by Olivia Miles
Grace glared at her sister. “And how should I react? Like you? Should I shrug it off and say, ‘Oh well, too bad’?”
“No. But it’s frankly unfair for you to get into a snit when you haven’t even been around for the past five years,” she said, her expression hardening. “You think you have a right to start questioning us for our reasoning, but the truth is that you weren’t part of the decision process because you haven’t been a part of this family in a very long time.”
“That’s not fair.”
Anna lifted a perfectly plucked brow. “Isn’t it?”
Grace pouted, fumbling with a napkin on the table. This entire trip was a disaster, one blow after another. She thought that by coming back she’d be helping her family, but so far it seemed like they were continuing on without her, making decisions without consulting her, treating her like a random cousin instead of something more.
She nestled back in her chair, looking around the crowded room, festively decorated for the season. A tree was tucked in one corner, blinking with colored lights, and the bakery counter was draped with glittering tinsel. From the ceiling, oversized, metallic ornaments in jewel tones hung by wire; stockings hung merrily from the crackling fireplace, whose hearth was the inspiration behind the establishment. She could recall how impressed she was the night it opened, and she was still shaken by the fact that Luke remembered that night at all. She thought of it often—too often perhaps. It was one of the last nights she could remember feeling like he was hers, and she clung to it on those lonely days, remembering the way his face looked on the pillow the next morning, so close to hers. She could close her eyes and see that grin, that sleepy, happy grin.
Her heart clenched. “Business is booming here, I see,” she commented, desperate for a distraction.
“It’s been amazing,” Anna brightened. “Sometimes I still have to pinch myself.”
Grace smiled, her chest swelling with sudden pride for her younger sister. Despite their rocky relationship, she still loved the girl. “I missed you, Anna,” she said quietly. “I know you probably don’t believe that, but it’s the truth.”
Anna’s eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise before she offered a sad smile. “I kept wondering if you were ever going to come back.”
“Well, you know why I had to leave,” Grace replied, shifting in her seat. The chair suddenly felt too stiff, the room too hot. She wished she’d had the foresight to at least ask for a cup of coffee. Weeks of bad sleep were catching up with her.
“Yes, I know why, but I can’t say that I understand why you had to stay away. I mean, not even a visit?” Anna fixed her blue gaze and Grace held her eyes, struggling with her mounting emotions. “All because of Luke?”
Grace’s temper stirred. “I don’t expect you to understand. You’ve never had a long-term relationship, so you can’t even begin to imagine the pain that comes when it ends.”
Anna’s eyes flashed. “Don’t give me that, Grace. We’re not talking about me.”
“Why don’t we?” Grace said, and then pressed her lips together, exhaling deeply through her nose. This isn’t what she had come here to do. Arguing with her sister was nothing new, but for a few days, she was hoping they could take some comfort in each other—support each other, not push each other around.
“Okay, fine. I have never had a long-term relationship. I wasn’t as lucky as you were.”
“What? Oh, please, Anna. You’re a beautiful girl, the prettiest of us all. Do you know why you don’t have a boyfriend? Because you’re too picky, that’s why. And because… because you’re too involved in this place!” She waved her arm around the café, rolling her eyes.
“Fair enough,” Anna said. “I take full responsibility for my decisions and my priorities. I’m happy running this place. I neither have the time nor the desire for a boyfriend, much less a husband.”
Grace frowned, unconvinced. Anna was staring listlessly out the window now, and her profile made her look younger somehow, the somber expression made her seem vulnerable, which was not a look she often wore. “It only leads to heartache, anyway.”
Anna turned to her. “I’m sorry to hear about you and Derek.”
Grace dragged her thoughts away from Luke. “Oh. Oh, right. Thanks.”
“You don’t seem too broken up about it,” Anna observed.
Grace shrugged. “It wasn’t right. I knew it all along, but I guess I was forcing something that wasn’t there.”
Anna nodded, saying nothing for a moment. “Do you want to talk about Luke?”
“What’s there to talk about?” Grace said with as much composure as she could muster. Her heartbeat took speed and she gripped the napkin in her hand until it formed a tight ball. “That’s ancient history.”
Anna eyed her watchfully. “If you say so.” With one last sip of tea, she set her mug on top of her empty plate. “I should get back to the kitchen,” she said. “I have to go over the menu for tomorrow. Did you know we’re now open for dinner? Just on weekends, but I’m hoping to expand that soon.”
Grace didn’t know that, and shame bit at her. “I’ll let you go then.”
Begrudgingly, she slid back her chair. This conversation had been fruitless, though honestly, what had she been expecting? For Anna to tell her it was all a mistake and Main Street Books was going to stay open? Jane had already explained the situation; maybe Grace needed Anna to confirm it, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“You going to the pageant tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yep,” Anna said, and then her expression transformed with sudden interest. “And you know who else will be there, of course.”
Grace’s pulse skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could handle right now. “Adam?”
Anna wrinkled her nose. “Of course Adam!” She laughed, shaking her head, staring at Grace as if she were half crazy. Maybe she was. “But you know who else…”
No, she didn’t. And this game was not funny. “Who?”
“Luke.” Anna stared at her, wide blue eyes disguised with innocence.
Luke. Of course he would be there. It was a school pageant. The school where he worked. The school that housed the preschool.
Grace closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead, feeling shaky and sick. She really should have eaten something this morning. “Of course,” she said weakly. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“Are you mad I told you?”
“No,” Grace said. She drew a breath, her mind running wild with the thought of seeing him again, and she couldn’t fight the quiver of excitement that zipped through her core. She shrugged into her coat, buttoning it slowly, thoughtfully. Would he be sitting in the audience or backstage? Would he be expecting her there? Would he be pleased? He didn’t keep in touch with her family anymore, but Briar Creek was small, so surely he knew that Sophie would be participating…
“Well, if you feel like getting out tonight, there’s a party at Mark’s house. An annual Christmas bash.”
“I thought you didn’t like Mark,” she said.
Anna let her eyes roam. “It’s a fun party. Everyone will be there.” Everyone including Luke, they both knew. “You should come. We can go together.”
Grace felt her cheeks flush, and she nodded. She’d been a fool to think she could come back to Briar Creek without seeing Luke. And yet her sister was extending an olive branch, so she was going to accept it. “Okay.”
“Good.” Anna gathered her plate and mug and pushed in her chair.
Grace hesitated, not ready to admit defeat just yet. “I guess there’s really nothing to be done about the bookstore then?”
“Not unless you have the cash for another year-long lease.”
Grace huffed. Of course she didn’t have that kind of money, not if she was going to find a new place in New York. She hoped to be out of Angie’s apartment by the end of the year, and that would require every penny she had. Her first novel might have done well, but that
was years ago. She and Derek lived an expensive lifestyle, and she’d been foolish enough to think that everything she produced would be met with the same result. How wrong she had been, she thought bitterly.
“You seem to be doing very well for yourself,” Grace pointed out.
“Uh-uh. No.” Anna stepped behind the counter. She folded her arms across her chest. “One business is enough for me, thank you very much. Besides, my passion is food, not books.”
Grace decided to press the topic while she had the opportunity. “It would be a loan, to get us through.”
Anna gave her a withering smile. “Even if I had that kind of money—and I don’t—you still have to find someone to run the store.” She tipped her head. “What, are you up for the job?”
“No,” Grace shot back. “I… oh, never mind!” She tossed her hands up in exasperation, not bothering to say goodbye as she stomped out of the café and into the cold, crisp air. She took a big gulp of a winter breeze, waiting for the heat in her cheeks to fade, for her head to clear. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, Anna had sprinkled a little water on the idea that had planted itself in her head, and Grace knew full well what happened when one took root.
CHAPTER
11
The party was in full swing by the time Grace and Anna arrived, casually late and only after Grace had run out of excuses to stall. She hung her coat on the rack with the others and waited for Anna to do the same, her eyes scanning the festively decorated room for any sign of Luke.
Mark had moved since the last time she’d been to one of his Christmas parties, and this new house was small but sleek, with an open floor plan and modern furnishings balanced by the rustic beamed ceiling. The living room was filled with people she remembered from school, acquaintances she had lost touch with over time. There was Brett, Mark’s brother, passing out appetizers. She smiled at the sight of him, so very much like Mark with his wavy dark hair and rich brown eyes. That was one thing New York didn’t have on this town—the Hastings men were certainly a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m going to chat with Kara,” Anna said. “Want to join me?”
“Kara?” Grace replied in alarm. She felt herself blanch at the mention of Luke’s sister. “No, of course not. Why, is she here?”
But of course she was here. And Luke would be, too.
She could feel her heart begin to pound, but she didn’t dare to look around for him. She would engross herself in conversations with old friends and make an early departure. Simple as that.
Something told her that was easier said than done.
Across the room, near the tree that was wrapped in colored lights and draped with tinsel, she spotted one of her closest friends from high school. Perfect.
“Ivy!” She waved desperately, smiling as her friend Ivy Birch squealed and ran over to her, giving her a hug.
“Oh my God, you’re really here!” Ivy exclaimed, eyes dancing. “For how long? When did you get in? Oh my, so many questions, but first, take this. I’ll be right back!” She thrust a drink in Grace’s hand and dashed off to the makeshift bar table Mark had constructed in a corner of the living room. Grace took the opportunity to sweep her eyes over the crowd once more, this time noticing Mark, sloppy-grinned and laughing near the sofa, his arm draped around a woman Grace didn’t recognize.
“Some things never change,” she said to Anna, who was watching the scene with a disapproving frown.
“I’ll be in the other room.” Anna said brusquely, and then walked away.
“So, tell me, tell me,” Ivy said, returning with a fresh drink in hand. Grace smiled in relief and leaned in, eager to hear what Ivy would ask her, wondering how she would frame her answer. What have you been up to? How’s the writing going? Questions she was bound to hear and had hoped to avoid. Instead, all Ivy said was, “Have you seen Luke yet?”
Luke. Of course. It always came back to Luke.
She opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late. Mark had spotted her, and he was coming her way, holding up his hand in greeting. “Mark!” She smiled, feeling genuinely happy to see her old friend, and let him reach in for a hug. As she pressed her arms around his neck, her breath snagged when she spotted Luke over his cousin’s shoulder.
Quickly, she untangled herself from Mark. “Nice party.”
He shrugged, giving her a bashful grin. “You haven’t missed much. Same party, different year.”
“Well, traditions are nice,” she managed, feeling the heat of Luke’s gaze from behind the wall of Mark’s body. What the hell was he doing? Was he not even going to say hello?
“Did you come alone?” Mark inquired, and Grace shook her head.
“I came with Anna,” she explained, and Mark’s smile faded. “She’s around here somewhere.”
“Hmm.” Mark tipped back his beer and looked around the room with overt disinterest. Mark and Anna were chilly to each other, despite having attended the same culinary school, and it seemed five years hadn’t changed matters.
She took the opportunity to pretend to look for Anna to instead steal a glance at Luke, who was now engrossed in a conversation with a petite blond woman, the very same woman that Mark had been chatting with a moment before. Her stomach tightened. So there it was, then. She had begun to wonder if Luke was having a hard time moving on from Helen, but clearly that wasn’t the case at all.
“I should probably go find her,” she said to Mark, hoping her tone didn’t betray her hurt. “Catch up later?”
“I’d like that,” Mark said, turning away from her.
Grace tugged at Ivy’s arm and led her quickly to the expansive kitchen, lined with stainless steel appliances and gadgets. Safe inside, she drained the remains of her drink and set the glass down on the black granite counter with a bang. Anna and Kara were talking in the corner, laughing softly, but luckily Luke’s sister’s back was to her. “So what’s new with you? How’s the flower shop? Holidays must be a busy time of year,” she said, forcing a casual tone as she refilled her glass from an open bottle of wine on the counter. She didn’t bother to inspect if it was red or white—so long as it was alcohol, it would do.
“Uh-uh,” Ivy said, shaking her head. “Me first. Did you see Luke?”
Grace emitted an exasperated sigh. “Well, he was standing right there. I’m sure you saw him, too.”
“So, that’s the first you’ve seen of him?” Ivy looked astonished.
“No.” Grace paused. She really didn’t feel like reliving the past two days, even with Ivy. She’d kept in touch with Ivy over the years, and Ivy had visited her in New York a few times, but like her sisters, she thought Ivy knew better than to push the topic of Luke. Being back in town seemed to have changed the rules, though. And being under the same roof at the moment probably left the subject unavoidable. “I’ve seen him.”
“And?” Ivy pressed.
“And nothing,” Grace finished. “There’s nothing to talk about. Luke and I are ancient history. I’ve moved on.”
“Oh, have you?” came the gruff response behind her.
The air locked in her chest as Grace whipped around to find Luke, standing tall above her, a glimmer of mirth flashing in his eyes.
“Oh. Hello,” she managed, feeling the flush of heat creep up her neck. She took a sip of the cool white wine and then swept her fingers under the rim of her scoop-neck cashmere sweater, wishing she could peel it off before it clung completely to her sweating body.
The corner of Luke’s mouth twitched and he leaned over her to grab a beer, so close that she had to lower her eyes, so close that she could smell the musk of his skin, feel the heat of his nearness.
She flung open her eyes, returning her glass to her lips with a shaking hand, eyeing him over the rim as he casually threw back his drink.
Why was he standing here? Tormenting her like this? Hadn’t this morning been enough for one day?
“So you’ve moved on, eh?” His eyes locked with hers until her body went rigid, eve
ry ounce of her being working overtime to fight off the overwhelming sense of longing that was encroaching on her like a bad disease without a cure. To think he had once been hers, all hers, that handsome face, that smile, those lips.
She looked down at her glass. “That’s right,” she said. She shifted the weight on her feet, glanced up from the hood of her lashes. Damn it! He was still staring at her, still boring down on her, penetrating her with his eyes and that infuriating hint of a smile. “You’re not the only one who found love. I moved on, too.”
“Well, I’m relieved to hear that,” he said, and she narrowed her gaze.
“Happy to be off the hook?”
“Happy to know you found happiness,” he said.
“Well, I did,” she fibbed.
“Well, good.” His voice was gruff and he cleared his throat. He took another sip of his beer. “And all this time I was worried about you.”
She scoffed. “Worried about me! Please.”
His expression softened into something more sincere. “I was, Grace. I know you don’t believe me.”
“That’s right, I don’t,” she snapped, turning away, looking for backup, but both Ivy and Anna had disappeared. In fact, the entire kitchen had mysteriously cleared out. “You really never loved me, did you?” she said bitterly, furiously wiping at a tear before it had time to fall. “You know what, forget it. I shouldn’t have come to this party. I shouldn’t be back here at all.”
“Grace, wait.” He grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn to him, to see the pain in his eyes. Of course he had loved her—she knew it then like she knew it now. She was being childish and silly, pushing him away because that’s what she did. She pushed and pushed until he was gone, and there was no getting him back. “You know how much I loved you,” he said softly, and then, with more force, “You know how you much you meant to me.”
“I know,” she admitted, letting her arm fall from his grip. They stood there in silence, neither one moving, waiting for something, though she wasn’t sure what.
