by Maria Geraci
He chuckled, then got out of bed and switched off the light and crawled back under the covers where she snuggled up against him. “Good night,” she said.
He was almost asleep when her words came flooding back to him, making his eyes pop open. Just this one time. So that we’ll both know.
Well, now they knew.
It had been his experience, especially in these kinds of situations, that it was best to be honest right up front.
“Sarah?” he said.
“Hmmm?” she asked in a sleepy soft voice.
“For the record, there isn’t going to be just one time.”
Chapter Eighteen
Luke was beginning to rue the day his mother had learned to text.
Luke, it’s your mother. Viola just told me that you and Jenna never went on your date! What happened????
He wasn’t about to text his mother back with an explanation. This required a phone call. He was in the process of trying to figure out what to say to her when another text came in.
Oh, and I just spoke to Victoria. Wonderful news! She has an old friend from law school who will be at the wedding and needs a date so you won’t have to go stag after all!!!
Stag? He hadn’t heard that term used in years.
He sighed heavily. Forget the phone call. This latest development called for a face-to-face with his mother.
* * *
The Whispering Bay Public Library shared a parking lot with the city municipal building where the mayor’s office was located. Sarah thought about popping over to say hi to Mimi, but she only had fifteen minutes before she had to get back to work and she needed to return her latest library book.
Will Cunningham stood behind the returns desk, looking adorably geeky. He was tall and gangly but his shoulders were nicely broad. His dark hair was tousled and he wore hipster style glasses. His blue eyes lit up when he spotted her. “Hey,” he said, smiling. “How’d you like the book?”
“It was great, although,” she hesitated just a fraction of a second because she really didn’t want to offend him, “I’m getting a little tired of the classics.”
“Yeah, Hemingway can be a real downer,” he admitted. He took the book from her and placed it in a pile on the counter. “So, what are you in the mood for now?”
Romance. Luke hadn’t been kidding when he’d said there wasn’t going to be just one time, and he’d spent the last three nights (and mornings) proving it. Just thinking about what they’d done last night made her pulse hitch.
As if he could read her mind, Will reached over to another pile of books and handed her one. “Have you ever tried Mae Daniels? She’s one of our most popular romance authors and this is her latest.”
“Do you like her?” Sarah asked, glancing down at the cover of an attractive couple smiling at one another as if they were madly in love. As the daughter of a librarian, she knew there was nothing better than a professional recommendation.
Will’s face went scarlet. “I’m not really a romance fan. I’m kind of more into thrillers and mysteries, but Lucy liked it.”
Sarah hid her smile. She wasn’t sure if his red cheeks were because of the romance novel or the mention of Lucy. “Sure. Okay, I’ll try this.”
He scanned the book with his own card and handed it back to her.
“I really appreciate you letting me loan out books without a local library card.”
“Hey, we book geeks have to stick together. How much longer will you be in town?”
“Three weeks and three days,” she answered automatically.
He grinned. “Anxious to get out of here much?”
Last week she might have answered yes. Not that she didn’t like Whispering Bay. It was just the opposite, the little town had really grown on her, but a part of her was itching to get on with the rest of her life. But, after the last few days, she had to admit that saying good-bye to Luke was going to be hard. She was going to miss him… Wait. She mentally shook her head. She’d asked him for some really good sex and he’d come through like a champ. It was the sex that she’d miss. Not him.
“It’s just that my mom and I are going on a cruise for Labor Day weekend and I’m really looking forward to a vacation.”
“Yeah, Lucy’s been working pretty hard, too.” Then he added in a low voice. “It’s hard to believe that Frida and Ed Hampton want to sell The Bistro. Did you know that Lucy’s thinking of buying the place?”
“She mentioned it.”
“Sebastian doesn’t have the money to help. Priests don’t exactly make a lot, you know, and she doesn’t want to ask her parents for the money. Lucy’s proud that way.”
Sarah nodded. She knew exactly how Lucy felt.
“But…I wouldn’t mind helping her,” Will said finally. “I’ve offered but she’s turned me down flat.”
“You mean help her financially?” Sarah asked, surprised. Librarians weren’t exactly known to be rolling in it and Will was still young. No more than thirty at most, so he couldn’t have had much time to build up enough savings to invest in a business as risky as a restaurant. Maybe he had some family money.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve…come into some money lately and I’ve been thinking about the best way to invest it. But Lucy’s so stubborn. Maybe you could talk to her about it?”
“Maybe Lucy doesn’t want to mix business with pleasure,” Sarah said mildly.
Will frowned. “Pleasure? Oh, you mean…” He laughed. “Me and Lucy? That’s rich! No, Lucy’s like a little sister to me. Nothing more.”
Sarah searched Will’s face for any telltale signs that he might be overcompensating but he looked sincere enough. She sighed. So much for a Lucy and Will romance. If Lucy really did have a crush on Will, as Sarah suspected, then it didn’t look as if it was reciprocated.
“I’ll make sure to talk to Lucy about the loan,” Sarah said. “And thanks again for the book.”
* * *
Luke was a coward, but he didn’t want to do this alone, so he invited Mimi to have lunch with him and their mother at The Harbor House, Whispering Bay’s fanciest restaurant. Mom was running late, but she always had the shrimp salad with white wine, so Mimi took the liberty of ordering for her. They sat at a table overlooking the water. The server brought them their drinks, along with a basket of bread which Mimi practically attacked.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. It seemed as if she got more pregnant every time he saw her.
She placed a hand over her belly. “Fabulous, now that the nausea has gone away.” She smirked. “So, how did the big date go?”
He didn’t say anything, but just the thought of Sarah made him, well, happy. But then good sex did that, he supposed.
“Well, well, well…” Mimi said smugly. “I was right! I knew you and Sarah would be perfect for one another.”
He took a sip of his beer and tried for a neutral expression. It was the first opportunity he’d had to speak to Mimi alone since the weekend he’d watched Cameron, and he didn’t want to talk about himself, that’s for sure. “Everything on schedule for Claire at Duke?” The best way to distract a mother was to get her talking about her kids.
His sister, naturally, took the bait. “She’s so excited! She’s thinking of pledging a sorority. What do you think? You did the frat thing. Should she pledge or go indie?”
“Whichever. Either way, she’ll do fine.”
“Well, I know that.”
He pushed the bread basket her way. “Eat some more carbs, Grumpy. How’s Toby? He hasn’t run away anymore, has he?”
“Nope.” Her face went soft. “Cameron pretty much thinks you walk on water, you know that?”
“The feeling is mutual. He’s an awesome kid. You and Zeke have done a great job.”
“Stop. You’re making me blush.”
“I’m serious, Mimi.”
“Luke!” She laughed, then when she realized that he was indeed being sincere, she sobered. “You know, I don’t think you’ve ever said anything like that t
o me before. Thank you.”
He frowned. “I haven’t?”
She shook her head.
“Then, my bad. You and Zeke are terrific parents.” He cleared his throat and tried for a casual tone. “Cameron mentioned something about Zeke not living at the house for a while.”
Mimi put down her bread. “He did?”
“Something about a separation?”
His sister went quiet for a few minutes. “Last spring, Zeke and I had some problems and yes, we did separate. But our marriage is stronger than ever. What…did Cameron say anything else?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly.
“Oh, Luke.” She let out a deep sigh. “You were in Maine at the time. Or Delaware. Who knows? And it wasn’t as if we ever contemplated a divorce or anything. We just needed to work some things out and we did.” She smiled. “No worries, big brother. Zeke and I are better than ever.” She glanced down at her tummy. “And we’ve never been happier, either.”
If her words hadn’t already convinced him, then the expression on her face did. His sister could light up half the city she was glowing so hard.
Luke decided to test the water. “Cameron tells me he’s made the traveling soccer team.” He really hoped his nephew had told his parents how he felt about wanting to quit the team.
“He’s so talented, Luke. Between yours and Zeke’s genes, the kid is practically a prodigy,” she said proudly. “He could play any sport he wants.”
So, Cameron hadn’t said a word to his parents. Which meant the whole thing fell back on Luke.
“And Cameron likes soccer?”
“Well, of course he does! What kind of goofy question is that?”
Before he could respond, their mother made her grand entrance into the dining room. “The traffic in this town is becoming unbearable!” She took a seat at the table. “Thank God you ordered me something to drink.” She took a long sip of her white wine as if fortifying herself to hear some bad news. “Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, Luke. What happened with Jenna?”
“I explained that to you already,” Mimi said to their mother. “Luke and Jenna have absolutely no interest in each other.”
“But how can that be?” Mom said, talking about him as if he wasn’t sitting right next to her. “She’s almost perfect for him!” Almost, meaning that there was someone else out there who was perfect for him and Luke knew exactly who his mother thought that someone else was.
“Momma,” Mimi said before he had a chance to speak up, “Victoria’s marrying someone else. Get used to it.”
“As if I had a choice,” she muttered.
Luke reached inside his shirt pocket and handed his mother a check. “Please see to it that Viola gets her share of that.”
She looked at the check and blinked. “What’s this?”
“The money you and Viola paid at the silent auction for my date with Jenna.”
Mom sighed then slipped the check into her purse. “What’s going on with you and that Sarah?”
“That Sarah?” He took another sip of his beer. He probably should have ordered something stronger. The waiter appeared with their food and asked if they needed anything else, then scurried off after his mother scowled at the poor man.
“Don’t look at me like that, Luke,” his mother said, rearranging the lettuce leaves on her shrimp salad. “Sarah seems like a nice girl, but she’s a college drop-out. Plus, she’s practically a gypsy!”
He exchanged an uncomfortable look with his sister.
“Momma,” Mimi began, “Sarah is—”
“You mean she’s not good enough for me,” Luke said.
“Don’t talk to me in that tone of voice, Luke Michael Powers. I’m not a snob.”
“Yeah, you are,” Mimi said firmly.
“Sarah and I went out on one date,” Luke said, trying to be diplomatic. “A date, I might add, that you bulldozed me into when you volunteered me for that silent auction. Sarah and I are friends, nothing more.” Friends who are now banging each other’s brains out. He loved his mother and his sister, but his sex life was none of their damn business.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Mom said.
“You should bring Sarah to Claire’s going-away party at the end of the month. If you’re still here, that is,” Mimi pointed out.
Ethan had emailed him this morning to get Luke up to speed on the Alaskan project. It looked as if there was a delay with the announcement of the contract, something that just last week would have made Luke a little crazy. He’d planned to stay in Whispering Bay until they knew about the contract, but he was going on his fourth week here. He should go back to Atlanta and catch up on some of their other projects, but it wasn’t as if Ethan couldn’t hold down the fort in his absence.
“Sure. Sounds like fun.”
“Good. Because we’re going to kill three birds with one stone at that party. We’re going to celebrate Claire’s eighteenth birthday, do her big send off to Duke, and we’re going to do a baby reveal.”
“A baby reveal? What on earth is that?” Mom asked.
“Zeke and I are having an ultrasound to find out the baby’s sex next week but we don’t want to know just yet. The ultrasound tech will put the results in a sealed envelope which I’ll give to Heidi over at the bakery. She’ll put either blue or pink confetti in a big balloon, which Zeke and I will pop in front of everyone. Blue for boy and pink for girl. That way everyone will know at the same time. It’s the latest craze. Fun, huh?”
“That’s how people are finding out if they’re having a girl or boy these days?” Mom shook her head as if to say what next?
His sister began wolfing down her fish burger. “God, I’m so glad I can eat again.”
“Are you sure you should be eating all that bread?” their mother said, eyeing Mimi’s belly with a critical eye. “The older you are the harder it is to lose the baby weight.”
Mimi caught Luke’s gaze and shook her head as if to say Mom. His baby sister had always marched to her own private drummer. She loved and respected their parents but she’d had the courage to follow her heart, especially in matters of love. Eighteen years ago, Luke would have said that Mimi was making the biggest mistake of her life by marrying Zeke Grant. But now? Now, he couldn’t help but look at his sister and see a woman who definitely had her act together.
His life, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different than hers…
“Luke, have you heard a word I’ve just said?” Mom asked.
He blinked. “Sorry, I was just—”
“Daydreaming?” Mimi supplied, looking at him oddly.
“Thinking about work,” he lied. Although, it was partially the truth. His life might be totally different from his sister’s, but it was the life he’d worked hard to build. A pretty damn fantastic life, if you asked him.
“Well, I’m glad you and Sarah aren’t romantically involved,” Mom said, “because, as I said in my text, Victoria has a friend for you.”
“Momma,” Mimi said, “Don’t you think it’s a little creepy that Victoria is trying to fix Luke up with a friend of hers at her own wedding? She’s his ex-girlfriend!”
“Not in the least. What I find creepy is this newfangled way you young people meet nowadays. Swipe right or swipe left. What does that even mean anyway?”
Mimi smothered a laugh.
“Mom,” Luke said, “I’m not trying to meet anyone. And as for going to Victoria’s wedding, I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
“Oh, I definitely think you should go to the wedding,” Mimi said, stabbing him in the back. Or rather, the front, since she wasn’t even trying to hide what she was doing.
His mother’s face split into a triumphant smile. “Finally! Someone in this family is on my side.” She turned to Luke. “It’s Victoria’s big day and she wants you there. Plus, your father and I aren’t going. It would simply be too hard for us when everyone knows that it should have been you getting married. Besides, someone has to be there
to represent the family.”
Represent the family? What were they? The fucking Windsors of Buckingham Palace? His mother was never going to let go of this. For the rest of his life, he was going to hear how he’d let Victoria get away. Then she’d trump that by complaining about how he hadn’t gone to the wedding where he could have potentially met the next perfect girl in line for him. He drained the rest of his beer. “All right. Fine. I’ll go to the wedding,” he found himself saying.
His mother clapped her hands in glee. “Yes!”
Mimi did a double take. “Really? Because I was kind of just messing with you there.”
“Yes, really. But only if Sarah agrees to go with me.”
“What?” his mother said. “But—”
“You heard me,” he said calmly. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? It was perfect, really. Bringing Sarah along would squash any attempts to set him up. “If Victoria really wants me at her wedding, then I’ll go. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to set me up with any of her friends. Sorry, but I agree with Mimi. That would be too weird. I’ll bring Sarah along as a friend or I won’t go at all.”
His mother began to sputter, but Mimi looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. “Well played, bro,” she said. “Well played.”
Chapter Nineteen
Luke had never lived with a woman before. He’d had roommates, of course, but that had been in college and they’d all been male. Living with someone you were having sex with definitely changed up the dynamics of a relationship.
After a week of sleeping together, this is what Luke knew about Sarah Jamison:
1. The more a movie made her cry, the more she liked it, which made no sense. Last night, they’d watched her favorite, Sleepless in Seattle, and she’d started crying within the first five minutes. “Don’t you just love this movie?” she’d asked, between sniffles. Of course, he’d answered yes, because his mother hadn’t raised a dummy.
2. The woman never put the cap back on the toothpaste, which was kind of irritating. But then, he knew he could be a little OCD about that kind of thing, so, really, it was all right.