This Can't Be Love

by Maria Geraci

  He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and tried to think of something to say. Funny. He’d never had trouble talking to a woman before. “Some night, huh?”

  She glanced up at him. “I bet you’re glad it’s over.”

  “I still have to go out on the date,” he said.

  “Yeah, but that should be easy. I’ve met Jenna. She’s really nice.”

  He nodded without thinking. “See you back at the house?”

  She smiled, but it seemed forced. “Sure.”

  Despite her protests, he walked her out to the parking lot and helped her load the dessert container into her car, even though there was no real need for it. For one thing, it wasn’t heavy, and Whispering Bay was about as safe a town as you could get.

  And as he watched her drive off, the realization hit him.

  He wouldn’t have minded tonight at all, if Sarah had been the one to win the date with him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What are you reading now?” Lucy asked. It was Wednesday evening and The Bistro was providing coffee and muffins for tonight’s career night at the high school.

  “A Farewell to Arms,” Sarah said.

  “Was that Will’s suggestion?”

  Sarah nodded. “I told him I was on a mission to finish the classics.”

  Lucy sighed. “Hemingway is Will’s favorite, although personally, I find him depressing.” She finished filling the industrial coffee maker with grounds and fresh water while Sarah set up the refreshment table outside the gym kitchen area.

  Sarah was tempted to ask what that sigh was all about. She and Lucy were becoming fast friends, but she didn’t want to pry into her love life, especially not when her own love life was such a mess. Not that Sarah had a love life, unless you counted that kiss, but that had been almost two weeks ago (ten days to be exact, not that she was counting or anything) and it didn’t appear that there was going to be a repeat. Which was good, right?

  Her gaze swept through the nearly empty gymnasium. The event would begin in an hour, but Brad Connors, the school principal, was already here, along with most of the speakers. They were in the process of checking out the mic and going through the program’s order.

  Luke stood next to his brother-in-law, Zeke, and a few of the other featured alumni and he seemed engrossed in conversation. Every once in a while, he’d laugh or say something to make someone else laugh, most notably, Jenna Pantini, who seemed to be hanging on his every word. Jenna looked professional and spiffy in a black pencil skirt with heels and pearls. Sarah, on the other hand, wore khaki shorts and Converse sneakers and felt like a frumpy midget in comparison.

  She hated to admit it, but a part of her was jealous of the pretty redhead. Okay, if she were really being honest, a big part of her was jealous. Would Jenna and Luke hit it off on their date? From what she could see, there was every reason to think the answer to that would be a big fat yes.

  Dancing with Luke the other night at the silent auction had been a mistake. The thing was she couldn’t very well have refused him without seeming like a shrew. It was an innocent dance (a polka band was playing, for Pete’s sake!), but it hadn’t seemed innocent. Not when all she could think of while he held her was how much she wanted him to kiss her again.

  Gad! She was a hot mess, all right.

  She’d thought everything would be fine if she could just avoid him. But she was beginning to discover that in a town this small, avoiding someone, especially if that someone was your roommate, was next to impossible.

  “By the way, Frida called this morning while you were at the bank,” Lucy said, jolting her back to the task at hand. Muffins and scones, yes, that was her job. She had to finish arranging the refreshment table.

  “Oh, yeah? How are she and Ed doing? What country are they in now?”

  “Italy. And from what Frida said, it sounds like they never want to come back.”

  Sarah smiled. “I’ve never been to Italy, but I imagine I’d probably feel the same way.”

  “Seriously,” Lucy said, then she lowered her voice. “She asked me if I wanted to buy The Bistro from her.”

  “What?” Lucy must have heard wrong. Frida Hampton and The Bistro by the Beach were a Whispering Bay institution.

  “Yeah. I was kind of like, holy wow, are you serious? And she said she was. But I have to wonder if it’s vacation high that’s making her talk funny.”

  Sarah thought about it a minute. The everyday work of running a café could be brutal and Frida and Ed had been doing it for almost fifteen years now. Maybe Frida was perfectly serious when she talked about selling the place. “Would you be interested in buying The Bistro from her?”

  “Do these muffins have carbs? Of course, I’d love to own my own place. It’s every chef’s dream. And The Bistro is in a prime location and already has a huge clientele, but I don’t have the money for it. I’m still paying off credit cards from when I was in culinary school. My parents might help me, but I really hate to ask them, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

  Lucy studied her. “How’s it going with the food truck? Do you have enough money to buy it yet?”

  “Almost,” she admitted.

  “Lucky you.”

  The wistfulness in Lucy’s voice gave Sarah an idea. “You wouldn’t want to go in on the food truck, would you? It’s a lot less cash than what you’d need to buy The Bistro and together we make a pretty awesome team.”

  Lucy looked surprised by the impromptu offer. It had surprised Sarah, too, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense.

  “That’s so great of you to think of me! And I agree, we make a great team, but, to tell you the truth, I kind of want to stick around here. I mean, I have my parents and now my brother is stationed here at St. Perpetua’s, and…”

  “And here you have your own library card,” Sarah teased.

  Lucy’s cheeks went pink. “Yes, I guess there’s that, too.”

  Sarah took pity on her and decided to lay off teasing her about Will. The two of them finished setting up the refreshments and soon the gym was filled with students and their parents.

  Brad Connors came up the podium and welcomed the crowd. “Upcoming seniors!” The kids in the gym, being referred to as seniors for the first time, whooped in response. “Welcome to College and Career Night. We have a great program for you, including lots of information on what colleges and universities across the country are looking for.” He went on to suggest that each of the kids make an appointment with the school guidance counselor and then he handed the mic over to Mimi, who, as mayor, introduced Jenna to the crowd.

  “I know this isn’t a town hall meeting,” Jenna said. “But I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that I’m officially on the job now and ready to work hard for the people of Whispering Bay.” Her auburn hair was pulled back in a low bun and, despite the late summer humidity seeping into the gym, her makeup looked perfect. The parents in the crowd clapped politely and the kids looked bored.

  Next, Zeke Grant talked about careers in law enforcement and no one dared look anything but riveted. Nate Miller talked about being a doctor, a subject that prompted a lot of questions about getting into med school. Carter Handy talked about his work as an accountant, which put most of the crowd to sleep. Pilar spoke about being a lawyer and Joey Pappas talked about trade school versus traditional colleges and how the world would be a better place if there were more plumbers like himself.

  And then it was Luke’s turn. Most of the crowd had already hit the refreshment table before the program began, so Sarah found an empty chair near the back and sat down to listen.

  She’d thought he was going to talk about being an environmental engineer or about owning his own company, but instead he told them about the research he’d done while getting his master’s degree in marine biology and about a summer job he had at a manatee wildlife refuge park. The kids, Sarah noticed, seemed really interested, especially when he talked
about the first time he’d been in the water with the large and scary but perfectly harmless marine mammals. They laughed and asked a lot of questions, and Principal Connors had to go to the podium to interrupt him because he’d gone over the allotted time.

  Afterward, several of the kids crowded around him to keep asking questions. Sarah had a hard time finding him alone.

  “You’re a good speaker,” she said, automatically handing him a low-fat lemon poppy muffin (his favorite). “You were a big hit with the kids.”

  “Thanks.” He took a bite of the muffin. “The kids are fun,” he said thoughtfully.

  Jenna walked up to them. “Sarah! Hello, glad to see The Bistro being represented tonight.” Jenna had only been in town a little over a week now but she’d already become a morning regular. Large coffee with a splash of cream and a toasted asiago bagel with low-fat cream cheese.

  “How was your first week as city manager?” Sarah asked.

  “I’ve been wonderfully busy. Just the way I like it.” She turned to Luke. “We’re still on for this Saturday, then?”

  “Yep. I’ll give you a call with the details.”

  “Great.” Jenna smiled and it seemed forced, but that had to be Sarah’s imagination. “See you both later!” Then she took off across the gym floor faster than any woman in heels should be able to without falling flat on her face. She reminded Sarah of a gazelle. Tall, graceful, lovely, and absolutely perfect for someone like Luke.

  “So,” Sarah said, “the big date’s this Saturday?”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  Sarah stilled. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I was wondering if you could make up a picnic basket for me.”

  She blinked. “A picnic basket,” she repeated slowly. “For you and Jenna?”

  “No, for me and Toby.”

  “Ha-ha. You’re taking Jenna on a picnic? That’s your big date? Somehow I don’t see you as a picnic kind of guy.”

  “Then you’d be wrong. And it’s not a picnic exactly. I’m taking her out on my grandfather’s boat, the Martha Sue. Although,” he added with a frown, “technically she’s my boat now.”

  “I didn’t know you had a boat,” Sarah said.

  “It’s been dry docked and out of commission for a few years, but I’ve been fixing her up. We’re going to cruise around the nearby islands, do some snorkeling, have a nice picnic dinner and watch the sun set.” He suddenly sounded unsure of himself. “Does that sound okay?”

  It sounded more than okay.

  A vision of a gorgeous, bikini-clad Jenna lying around the boat while Luke steered them toward a romantic sunset popped into her head. Sarah cleared her throat. “What if it rains?”

  “I’ve already checked the forecast for this Saturday. Nothing but blue skies and calm waters.”

  “That’s great!” she said, aware that she sounded way too enthusiastic for what the conversation required.

  “What am I missing here?” Luke asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You sound weird all of a sudden.”

  “Well, you were the one who told me I was weird, remember?”

  “I don’t know how we got on this topic but can we go back to a normal conversation? I need to order a picnic meal for Saturday. Can you do it? I can order something from The Harbor House, but frankly, your food is better.”

  “Yeah sure. What do you want?”

  “I don’t know. You pick the menu.” He looked at her. “What would you want to eat after spending a day on the water?”

  “Me? Um, I’d have to think on that. Any allergies I should be aware of?”

  “Not for me. I’ll ask Jenna and let you know.”

  Brad Connors came up to Luke. “Sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to you for a minute? Liz Moriarty, our science teacher, wanted to meet you. By the way,” he said to Sarah, “great job with the refreshments.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll see you later,” Luke said to her, “and I’ll get back to you on the allergies.”

  The two men left and Sarah went back to the refreshment area to help Lucy pack up their things and get rid of the trash. Lucy was talking non-stop about something, Sarah wasn’t sure what, because all she could think about was the conversation she’d just had with Luke. A picnic basket! He wanted her to prepare them a nice romantic meal. Of all the…well, why shouldn’t he ask her? It’s not like they were—

  “Sarah!” Mimi waved to her from the other side of the gym. Sarah waved back and Mimi came walking toward her like she was on a mission. “I haven’t seen you in forever,” Mimi said.

  “You saw me this morning at The Bistro.”

  “Yes, but we haven’t had a chance to really talk since the night of the silent auction. What a crazy night that was!” Mimi waited till Lucy was out of earshot. “How’s it been, living with my big brother? It hasn’t been too horrible, has it?”

  “Horrible?” Sarah could feel her cheeks go warm. “Honestly, we hardly ever see each other.”

  “Really?” Mimi gave her a probing look.

  “You know how it is. I get up early, spend the day at work and crash hard when I get home.”

  “Yeah, The Bistro is really busy this time of the year. All those regulars plus the tourists.” She paused. “Cameron says you play a mean game of Monopoly.”

  “He’s a great kid,” Sarah said carefully. Had Cameron told his parents about the Toby incident? If Mimi didn’t mention it, then Sarah wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up.

  “I’ve been meaning to thank you. Luke told me how awesome you were the night Toby ran away.”

  “He said that?” She couldn’t help but wonder what else Luke had told his sister about that night. Had Luke told Mimi that they’d kissed? She immediately pushed that thought away. No. He wouldn’t tell his sister that. Or anyone else either. The way he’d been acting lately, it was like he’d forgotten about it. Of course, since she was avoiding him he probably thought she’d forgotten about it, too. As if she could. The more she tried not to think about it, the more she thought about it. Go figure.

  “Luke says if it hadn’t been for you, they might not have found Toby.” Mimi smiled. “It sounds like the two of you are becoming friends.”

  “Who? Me and Toby?”

  Mimi laughed. “Maybe, but I was talking about you and Luke.”

  Right. “Oh, sure, yeah!”

  “Poor Luke. He said that night added two years to his life.”

  “He was…great. I mean, losing Toby, that could have happened to anyone and he completely went the extra mile trying to find him. He was fabulous, really.”

  Mimi looked at her strangely. Was she babbling? And had she just called Luke fabulous? The word seemed way over the top for just friends

  “You look flushed,” Mimi finally said. “Are you okay?”

  Sarah tried to laugh, but it came out sounding like a pig snort. Oh no. She sounded just like Lucy did whenever she talked about Will. “I’m fine! I always get overheated when I’m in the kitchen.”

  Mimi’s brow furrowed. “But we’re not in a kitchen.”

  “Right! But we’re near a kitchen. It must be some kind of psychological thing. Like Pavlov’s dog. I even hear the word kitchen and I start sweating.”

  Good grief. If she wasn’t sweating before, she certainly was now. What was wrong with her?

  “Well, I’m glad you and Luke are hitting it off. As friends,” Mimi clarified, putting an odd emphasis on the word. “I still feel bad about the mix up with the lease, but I’m glad the two of you could find a way to make it work. So,” she continued, “I heard Luke was going to ask you to make the picnic dinner for his big date with Jenna.”

  “You did?”

  “I was the one who suggested it, actually. The whole date sounds really romantic, don’t you think?”

  “Sure, if you like being out on the water.” Okay, that sounded snarkier than she’d intended.

  Mimi stilled. “You d
on’t like the water?”

  “Oh, no, I love being out on the water. I just don’t know Jenna very well, so I really can’t say what she likes or doesn’t like.”

  “What do you think of Luke and Jenna? As a couple? My mom and Viola paid a pretty penny to make this date happen. Not that they both couldn’t afford it, and the money is going to a great cause, so that’s all good, but after the whole Victoria debacle Mom really has her hopes up that Jenna will be the one.”

  “Yeah, I kind of get that.” She tried for a bright smile. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good things to happen!” There she went again. Sounding way too enthusiastic about the whole thing.

  Mimi studied her a moment, then slowly smiled back. “Good idea. I’ll keep my fingers crossed too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sarah could no longer deny it. There wasn’t just a big part of her that was jealous of Jenna for going out on this date with Luke. Every cell in her being revolted at the thought of the two of them together. Which was so silly, really, when he hadn’t shown any interest in her beyond the kiss, and okay, maybe when they’d danced the night of the silent auction he’d seemed kind of into her. But it was hard to tell with a man like Luke because she’d never met anyone like him before.

  When Sarah was sixteen, she’d gone on her first and only high school date. Danny LaCroix had been charming enough in an Archie and Jughead kind of way. They’d gone to the junior prom and Mom had taken pictures and she’d even been having fun, until he’d tried to cop a boob feel. She’d smacked him on the head with the glittery clutch purse she’d bought at Marshalls for half off, so the date couldn’t really be considered any kind of success.

  That was it as far as boys were concerned. She went through the rest of high school studying and working part-time at the bakery at Publix, hanging out with her best friend, Lisa, the class math geek, or with her mother, kicking back at home watching old movies. Other than going to the beach, she wasn’t the typical teenager. She loved reading and baking, which had always made her feel old compared to the rest of the girls in her class who constantly talked about boys and shopping.