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I make a mental note to grab new glasses at the pharmacy to tide me over until my prescription is ready and head to my open hanging racks to find something to wear to dinner, excited about the night to come in a way I wasn’t before. After all, I may only be a third wheel for a little longer. If all goes according to plan, I’ll soon have a little family of my own, and a precious new baby to love…
The thought is enough to put a spring in my step as I breeze into the bathroom to get ready for a night out in our sleepy little town.
four
HUNTER
I checkmy watch for the third time in five minutes, fighting the urge to text Anthony and bail on “joining the fun” tonight.
A community center lobster boil followed by country dancing sounds about as appealing as a root canal without anesthesia, but declining the invitation would be rude. Anthony went out of his way to include me in the group plans, even though I wasn’t part of the “Sydney and Gideon” wedding festivities.
He’s a good friend. I don’t have many of those, and I’d like to maintain the ones I do have. Friends, unlike lovers or distressed companies looking to be acquired, are difficult to replace. I have afriendlyobligation to attend this lobster boil.
But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I also don’t have to like the fact that Elaina will be part of the “group date.” As the only two single people in the equation, we’ll no doubt be thrown together, which could be dangerous. We’ll have to be careful to keep our chemistry under wraps. I don’t want any of our mutual friends looking back on tonight and thinking the two of us ever had the potential to be anything but polite acquaintances.
I attempted to text Elaina to warn her that I was going to be joining the outing, but the text didn’t seem to deliver.
But if she’s surprised to see me standing beside Anthony on the sidewalk outside her café come seven p.m., she doesn’t show it. She simply waves to everyone and pretends to need her memory jogged when Weaver introduces us again. She expresses that it’s nice to “meet” me again in the perfect neutral tone—not too warm, not too cool—and falls in beside Maya as we make our way down the street.
She’s a natural. I couldn’t have found a better partner in deception if I’d held a national casting call.
If anyone will be able to fool my shrewd and discerning mother, it’s Elaina Murphy.
And I already know Mom will have no problem believing that Elaina turned my head. She’s a knockout. With her curves wrapped in a cherry-red sundress and her dark hair in a high ponytail, she looks like she stepped off a vintage pin-up poster.
The kind designed to remind soldiers exactly what they were fighting for back home…
“You’re staring,” Anthony murmurs from beside me.
Fuck. Caught already.
“I’m observing,” I correct, aiming for a breezy tone. “You don’t see many fashionable women in a town this size.”
Anthony makes a dubious sound. “Right. Her fashion sense. I’m surethat’swhat caught your attention.” He lowers his voice as he adds, “Just FYI, Elaina eats men for breakfast, buddy. Even men like you.”
I arch a brow. “Men like me?”
“The ones used to doing the loving and leaving,” he clarifies. “Not the kind who get loved and left. She’s made more than one manly lobsterman cry in his chowder around here. When she says she’s not looking for anything serious, she means it.”
“Noted,” I say, doing my best not to smirk.
Sothat’swhy Elaina was so upset with me for slipping out the back door without saying goodbye. She likes to be the one doingthe ghosting. I beat her at her own game and damn, if I don’t enjoy that.
Winning is one of the few things I still relish with the same enthusiasm that I did as a younger man. These days, I couldn’t care less about trendy bars or invites to high-profile cocktail parties, but winning?
That never gets old.
“I think I’ll stick to lobster and beer,” I continue. “Leave the flirting to those of you who are already happily coupled. I have too much going on right now to spare the energy for anything else.”
Anthony sobers, his brow furrowing. “Howisyour mom? I’m sorry I didn’t ask before.”
“It’s fine,” I say, meaning it. “Nothing’s changed, and I doubt it will. The doctor estimates that she has somewhere between six and nine months.”
“I’m so sorry.” Anthony claps me on the back, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “If you can’t stay for the wedding, after all, I understand. It felt like the fact that you were in Sea Breeze on business was a sign you should be my best man, but if you need to get back to your mom, I?—”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll stay,” I assure him. “She wouldn’t want me to miss your wedding. She knows we’ve been friends for a long time. I’ll head back on Wednesday morning, as planned.” I lift my nose, taking an experimental sniff of the air as we join the line of people outside the community center, waiting to purchase tickets to the event. I grunt, my lips turning down as I grudgingly admit, “It smells amazing in there.”