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

She felt warmer just thinking about it, back when life was simple and sure. When she knew what to expect when the day started. She’d taken that routine for granted. Craved excitement and change.

She frowned a little now.

“Is that all you remember?” Kyle tipped his head.

She thought about it. “Is there something I should remember?”

His eyes shadowed for a moment but he gave a tight smile. “I think you hit all the good parts.”

She sighed. Things were different, but far from worse, and she was happy that her cousin had made the place her own. “The changes are nice, but it still feels the same.” Still brought her back to another time and place. A happier time.

“The Conways always did have a good sense for business,” Kyle observed. There was a pinch to his forehead that made Brooke wonder if there was more behind his words.

She considered asking, but she was too struck by what he said. Wishing too hard that it was true. Yes, most of the Conways had been successful in business. But would she?

They paused their conversation when their wine was delivered by a wide-eyed Candy, who had to press her lips together to keep from saying anything, it appeared.

Kyle said nothing as he filled their glasses. “My brother wants to make some changes to the pub,” he finally said.

She looked at him in surprise, only that he would open up to her. There was no denying the fact that Harrison’s was a dive bar. They made a decent burger and excellent fries, but it couldn’t compete with the Carriage House, and from what she knew, that had never been the intention.

“I thought Ryan didn’t care about the pub.”

“He does now. Six years too late,” Kyle said quietly.

*

By the time they’d finished the bottle of wine and had made their way through a meal that made Brooke want to shout out to all her city friends that when it came to comfort food, this café topped any New York eatery, Brooke was finally starting to relax.

“So you really don’t miss it? The parties, the fashion shows? That was everything you ever wanted!”

Kyle was looking at her in wonder, not accusation, and she felt her edge soften.

Was it everything she ever wanted? Because there was one thing she’d wanted more. And that was him.

Maybe it was the wine, but she felt a prickle of tears touch the back of her eyes and she pushed them away before he could see. She brushed a brave hand through the air. “It was time. I learned, I experienced, and…Well, I’m not sure I ever would have found everything I was looking for in New York.”

“And what’s that?” he asked, his eyes soft and searching.

She felt her chest rise and fall with each breath until she managed to break his stare. “Oh, you know, family, my own shop. Rent in Manhattan is a fortune!” She smiled as if making a joke, but Kyle wasn’t laughing. If anything, he looked as resigned as she felt.

Suddenly, Kyle leaned into the table, his elbows splayed, his face so close to her that she felt the urge to pull back, but she didn’t.

“Just so you know,” he whispered.

His blue eyes danced, and she stared at him, taking him in, even though so much of him was committed to memory. There was the bump on his nose that had appeared in the seventh grade without explanation, and the scar on his hand from his first mishap in shop class—he’d come a long way.

“Yes?” she asked a little breathlessly.

He licked his bottom lip, his grin quirking. “Candy’s been over at the counter for the last ten minutes doing a really poor job of pretending to scrub it down.”

Brooke felt the air escape her lungs. She managed a laugh, a nervous one. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting Kyle to confide, but a distinct feeling of disappointment took hold, and it doubled when he leaned back against his chair, creating more space between them again.

Perhaps catching his eye, Candy hurried over to the table, her eyes darting eagerly from Brooke to Kyle and back again. “Dessert? Now, I didn’t make it tonight, but it is still delicious. Berry crumble, with the first picking from the orchard, Brooke!” She grinned broadly and added, dropping her voice by a level, “But if you don’t mind me saying, you two might want to come back on a Thursday. That’s when I’m in charge of dessert, and oh, I make a caramel cheesecake that will make your eyes roll back into your heads.”

Brooke laughed, almost happy for the interruption. Wait, what was she saying? Of course she was happy for the interruption! Being alone with Kyle Harrison was the last thing she needed right now.

Or wanted.

She swallowed hard.

“No wonder Uncle Dennis is marrying you,” she chided.

But Candy just stood a little straighter and shook her head. “Oh, no. I mean, it helps and all, and he loves my skillet breakfasts. But he loves what comes before them more, if you follow.”

Now it was Kyle’s turn to sputter on his drink. Candy, however, winked and said, “I don’t want to…interrupt. You two just holler if you want that dessert. I’ll be right there at the counter.”

Of course she would be.

Brooke stared at Kyle as Candy patted her on the shoulder and sauntered away. If there was any chance of prolonging this evening with a dessert course, that door had probably closed.

And it was better that way, Brooke told herself, as she pulled out her cardigan and shivered into the fabric.

“Well, this was...” She let her words hang there, not exactly knowing how to finish them. Fun? Not exactly? Nice? Maybe a little.

Confusing, she decided. It was very confusing.

“I’d offer to walk you