LITMIR.BIZ

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“How’d you hear?”

      “Grandma Jenny came by.”

      “I figured she would.” He held her gaze. “You should know that I paid Abby a visit on my way home.”

      Hannah’s heart seemed to stop. He’d heard Abby was back and had immediately gone rushing over to see her? That wasn’t good. “Really? How is she?” Her calm words belied her panic.

      “She’s good. She says she’s back here to make a fresh start for herself. Apparently she’s divorced. And she’s the one who’s developing Blue Heron Cove.”

      “I see,” Hannah said, a shiver of dismay chilling her. She reminded herself that she couldn’t let Luke see how that news terrified her. She forced herself to look directly into his eyes. “I think we should invite her to dinner. It will be great to catch up.” She managed to get the words out without choking on them.

      “If that’s what you want,” he said oh-so-carefully, unmistakable worry in his eyes. “Are you sure, Hannah? It would be understandable if you wanted to keep some distance between you.”

      “Understandable, why? Because you two have a history? That’s the very reason we need to reach out to her,” Hannah said. “Seaview Key is too small to start trying to avoid people. And you know how people talk. They’ll be speculating about what’s going on with us. Why give them any reason to gossip?”

      Luke looked relieved by her response, which told her she’d managed just the right tone, casual and breezy.

      “Okay, then,” he said. “Maybe we should include Seth.”

      “Why?” she asked. Recalling what her grandmother had said earlier, a thought occurred to her, one that actually eased her mind just a little. “Luke Stevens, are you playing matchmaker? I thought that was Grandma Jenny’s domain.”

      Luke chuckled, clearly more relaxed now that he was convinced that she’d taken the news of Abby’s return in stride. She gave herself a pat on the back for the successful deception.

      “Hardly,” he said. “But Seth is the one who rescued Abby from drowning today. Maybe they should cross paths under more favorable circumstances.”

      Unsaid, she knew, was that he hoped Seth would provide a buffer if things among the three old friends got awkward. Since she couldn’t deny that a buffer would be good, she nodded.

      “Sounds great, but you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to freak out and start imagining things about the two of you,” she told her husband, deciding to be open about the elephant in the room. “We’ll just have a nice evening catching up. Asking Seth to join us makes sense. He needs to do more socializing. I worry sometimes that if he gets too lonely here, he’ll decide to move on.”

      “I worry about that, too,” Luke admitted. “As much as I love Seaview Key, it’s not right for everybody. Since I’m the one who encouraged Seth to stick around, I want to do what I can to make sure he made the right decision.”

      “You really do think of him as a kid brother, don’t you?”

      “Sure. The bond we formed in Iraq will last forever. I’ll always worry about him. Of course, he’d tell you I worry a little too much.”

      Hannah chuckled. “Have you been butting into his personal life?”

      “Maybe a little. That’s why I think this dinner is a good thing.”

      “A win-win all around,” Hannah said.

      Luke nodded.

      But despite the cheery optimism they were both expressing, Hannah couldn’t help wondering if she wasn’t deluding herself about the wisdom of this dinner party. In her attempt to appear unaffected by Abby’s return, it was entirely possible she’d gone too far. She might well be opening up a can of worms that would have been better left locked tight. Too late now, she thought wearily, pressing forward.

      “Will Saturday work for you?” she asked her husband.

      “Sure.”

      “And you’ll talk to Seth or would you prefer it if I invited him?”

      “I’ll mention it to him tomorrow. Seven o’clock?”

      “Perfect,” she said. “I’ll check in with Abby and make sure she’s available.”

      It all sounded so ordinary, just another dinner with friends, something they did on a regular basis. Unfortunately, if Hannah’s already-jittery nerves were anything to go by, this gathering was going to be anything but ordinary.

      * * *

      The unexpected knock on her door startled Abby so badly she upended the pail of already-filthy, soapy water she’d been using to scrub windowsills throughout the house. When she opened the door and spotted Hannah, she was even more stunned.

      “Hannah!” she said, delight warring with caution. “I should have known word would get around that I’m here.”

      “Since my husband was one of the people who knew, it was almost a certainty,” Hannah said, an edge to her voice that belied the even expression she managed to keep on her face.

      The barbed remark left Abby momentarily speechless. Was Luke’s visit the reason Hannah was here? Abby wondered. Had she come to protect her turf?

      Hannah flushed, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry,” she apologized. “What I should have said is that it’s impossible to keep secrets in Seaview Key. Word spreads faster here than weeds.”

      Abby accepted the attempt to smooth over the awkwardness. “I remember,” she said. “But I got through the better part of a week before anyone knew. If I hadn’t come close to drowning yesterday, I’m convinced my secret would have been safe a little longer.”

      “Any particular reason you didn’t want anyone to know you were around?” Hannah asked.

      Abby studied her old friend, regretting all the years they hadn’t been in touch, wishing there weren’t this huge wall between them because of Luke. Hannah had always been the best kind of friend, one who’d listen without passing judgment. It was too soon to test if she could be that kind of friend again.

      “No, not really,” Abby said evasively, not wanting to get into all of the reasons she’d wanted privacy. “Come on in. Do you have some time? This place is a mess, but I’m making progress. We can sit in the kitchen. I finished cleaning in there this morning and I have iced tea.”

      Hannah laughed then, easing the tension between them. “Of course you do. I’ll bet it’s in your mom’s old pitcher with fruit painted on it.”

      “It is,” Abby confirmed. “That pitcher probably qualifies as some sort of antique by now.”

      Hannah held up a bag that Abby hadn’t noticed before. She should have, since the aroma of freshly baked cookies was wafting from it. “Grandma Jenny’s chocolate chip cookies,” she guessed eagerly.

      “Fresh from the oven not fifteen minutes ago,” Hannah told her.

      “Now it does feel like old times,” Abby said, leading the way to the big oak table in the kitchen where they’d spent so many hours doing homework way back when, at least before she’d gotten involved with Luke and Hannah had started making excuses not to join them. The surface of the table gleamed and the wood smelled of lemon polish.

      “So how are you?” Hannah asked when they were settled at the table with tea and cookies. “You look good.”

      “If you can say that with a straight face when you’ve caught me in ancient cut-offs and a faded tank top with my hair a mess and my nails in desperate need of a manicure, you’re better at spin than anyone I know.”

      Hannah laughed. “That’s exactly why they paid me big bucks in New York for a lot of years. But you do look good, Abby. A little tired, maybe, but otherwise not a gray hair or a wrinkle

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