Return to Me (Blue Harbor Book 5) by Olivia Miles (most popular ebook readers .TXT) 📕

So she’d heard. Brooke would have loved nothing more than to have a lighthearted meal with her sister and cousin, so much so that she made a mental note to do that soon. “I’m not meeting Gabby.”

She paused, wondering how she could even explain her reason for meeting Kyle. As far as everyone in town knew, their marriage had ended—in every possible way—years ago. That there was nothing left between them to even discuss.

“Oh? One of your friends from school then?” Maddie asked conversationally as she filled a mug with coffee.

Again, a nice idea, and much more appealing than the thought of sitting across from her ex—or not so ex—husband for an hour.

And it had better not be more than an hour.

She pulled in a breath. “Kyle asked to meet me.”

Maddie’s eyes went round. She didn’t blink for several seconds. “Kyle? Why?”

Good question, Brooke thought ruefully. She felt her eyes hood. “I think he just wants to make sure things are civil between us, with me being back in town and everything.”

It was partially true, she figured, and maybe that would be one good outcome from all of this. In a town this small, it would be much easier if everyone could get along.

Maddie seemed to relax and nodded her head. “That makes sense. But…it won’t be awkward?”

Brooke raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it will be awkward all right.”

She laughed, and Maddie laughed too, and for a brief, fuzzy moment, she didn’t feel so alone in the world. She had someone on her side. A lot of them, actually.

But not Kyle, she thought. He was the one person who was supposed to be on her side, and who had let her down instead.

*

Kyle was already seated at a table near the window when Brooke walked into the café a few moments later through the arched doorway that connected Maddie’s bakery to Amelia’s establishment. Long ago, the café had been owned by another woman, and Brooke was happy that her cousin had decided to keep the restaurant going under a new name. These were the types of places that made coming back to Blue Harbor easier. It helped to know that some things hadn’t changed in her absence.

But Kyle…well, he hadn’t changed either, and Brooke didn’t know what to make of that. Would she have been happier to hear that he’d met someone, was planning to marry again, maybe start a family?

She’d managed not to think about that scenario any more than she stopped herself from picturing what he’d looked like on their wedding day, or the night he’d proposed, or countless other times that had become so routine they all blended together until the memories were no longer clear.

But now everything was very clear. Too clear. The sight of him made her pull a sharp intake of breath. She’d half expected jeans and a tee—something he wore to the pub, or at least had when she knew him. But tonight he was wearing a dress shirt, and his hair looked freshly combed, and she had to steady herself for a moment, thinking that he’d possibly dressed up for her. That she still mattered to him.

Because if she did…Well, she didn’t quite know how to feel about that.

She glanced at the counter as she approached the table, seeing only an unfamiliar face that must be one of Amelia’s part-time staff. Good. Another sweep of the room didn’t reveal anyone she knew. It was a Tuesday night, so the café was quiet.

Maybe, it was too quiet.

Kyle’s expression lifted and he stood as she approached. “I’d hoped to sit out on the deck, but the breeze is strong this evening and I know how you get cold.”

She told herself not to read too far into that. It was true, she liked to have a sweater or scarf on her at all times because the lake effect here in Blue Harbor could be as tricky as air-conditioning when it came to staying comfortable. It was just one simple small detail about her, as common as, say, the color of her eyes.

She laughed away her nervous energy by motioning to her cardigan tucked into her bag. “You know me,” she said in a joking voice before he caught her eye sharply.

“Every inch of you.”

She pinched her mouth and took her seat, shifting uncomfortably as Kyle did the same. Face to face across the table from him for an entire meal. Her stomach dropped as she hooked her bag over the back of her chair.

“Amelia working tonight?” she asked, hoping to keep the conversation light, the topics far from personal.

“If she is, I didn’t see her,” Kyle said. After a beat, he added, “But I did see Candy.”

She resisted a smile as their eyes locked, and his gleamed with familiar amusement.

“So you know Candy then?” Not that she should be surprised. This was a small town.

“She’s made her presence around town known,” he said mildly. “And I see her at the Sunday market sometimes.”

The Sunday market was a tradition at Conway Orchard, a defining part of her week growing up when the entire family would gather to sell local produce and baked goods. She shouldn’t be surprised that he still went, considering most of the town turned out at least once a month, though some came weekly. He had been close to her family, in the same grade as Amelia, and no one had any bad feelings toward him.

“I didn’t realize you still went there,” she commented.

“I still live in this town.” He shrugged, his gaze locking hers. “Had to hold onto some things.”

She felt her heart pick up speed until she looked away. “It seems my cousins have come to embrace the woman their father is marrying.” Brooke looked at the menu, but she couldn’t properly concentrate, even