      Bree felt as if someone had slugged her in the stomach. “Jake was here?”

      “For about two seconds. Took one look at you and flew right back out the door. Took two more of my best customers with him.”

      “Oh, God, I had no idea. I thought …” Her voice trailed off. She had no idea what she’d thought. For six years she’d tried not to let a single thought about Jake creep into her head. When it did, usually when her defenses were down and she felt most vulnerable, it left her feeling raw and guilty, even though she’d done nothing wrong. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she winced at the lie. If she were being totally honest, she’d done plenty wrong.

      Glancing up at Sally and trying to gather her composure, Bree said, “I … I …” She couldn’t seem to think straight. The order she’d planned had flown right out of her head with Sally’s mention of Jake. “Can I have another minute, please? Whatever I get, I’ll make it takeout so I won’t tie up the booth. I just need to sit here for a couple of minutes, okay?”

      Sally nodded, her expression more sympathetic. “I’ll be back.”

      As soon as Sally was gone, rather than glancing at the menu again as she’d promised, Bree’s thoughts spun right back to Jake and the tragic way their relationship had eventually fallen apart.

      Sure,

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