I swung open the door to see a horrified Natty. She kept her scissors firmly in her grip as I ended the call and marched over to her. It was hard not to be distracted by the fresh smell of roses and chrysanthemums, but I was on a mission.
“I never interfered when it came to Cole,” I told her.
“Maybe you should have,” Natty answered flatly.
I hadn’t counted on that for a response, but I didn’t let that stop me.
“Why would I want to meet someone who I’m perfectly happy with from afar?” I placed my hands on my hips.
“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re human?”
“Doubtful.”
Natty crinkled her nose and laughed.
“In all seriousness, I never expected Nick to move with such swiftness, and once things fell into place, I kind of thought maybe it was meant to be, so I just let him run with it.”
I slid onto one of the stools and smiled. “If I hadn’t met Jake, I’d be all over this.”
“I know.” Natty grinned as she put down the scissors just far enough out of my reach.
I glanced around her shop, where every crevice had been filled with red, white, and blue knickknacks and flowers in honor of the upcoming holiday. The crowning jewel was her front window display with a pair of white wicker chairs surrounding a table with a centerpiece exploding with red roses and blue delphinium.
“I had no idea there were so many blue flowers in the world.”
Natty’s smile curved higher. “Nice try.”
“I’m going to Hound Island for the Fourth.”
“With Jake?” Natty studied me, and I knew she could pull every single worry out of me and overanalyze it before packing it up with a tidy bow.
I nodded. “His mom has a big festival every year. I think she’s actually the one who extended the invitation.”
“I’m sure she can’t wait to date you.”
“Fine. Maybe it’s from him. He’s hard to read.”
“What aren’t you saying?” she asked.
“I just can’t get much out of the guy. I hear things around town about his nasty divorce or how he doesn’t like people, yet that’s not what I see from him. This morning, I—”
“This morning?” Her eyes grew twice the size.
“Not like that. He stopped by to drop off books.”
“He knows the way to your heart already.” She propped her elbows on the counter.
“Being that I’m a librarian, that’s a pretty fair assumption. Anyway, I feel like I laid it on him. I started in on him about needing him to open up, and I had to truly know someone I was with and on and on. Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut and just enjoy the ride? Maybe he’ll only be a rebound, but why ruin it before I even get there?”
She chuckled and let out a groan. “You do remember you’re talking to a woman who waited how long to reunite with her first and only real boyfriend?”
“It was only a couple of years.” I grinned.
“Try eight.”
“So you’re saying . . . I’m doomed?”
“I’m saying you need to let him open up to you how he wants, if he wants.”
“And if he doesn’t open up?” I asked.
“Then you’ll know.”
My phone buzzed, and it was a text from Nick.
BlznBookie canceled.
“So your fantasy guy is a little shy?” Jake said, nodding.
“I wouldn’t say so,” I protested. “He’s probably got a really busy schedule, but he’s not my dream guy.”
Jake’s lip twitched slightly. “Has he mentioned on his blog why he’s in Seattle?”
“No, but often, he doesn’t post about where he’s been until after the fact.”
“Curious.”
It felt like Jake might be getting a little jealous.
“Why don’t you let me take you on some real-life adventures?”
We were sitting at Norma’s café. I was eating their famous Fireweed grilled cheese, and he was having a burger. I hadn’t even thought about Blzn until Jake brought him up. Truth be told, I was beyond relieved not to meet him tonight.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Hang gliding or bungee jumping,” he replied with an evil grin.
“You wouldn’t do that to me.” I shook my head and took a bite of grilled cheese.
“I don’t know. You might like it.”
“Doubtful. Look.” I held up my trembling hands. “I’m falling apart just thinking about it.”
“How about we start with a nice picnic overlooking the lavender farm for the Fourth? Would that work for you?”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I agreed. It was hard to believe the holiday was only a few days away. “My kind of adventure.”
A few minutes of quiet lingered between us as we ate.
“You’re right, you know,” he said softly.
“About what in particular?” I brought my gaze back to his.
“You deserve better.”
“Better what?” I asked, tilting forward in the booth.
“Better from me.”
“You’ve been pretty spectacular so far.”
“What you said earlier resonated with me. I haven’t wanted anything from my past to hurt my chances, so I’ve kept things light.”
“Chances?” I questioned.
“With you.”
“It would take a lot to ruin your chances,” I confessed, which brought a smile to his lips.
“Is that so?”
“Pretty sure.”
“It sounds like staying quiet would do more damage.”
“Possibly. I’m a curious person by nature. I just don’t want to feel like I’m being had.”
“Did your ex keep a lot of things from you?”
“Just about everything.”
Jake nodded and drew in a deep breath.
“I don’t want to be your rebound guy, and I don’t think you want me to be either.”
“What do you think I want you to be?” I asked tentatively.
“A friend—”
My heart tumbled to the floor.
“Who will share pieces of my life with you,” he continued. “You deserve someone who will tell you what you want to know.” He let out a deep breath. “I don’t have secrets. I just haven’t gotten around to telling you everything because it’s not exactly nice.”
“I didn’t mean to push. It’s not usually my style. I . . . I don’t even know.” I pressed my lips together and saw the way he looked at me. “I figured it out. You’re too intriguing for your own good.”
A smug smile flashed across his lips. “More intriguing than your online crush?”
I groaned and tossed my napkin in his direction, but he dodged it just in time.
“I’m not gonna lie. You’re facing some stiff competition.”
“Story of my life.”
“The narrative appears to be in your favor most of the time.”
“How do you figure?” his brow arched.
“Dotty and Todd are pretty fabulous roommates.”
He nodded. “They are all pretty special.” I picked up on hurt pounding each syllable, and I was thrown for a complete loop.
“I actually started raising them before my marriage ended.” I watched him swallow something down that surprised me.
“Was it her idea?”
“No. She doesn’t have any sympathy for things with a beating heart besides herself.”
I held back surprise in my gaze.
“And that is why I don’t talk much about my marriage. I can’t seem to get anything out without winning the bitterness award.”
“I’m sure there are reasons you feel that way.”
“The man you married and the woman I married sound an awful lot alike, and that kind of freaked me out when I first realized it.”
“Well, hopefully, they don’t find each other in the world and wreak havoc on all mankind.”
“How’d you move all the alpacas up to
Fireweed?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I raise mine for the fleece. They become part of my family. As you can see, they all have personalities.”
“That’s an understatement,” I muttered.
“When I was on a trip, I came back and they were all gone.”
Pain darted through his eyes and he bit his lip.
“Before I’d left, she told me she wanted a divorce. I think she expected me to beg her to stay and plead with her to change her mind. I didn’t.”
“So she punished you.”
“I knew I had to get out as soon as I could. We had a pre-nup agreement, and she fought it. I didn’t even care. I just wanted as far away from her as I could get. I held up hope that she had a heart, but I think some people are literally missing a moral compass.”
“Had she done things like that before?”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t astute enough to realize she’d always had a master plan.”
“How so?”
“I had no intentions of marrying her.” He grimaced, and my stomach knotted, not liking where this was going.
“But she told me she was pregnant. I’m sure you can guess what happened next.”
I nodded in disbelief.
“I’ve never been a naïve person, but I totally fell for her schemes left and right. She had wanted to get married before she had the baby, so, of course, I agreed. When she told me we suffered a miscarriage, I fully believed her. I mean, who would lie about that?”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“I worked really hard to make her life simpler because I felt I was somehow responsible for what happened. I was out of town when she said it had taken place. I didn’t learn it was a lie until two years later when we were at her doctor’s. I found out she’d never been pregnant when the doctor reviewed her chart aloud for another problem she’d had. She didn’t even seem to care that she’d been outed.”
I sat stunned, sickened into silence, and I realized I didn’t even want to know this woman’s name. I fully understood why he kept it from me.
“Anyway, I was only married for three years, but they were the most grueling three years of my life.”
“I honestly can’t believe that she’d do all that. That’s not a healthy mind.”
“I can’t imagine what more she could have accomplished had we spent more time together. She’d been sleeping around almost from the beginning of the marriage, so I really didn’t understand why she ever felt the need to do the things she did. There was never any love there.”
“Money?” I asked.
“I suppose.” He shrugged. “But why give up three years of your life for a small amount?”
I nodded. “Not to mention what she did to your alpacas. Do you know where they went? Were they harmed?”
He nodded sadly. “I think that’s why I wanted a farm where I could have even more.”
“Wow. I thought I had it bad.”
“Don’t let my experience tarnish yours, by any means.” He gave a half-smile and shook his head. “You know, I actually feel better telling you.”
“Well, your positive attitude gives me something to strive for. I can’t believe you’re not more bitter.”
“It would only hurt me in the long run. It’s kind of like living your life with regret. Neither action does a person good. I’m sure I learned a lot about human nature by being with her. Maybe I’ll need to recognize the signs someday for something really important. But I actually didn’t realize I’d been purposefully hiding out until you mentioned it. I must have subconsciously decided to be so selective about who I let in. I wound up turning into a bit of a recluse. The problem is that I really don’t mind it.”
“Like you said, maybe what we learned will be used in the future to spot potential oddballs.” I smiled.
His eyes focused on mine. “Like making sure BlznBookie isn’t a psychopath or something.”
“Do you think we might have been married to psychopaths?”
“Maybe not textbook psychopaths, but sociopaths for sure.”
“What if that’s all we’re attracted to? What does that say about us right now?” I gave him a once over, and he laughed, releasing the nervous energy from seconds before.
“Do you think?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and munched on a fry. “I don’t think I have any of those tendencies. I even feel guilty about eating meat, but then I smell sizzling bacon and it’s all over. I succumb.”
“You know, my brother and I watched Babe and it took him years to eat pork again.”
“What about you?” My brow arched.
“I lasted about five minutes.”
“Well, it’s a good thing Todd can’t be made into bacon or he’d be in trouble.”
“I couldn’t do that to Dotty. She worships him.” He took a sip of water. “That’s why I let him get away with how he treats me. I don’t want him to lose his swag in front of her.”
“Is that so?” I grinned. “I just thought you were afraid of him.”
“A little spit never hurt anyone. I would never be afraid of Todd.”
“You don’t mind losing your swag in front of me?” I teased.
“Did I?”
“No, you’re still number one in my book.”
“Have I nudged out BlznNerd or whatever his name is?”
“You can’t call him that. I doubt anyone who lives like he does could possibly be a nerd. Not that there’s anything wrong with nerds.”
“Nothing wrong with them at all. In fact, I was one while growing up.”
I stared into the brilliant blue-eyed, blond-haired man across from me who could literally strut off the pages of any magazine around. I shook my head.
“Not on your worst day. I don’t believe it.”
“It’s true. Does that change your view of me? Do you have a thing against nerds?”
“Not at all. In fact, I was one myself growing up. I preferred to spend recess in the library.”
“You don’t say.” His expression was unchanged.
“We’ve had a pretty successful meal so far. Maybe we should call it quits for the night before you get called off to some other emergency.”
He smirked. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What?” I feigned innocence.
“You want to get home to a book.”
“Please. That would never happen.” I glanced across the coastal-themed café and chuckled. We were in one of the booths dotting the back wall. This place had stayed the same since I was a little girl. It was half-beach shack and half-fifties café.
The same wooden starfish even clung to the walls, and the red antique Coke machine sat propped behind the counter. I think the only difference was the light fixtures had been changed out to rope-wrapped chandeliers from metal ones.
“But I did read the first page of Smelling in Purple, and I could barely drag myself away from it. I can tell it’s going to be a tear-jerker.”
He nodded. “That’s why I haven’t been able to do it. I’d like to see you again before we go to Hound Island, but I actually have a bit of business to take care of off the island.”
“That’s a bummer.” I was surprised by my reaction. I was actually going to miss him. “I’ve started to kind of like you.”
“Glad I’m off to such a rip-roaring start.” His laughter swept over me, and I reveled in the newness of this unknown step in our even newer relationship. “If you need anything while I’m gone, text or call me. I’ll be back on the third.”
“Are we going there on the Fourth?”
“I thought you might like to go over on the third, stay until the fifth?”
“Are you sure your mom wouldn’t mind?”
“I think she expects it.”
“Is your brother going to be there?”
“He’ll be there, and so will my aunt and uncle, and then on the Fourth, the farm will be pa
cked with festivalgoers. It’s always a lot of fun.”
“It sounds like an amazing escape.”
“Just escaping one paradise for another.” He glanced around Norma’s, and we both realized at the same time that we were the last customers.
“We’re so wild we’re shutting down the place.”
“That doesn’t mean much on Fireweed,” he joked.
“Probably not.”
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” A quick thought darted through my mind about the rest of the evening. I had to be at work early in the morning to help set up the Natural History exhibit, but I’d gladly work as a zombie if I could spend a little more time together.
Jake stood up and helped me out of the booth.
“I’ll drive you home,” he said, keeping my hand in his.
“You don’t have to.”
“It’s dark and the shoulder is narrow. I’m at the point where I feel it’s my duty to keep you going.” He swung open the door, and I walked outside, smelling the fresh sea air.
“Whatever you say.” I rolled my eyes, secretly thrilled I’d get a few more minutes with Jake.
“So you’ll stay out of trees and the middle of the road while I’m gone?”
“For the most part. Unless, of course, Coco needs me.”
“Coco needs a leash.”
“She slips out of it. I’ve seen it happen many times.” I grinned as Jake opened the car door for me and I slid in.
He walked around the front of the car, and it was impossible not to gawk at how amazing he looked. Heat flashed through my body at the thought of getting to strip him of his clothes, and I giggled nervously at the thought.
“What’s got you laughing?” he asked, climbing into the car.
“Nothing.”
“Oh, no way. That’s not how things are going to be played,” he nearly growled. “I can’t let you have all the fun.”
He shut the door and turned in my direction. He reached a hand along my cheek and gently caressed my skin. There was a cockiness about Jake that I liked. It wasn’t that he thought he was better than anyone else—he was just fully confident he was being the best he could be.
I looked into his eyes, and a shiver ran through me as his fingers slid along my throat to my collarbone.
“You’re doing this to me and then telling me you’re leaving town? How fair is that?” I laughed nervously.
Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Island County Book 4) Page 16