Page 21 of Hooked on Lane (Hooked #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

Lane

S tanding before me was Nicole Peters. I watched as tears welled up in her eyes. “I can't believe it's you.”

My throat tightened. “You look exactly the same.”

Her voice quivered. “I didn't think I'd ever see you again.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

She stood there with her arms folded. I stood and touched her elbow and directed her away from our table. As we made our way through the tables, she glanced around, clearly uncomfortable, until we sat down at a faraway table.

“Do you remember the last time we saw each other?”

My throat tightened as memories of the disastrous evening flooded back to me. “I remember.”

We were sitting outside on the grass, surrounded by a garden my mother had been tending for years.

The sun was setting, and I could tell from the conversations we’d had that day that it would not work out between us—our perspectives weren't aligning, and I couldn’t take on another person's feelings right then.

“Listen, it's been years. Let's not worry about what happened then. How are you?”

“I’ve been okay.” She looked up at me and squared her shoulders. “I just need to tell you one thing. Back then, I never understood why you had to go to Harvard, but I understand now. You had to follow your dreams, and it was worth it—I'm so proud of you for doing it.”

“Thank you, Nicole.”

We used to be good friends before we started dating.

I smiled, my heart still loyal to the woman sitting with my mother, and I tried to quash the spark by quickly asking about her new job.

She lit up when telling me about how much she enjoyed working at the bakery around the corner and how moving back to Amesbury after her divorce had been a blessing in disguise for her son.

Nicole's face softened as she glanced at the booth where Jennifer was sitting, chatting with my mom. “Anyway, I must get home to my son. Would you like to grab dinner and catch up while you're in town?”

“Sorry, I'll be busy with my mother and Jennifer. It's her first time here for the holidays. So many things to do.”

Nicole bit her lip. “She's a lucky girl. Hopefully, she knows that.”

I slinked back to the booth beside my mother, who shot me a sidelong glance. She'd always been fond of Nicole, and if the choice was hers, she'd marry me off without delay. Thankfully, this wasn't her call to make.

Jennifer kept her head down. My mom shot her a quick glance before standing up and giving me a kiss on the cheek.“Carter is going to walk me to the lodge. You guys stay here for as long as you want. This old woman needs some rest.”

"Sorry about that. Small town means running into ex-girlfriends.” Jennifer wouldn't make eye contact with me. What was going on? Surely, she couldn't be upset.

After leaving the money to cover our meal, Jennifer and I stepped out of the cozy diner into the bitter air.

My teeth chattered as I pulled my scarf up over my neck and tugged my coat tighter around my body.

We took slow steps as we walked down Main Street.

The snow was coming down heavily now, and the Christmas decorations in the shop windows were barely visible.

“What is your favorite part of growing up in this town?”

“The community.” I smiled fondly, recalling the abundance of potlucks we attended over the years. “It's astounding to witness the power of a small, close-knit community come together whenever someone needs something.”

The lodge came into view and then our rooms. My gaze lingered on her face. I wanted so badly to reach out to her, to confess my feelings and get it out in the open. But I couldn't move, not an inch, totally paralyzed.

“Good night.” I turned toward my door and walked inside like a coward.

Just tell her how you feel…