by Olivia Miles
He still couldn’t believe it. Brooke, who couldn’t wait to get out of Blue Harbor and make a name for herself, had come back to their small town only years later. Maybe the part he couldn’t accept was that she hadn’t come back for him.
Brooke sighed heavily and filled her glass with wine. “It was great, don’t get me wrong,” she was sure to add, lest he dared to hope that she had been nothing short of miserable and regretful about her decision to move there, “but I’m older now, and I have the experience I need, and I was never going to be able to break out on my own there, not really.”
“You so sure about that?”
She didn’t look sure, and her sigh was heavy before she spoke. “It was a tough business. Long hours and not a lot of upward mobility. My boss and I had a lot of creative differences. Maybe…”
She stopped to take a bite of her pizza as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to continue. “Maybe I didn’t have what it took.”
She shrugged, managed a tight smile, but he could see the hurt in her eyes.
“Impossible,” he said, giving her his best grin until he pulled a smile out of her. “I saw your dresses in the shop. That’s true talent right there. Don’t let one person’s opinion make you doubt yourself.”
“Sometimes one person’s opinion matters the most,” she said quietly. She looked away, clearing her throat. “Thank you for saying that. It means a lot.”
They sat in silence for a moment, looking out onto the rain hitting the grass below, and he thought of what to say next, but came up blank. After she’d first left, there had been a hundred things he wanted to say to her, and some that he’d wished he had. Don’t go, being at the top of the list. Or, wait for me. Eventually, it shifted to, Come back to me. But there was anger in there, too, mixed with understanding. He’d made a choice. She’d responded to it. And he’d had to live with the outcome.
Now, all that seemed like a very long time ago, and with her back in town, most of it felt pointless.
“Everyone gets stuck with a bad boss at some point.” He started to laugh when he remembered one of her complaints from years back. “Remember how Patsy had said you weren’t pushy enough? How she wanted you to up-sell the customers? Tell them they needed accessories?”
Brooke covered her mouth, laughing. “Oh, I forgot about that! She used to have me push the most expensive items, too. If the red blouse had the biggest price tag, then everyone who came in the shop that day had to be told that red was their color.” She shook her head. “I’m surprised you remembered that.”
His laughter faded. “That’s the funny part about sharing a life with someone. Your memories are shared too.”
She nodded, and then set her pizza down, her smile waning. “Patsy was hardly the ideal boss, but I did learn a lot about retail from her, and when Gabby told me she was closing her store…it felt like a sign.”
He frowned at her. “A sign? I thought you didn’t believe in those things.”
The girl he knew would scoff if he suggested they get their palms read at the county fair or roll her eyes when her sister read the horoscope pages. Brooke was exactly what she said she was: a planner. She made choices; she didn’t let life happen. She took it by the reins, and heck if he didn’t admire her for it, even if it had eventually led her away from him.
“Well, I don’t believe in fate and superstition and all. I believe in hard work. But I also believe in opportunity. I guess I saw this as an opportunity. It made my decision very easy. I hadn’t been actively thinking of returning until I heard about the space, and then…Well, it was like the idea was planted, and the decision was made.”
“If I’d known it was that easy to get you back here, I would have driven Patsy out of business years ago,” Kyle only half joked.
Brooke sipped her wine. There was tension in her eyes. “Or you could have just driven to New York.”
Now it was his turn to feel tense. “You know I couldn’t do that,” he said quietly.
“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” She shook her head. “Forget it. There’s no sense in rehashing it. What’s done is done.”
Kyle felt his pulse quicken. “Well, it’s not over yet. You’re still my wife.”
She sighed heavily. “Only because we haven’t filed the paperwork yet, Kyle.”
“And why haven’t we?” He knew why he hadn’t, and with each day and then month and then year that went by, he’d dared to think she felt the same. That somehow, someday, they’d find a way back to each other.
That hope had made the long days shorter. Made the nights a little less lonely.
She blinked at him. “Because there was no reason to before.”
He nodded. He supposed it was true. Neither of them had moved on romantically, work had remained a top priority for both of them. And now, Brooke needed to qualify for a loan.
They both did, he thought, recalling his recent conversations with his brother about the state of the pub.
“About Harrison’s—” he started, but she held up a hand.
“Kyle, we both did what we needed to do. I was angry and hurt, but I also know that you didn’t do anything to actively upset me. I know how much you cared about your dad,” she added gently.
He swallowed hard, knowing that was only the half-truth. “But I cared about you too, Brooke.”
And he still did.
He stared at her, at the face he knew so well, even if there was so much about her that was new and foreign to him. Underneath it all, she was the same person that he’d fallen in love with and never stopped.
She looked at him, blinking slowly, and the only sound that he could hear was the rain falling slowly and steadily. He felt a pull, drawing him closer to her, wanting to kiss her, to go back to that time and place where everything was just as it was supposed to be, when she was his and the future was theirs.
She stiffened and quickly began gathering up the pizza box. “The wind’s picking up. We won’t stay dry out here much longer.”
Sure, the rain was starting to blow onto the balcony, but Kyle wouldn’t have minded getting a little wet.
“We had our first kiss in the rain,” he reminded her. “You didn’t mind getting your hair a little wet then.”
Her hands stilled on the pizza box for a moment but then she stood, saying briskly, “Well, I didn’t have expensive highlights back then.”
He arched a brow. Used the opportunity as an excuse to let himself properly stare at her, take her all in. “Is that what’s different about you?”
Her smile was gone now. “A lot’s different about me, Kyle.”
Yes, he realized with a heaviness in his chest. A lot was different. Her smile was gone, and so was her lightness, her carefree laughter, and maybe even some of her optimism.
And maybe he was to blame for that.
“Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “I should probably get started on those shelves.”
“It’s fine. I’ll call Gus in the morning. Really.”
But Kyle shook his head. “I’m a man of my word,” he said, with a little grin, but there was a sadness that came over Brooke’s eyes.
“Yes, you are,” she said.
And they both knew that she was referring to his insistence to take over the pub after his father’s passing, even if it had cost him everything else that mattered.
Especially her.
11
By Friday night, Brooke was almost surprised that Kyle hadn’t tried to tie her down with another date, not that she didn’t have an excuse handy. It was ladies night, or at least that’s what Gabby was calling it. Her sister was determined to make up for lost time.
She wasn’t the only one, Brooke thought wryly.
Brooke sat at her desk in the shop, putting the finishing touches on the bridesmaid dress sketches for her Pine Falls client until her alarm clock alerted her that it was time to go. She smiled to herself. Yes, she was a planner, but she was also the type to get lost in a creative endeavor and lose all touch with time a
nd the outside world, and if there was one thing Brooke didn’t like, it was showing up late.
Or letting people down.
She swallowed back the bitter taste when she considered that Kyle hadn’t felt the same compulsion. He’d let her down in more ways than one, and he hadn’t apologized for it yet either.
Maybe it was because he was content with his choice. No regrets.
Whereas she…
Brooke shook that off. Three meet-ups down, three to go. She didn’t know why the thought depressed her. She was only halfway through her time with Kyle, and so far, all it had accomplished was making her think more about the past than she’d cared to ever before.
With a light denim jacket draped over her arm, she locked up behind her and hurried down the street toward the Yacht Club, tonight’s rendezvous of choice, not that she was arguing. No Bradfords. No Harrisons. With any luck, none of the guys in their life at all. A proper ladies night was in order. She didn’t even want to talk about men.
Unfortunately, Gabby had other ideas.
“See the guy over at the bar?” she asked, jutting her chin. “I caught his eye and smiled at him only to watch his wife appear thirty seconds later and plant a kiss on his mouth.”
Brooke laughed and pulled out her chair. “I thought this was a ladies night.”
Gabby groaned. “I know, but I need to get my mind off Candy.” She poured Brooke a margarita from the pitcher she’d already ordered.
“Uh-oh, what happened?” She tried not to laugh. Chances were, in due time, she’d be having issues of her own with the blushing bride-to-be.
“Oh, more new ideas for the flowers, of course. Every week it’s something. I don’t know how many times I’m supposed to redesign it all!”
Brooke bit her lip. That was an issue.
She took a sip of her drink and thought about it. “Maybe we can join forces. Put some rules in place? I want to keep my clients happy, but I also can’t come up with fifteen different designs and then have more and more changes.”
“A fixed number of revisions before an hourly rate starts to apply?” Gabby laughed but then shrugged. “I hate to say it, but it might be necessary for some of the more demanding customers.”
“It’s one more aspect of running a business that I hadn’t considered until now.” Brooke sighed.
Gabby frowned at her. “Hey, you’re where you’re supposed to be. Doing what you love.”
Brooke chewed her lip. The doubts were there, still, and she didn’t want to get into it, not when just thinking about how her time had been spent in New York made her feel uneasy. Had she honed her skills, learned tricks of the trade that would make her more of a success here than she ever would have been in the city?
Or had she thrown everything away, only to end up not having what it took? Just to end up back in her hometown, right where she’d started?
“Speaking of love,” Gabby said, and despite herself, Brooke had to laugh. “Hey, I can’t help it! I wrote the sweetest card today for a husband who wanted to surprise his wife on their fiftieth wedding anniversary with fifty long-stem roses. Fifty years together! Can you even imagine?”
Brooke pulled in a breath and leveled her sister with a look. No, she clearly couldn’t imagine. She and Kyle hadn’t even lasted fifty days.
“Fifty years and I can’t even remember the last time I was on a date, can you?”
Brooke paused, wondering if the other night with Kyle counted. No, she told herself firmly. Absolutely not. She was fulfilling a promise.
More like an obligation.
“I didn’t date much in New York,” Brooke said. “I was too focused on my career.”
Her boss’s words echoed back to her. Too ambitious. Was it true? Had she given up everything for the sake of her aspirations?
And everyone?
She forced a playful smile. “Besides, who needs a date when you can have a pitcher of margaritas with me?”
Gabby pouted dramatically. “Before I forget, Mom wants us to all come over next Sunday. Just something casual. Pizza. You in?”
Brooke was surprised that her sister would even ask such a thing. “Of course! I was thinking of stopping by tomorrow but maybe I’ll hold off, catch up on work.”
“You can’t work too late tomorrow,” Gabby warned. “It’s the Blossom Barn Dance!”
The Blossom Barn Dance. It was common knowledge that the town event was taking place this weekend, but Brooke had been away too long to think about these things.
“I suppose I should go.” She’d make an appearance after she closed her shop.
“Um, you sort of have to. You’re a Conway, and there’s no excuse now that you’re back in town. I hope you won’t forget next Sunday’s dinner, too.”
“Of course not!” Brooke said, hearing a defensive edge in her tone. “I don’t want to miss out on any more than I already have.”
“Good. Family dinners haven’t been the same without you, though I have a feeling that New York has far better pizza.”
“But not better company.” Brooke grinned, but her stomach rolled over at the thought of the last time she’d shared a pizza, and with whom. How it had been so much better than any slice that she’d eaten in New York, and she couldn’t necessarily say that it was on account of taste.
Gabby faked a swoon. “Is your shop open tomorrow?”
“Why? Are you in the market for a wedding dress?” Brooke joked.
Gabby gave an exaggerated pout. “It’s starting to feel like I never will be.”
Brooke gave her sister a sympathetic smile. “Would that be the worst thing in the world?”
“Maybe it’s old fashioned of me, but I do want to find true love.”
“Not every ending is a happy one,” Brooke warned.
Gabby’s eyes flashed. “I hope you don’t go telling your customers that.”
Brooke laughed but realized she should probably keep her personal feelings under tighter control. “I’m just saying, as your sister, that I’ve been married. And I’ve been alone for the past six years, too. And I’m not unhappy.”
“Not unhappy isn’t the same as happy,” Gabby pointed out. She narrowed her gaze on Brooke. “Are you saying you were happier being married?”
“No!” Brooke was affronted. “I left Kyle, as you may recall,” she whispered, looking around. Really, though, it hadn’t felt like that. She may have been the one going, but he was the one who bailed on their plans. On their life together.
“I know! The whole town knows. I was wondering if I detected a hint of regret, that’s all.”
“Absolutely not!” But even as she said it, Brooke could felt a tightening in her stomach that made her wonder if her sister had managed to tap into the truth. She had a routine in New York—going to shows, putting in long hours, and barely having much time in her apartment before the day started all over again. She didn’t have time to miss Kyle or think about what she was missing, or what she’d given up. Now, being back in town, spending time with him again, well, it was only natural that she might start to wonder…
She shook that thought right out of her head. Nonsense. She was rewriting history, or at best, ignoring it.
“Kyle and I didn’t want the same things,” she reminded Gabby.
“To live in this town?” Gabby had homed in on the main issue. “But now you’re back. That doesn’t make you wonder how things might have turned out if you had never left?”
“I had to leave,” Brooke said firmly. She could hear the insistence in her tone and she knew that her sister was aware of it, too. She was trying to convince herself. Or remind herself. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if I’d stayed. And if I’d stayed, then I would have been wondering what if I’d left, every day of my life. I would have resented Kyle. The ending still would have been the same.”
“Unhappy,” Gabby said matter-of-factly. She sighed. “What can I say? I like a happy ending.”
“Well, my story isn’t over just yet,” Brooke sai
d, relieved to be off the subject of Kyle Harrison. “And yours hasn’t even started. Is there really no one in town you have your eye on?”
Gabby scoffed. “Please.”
For someone as desperate to find true love as Gabby had always been, she was also willing to hold out for the right guy.
Something that Brooke should have done, maybe, except Kyle had always felt right.
And something about him still did.
*
The pub was always busy on Friday nights, and seeing that Kyle had cut his shift short last week to meet Brooke, he saw no way of skipping out early tonight. It was okay though. He’d seen Brooke three times in the past week—meaning he was halfway through their arranged time together. He needed to slow down, think things through before the next three dates slipped away.
Dates. He knew that’s not what they were, but last night, and even at the café, it had felt like that. Like old times, almost.
And that was what he had wanted, wasn’t it?
Yes, he thought. Still stuck in the past. Still trying to go back to some place and time. Still maybe trying to have it all.
Kyle checked on the cook in the kitchen, knowing that sometimes a special had to be scratched from the board, and even though everything was running smoothly, he couldn’t fight off the frown when he pushed into the front room and joined his brother behind the bar.
“And here I thought you might be happy to see me.” Ryan had never been good at sensing the timing of a joke, and Kyle was in no mood.
“I have things on my mind,” he said, refusing to feed into the banter as he swung a towel over a shoulder and took an order from the two regulars at the end of the bar.
“That makes two of us,” Ryan said, standing beside him. “We still have to talk about the budget. The forecast.”
Kyle let go of the tap and shot his brother a scowl. “What are you, a weatherman now?”
“Very funny,” Ryan said, even though all merriment had left his eyes. “You know I’m good with numbers, Kyle. And this place…this place isn’t. It won’t survive another year without some changes.”
