6. Lucy
lucy
. . .
When I woke up the next morning, I realized I had slept through the rest of the evening and the entire night. My body didn’t feel that tired, but it seemed like I needed the rest.
When I finally forced myself to get out of bed and start my day, I put on a white sundress since Port-Cartier didn’t get as much rain as Seattle. It was one of the things I missed about it—what now seemed like eternal sunshine. As I headed downstairs, I was met with the smell of coffee and pancakes. It was my favorite breakfast growing up, so of course, my mom had made it for me. It was one of her many ways to welcome me back into Port-Cartier.
“Hey, Mom,” I called out as I rounded the corner to the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks,
surprised to see Ed sitting at the kitchen table. He gave me a big smile and a small wave, visibly enjoying his pancakes. “Oh, hi, Ed,” I added.
“Hey, Lucy. Good to see you got proper rest.”
“Sweetie,” Mom said, peeking from the kitchen. She had her apron on, and her hair pulled in a messy bun on top of her head. “I made pancakes—chocolate chip ones—your favorite. I also brewed some coffee. Ed and I already had breakfast so help yourself.”
My mom was an early riser, so it was no surprise that she had already eaten. My stomach grumbled in response. “Sorry, I slept through dinner last night. I guess I was more tired than I realized.”
“No worries, pumpkin. I checked on you and saw that you were passed out, so I thought it would be best to let you sleep. After all, you did have a long flight.”
I sat at the table with my plate piled up with pancakes, still debating on bringing up what was truly on my mind.
“Do you two have breakfast together every morning?” I asked, trying to understand
how close Ed and Mom were. More power to Mom if she and Ed were dating, but she
had never mentioned anything to me. And this was the kind of a thing that she’d bring up.
“I invite Ed over whenever I make pancakes,” she replied suspiciously quickly. I arched my brow, and Ed patted his stomach.
“Your mom is my pancake dealer. Everyone knows she is the best cook in the county, and she keeps me well-fed.”
“Tell me about it. I spent my teenage years enjoying these pancakes; it was about time I passed the torch on to someone else.”
This interaction told me nothing about their relationship, if there was one, but Ed seemed nice enough. He had kind eyes, and he appeared respectful and sweet. I wanted my mom to be happy, and if her happiness was by his side, I was more than supportive.
“I’m going to have to get going soon, Lucy,” my mom said, sitting at the table. “The floral shop isn’t going to open itself. We’ll hang out when I get back home, okay? I’ve stocked the fridge with groceries, so feel free to make whatever you’d like for lunch. Or you can order something. There’s a cute little restaurant just around the corner…”
“Mom, I’ll be fine.” I gave her a small smile and chewed my pancake. She always tended to worry. Some things never changed, I guess. “Just go. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
Ed looked at my mom. “I’ll drive you over if you’d like, Eve.”
“That would be great. Thank you,” Mom responded. “I’m already late, but I wanted to ensure I was here when you woke up. Do you have any plans for today?” She gathered her things and tossed them into one of her tote bags.
“I thought I might check out downtown, hit the bookstore and coffee shop, and then we’ll see where the day takes me.”
“Well, have fun, and feel free to stop by the floral shop.” Dashing over to me, she kissed my forehead while Ed put his mug in the sink, washing it out.
“I better take your mom to her flower shop before she loses all her marbles,” he commented quietly, but it was still loud enough for her to hear.
“I heard that!” she yelled from across the hall, and I laughed.
“I’ll see you around, Lucy.” Ed followed my mom toward the front door.
“Love you!”
When the door slammed shut, I was left on my own. Silence surrounded me, confronting me with my encounter with Luke yesterday. It was foolish to think I wouldn’t have run into him at some point, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
I need to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t think about it, I decided, finishing my breakfast before heading into the town.
Port-Cartier was a small New England town in that swelled in the summer due to tourists. It wasn’t as popular as the bigger town next to it, but that was the way the residents preferred it. The downtown ran parallel to the beach. Each side of the street had different businesses, with the restaurant and coffee shop sitting just feet from the beach. My home was a short walk to downtown, and since I didn’t have a car, my choice was made for me. Growing up, I had always walked everywhere—until I started dating Luke in our sophomore year, who insisted on driving me everywhere.
I had forgotten how much it had sucked to walk in the summer with the humidity. By the time I reached The Book Nook, my hair was sticking to my face and neck and starting to grow a little frizzy. For that reason, in Seattle, with the rain and dampness, I had often
kept my hair piled on top of my head. I rarely showed my natural curls anymore, but maybe that was another change that needed to be implemented.
I stepped inside the bookstore, breathing a sigh of relief as the air conditioning hit me. The Book Nook was in a red brick building with large windows that let in plenty of natural light. Even from outside, I got a good peek at the neatly lined shelves with a wide selection of books of all different genres.
“Lucy!” a tall, black man at the front counter called out, sliding his glasses from the top of his head to his nose to inspect me further.
“Gabe, is that you?” I stepped forward hesitantly. “Oh my God, how are you?”
Gabe came out from behind the counter to hug me. We had been friends in high school—not the super close kind, but it was still the kind of friendship that was comfortable.
“Fabulous as usual! I heard you were coming back, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.”
I smiled. “I didn’t realize that you had moved back to Port-Cartier.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you drop off the face of the earth.”
I cringed as a pang of guilt spread through me. When I left, I left everything and everyone behind—aside from my mom. I cut all the contact with everyone I once knew, thinking it was exactly what I needed for a fresh start. Back then, I didn’t realize how that choice affected those around me. “I’m sorry; I just needed to get away from here after everything that happened. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Pssh, it’s water under the bridge. My husband and I moved back a few years ago and
bought the bookstore from Maggie, who was just about to retire. It’s always been Marcus’ dream to own a bookstore, so we made it happen.”
“Marcus? The one you used to bicker with constantly?”
Another smile spread across his face. “That’s right.”
“Well, I’d love to see him sometime.”
“We’ll arrange something. He’s out getting some inventory, but we can schedule a dinner together.” The phone rang, pulling Gabe away from our conversation. “I’ve got to go but look around and let me know if you need anything.”
I moved through the stacks, pulling out books to read the blurbs. If there was one way to get my mind off things—it was this. Reading was something I had always enjoyed, ever since I was a kid. And I’d need at least a few books to tide me over while I was here on vacation. The selection I left the bookstore with ranged from a thriller, over to a mystery novel, all the way to non-fiction. I stayed away from romance. I was not in the right mindset to read about couples who got their happily ever after.
Despite having a cup of coffee with my breakfast, I was craving another cup by noon. Sailor had said I was an addict. I’d retorted that I liked the finer things in life. And coffee was one of them.
I headed next door to Brew Haha, Port-Cartier’s famous coffee shop. The owner bought it during my senior year of high school, and it quickly became a popular hangout for young and old alike. As I entered, nearly all the tables were full, especially those on the ocean-front patio. The décor had changed somewhat since I last had been here, but they kept the bohemian vibe.
I got in line and browsed the menu, trying to figure out if I wanted to go with my old
faithful drink or try something new. A silky voice appeared behind me, sending a shudder down my spine. “Do you remember what you used to get?”
I whirled around, facing face to face with a broad, muscular chest belonging to Luke.
“I was actually just checking out the menu.” I was determined not to be flustered by him again. Last night was bad enough.
I walked into Brew Haha, hand in hand with Luke. This was becoming our new after-school routine, one I hoped to keep for many years.
“You two are adorable. You’ll be married before you know it,” the owner behind the
counter told us. I looked up at Luke, unable to hold back the smile that tugged at my lips. We had it all planned out. We would go to college together, and then we’d get married and return to Port-Cartier, where Luke would take over his family’s shipbuilding business. I was going to the community college near Luke since he was going to an engineering college. Luke was getting a marine engineering and architecture degree, which would pay off in the long run. The local community college didn’t have the floral artistry degree I wanted, but I would get a business degree and then figure out the rest from there. I just wanted to be with Luke. Things would be hard for a little while, but it would all work out in the end.
“You bet. I have every intention of marrying this girl soon…”
“Next!” the guy at the front called out, and I was still staring at Luke.
“That’s you, sweetheart,” he pointed out. The words made me weak in my knees, and I quickly shook my head to pull myself out of this trance.
Jesus, I need to get a grip on myself around him.
I swiftly turned around and directed my attention to the barista. “I’ll have an iced French vanilla cold brew to go, please,” I told him.
“And I’ll have my usual. You can put it both on my tab, Riley.”
“Will do,” the barista said with a grin, turning to get our order ready.
I hated the idea of silence around him, so I quickly said, “You don’t have to do that. I can pay for my coffee.”
Luke moved beside me, looking down at me. “Consider it a welcome home gift.”
I bit my bottom lip and then let out a small sigh. “Fine, but I’ll get the next one.”
“Done.” Luke grinned. I realized what I had just said was too late. That meant there would be a next time. I had walked right into that one, and there was no backing out now. I narrowed my eyes at him. The move made Luke break out into a full-on smile.
“What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?”
“I come here for coffee every day. If anything, you’d be considered a stalker.”
I rolled my eyes at his words. “I just wanted a cup of coffee, Luke. Don’t flatter yourself.”
“And you’re getting it now,” he retorted.
The barista handed us our drinks.
“Thank you for the coffee,” I mumbled as I grabbed my coffee and marched out of the coffee shop, eager to put distance between Luke and me. It was too easy to fall back into our old habits, but I couldn’t forget there were ten years and a lot of hurt between us. The end of my relationship with Jason was bad enough; I couldn’t deal with this, too.
Luke followed me out. “Luce, wait up!”
“What now—” I stopped, turning around…and running right into Luke. “Fuck!” My iced coffee splattered down my front, instantly turning my white sundress tan. Luke didn’t fair too well, either. His pants took the brunt of the spill. Thank God all I had was an iced drink and that Luke had managed not to crush his coffee between the two of us.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Luce, I didn’t know you were going to turn around that quickly. Here, my house is just around the corner. I have some clothes you can change into.”
“I am not going to your house, Luke,” I told him firmly, ignoring the people who passed by. Luke’s brows furrowed.
“I’m just trying to help. This was an accident. But if you’d prefer to walk around with a giant coffee stain…”
I sighed. “Lead the way,” I said, gesturing before me.
My sandals squeaked as I followed Luke. At least this way, I got to admire the way his jeans clung to his ass. You could bounce a quarter off that ass. Luke had always been fit but now he was not only fit but muscular too. He filled out his t-shirt and jeans. I tried not to drool at the sight in front of me.
As if he could sense my thoughts, he turned around, slowing down a few paces and restricting my dirty vision.
We only had to travel a few houses down. He turned onto a cobblestone walkway leading up to a small house with a porch with a swinging bench. The house was painted sage green and had a small garden around it. I could tell Luke tried his best to keep it going. God bless him, but he was never the one with a green thumb in our relationship.
My steps faltered. Luke turned.
“You...you bought the house?” I asked, my voice just a whisper. Luke rubbed his neck. It was his tell for when he was nervous.
“Yeah, I bought it a few years ago, and I’ve been slowly fixing it ever since.”
“You’ve done a great job.” My eyes threatened to fill with tears, but I quickly blinked them away. This was the house we had picked out our senior year of high school. It had been on the market for years. It needed a lot of work, but we would buy it together.
“Come on,” Luke said, and we walked up the front steps to the porch. He held open the front door as I stepped inside.
I was immediately pulled in by the scent of him. It was a pine and musk scent that
put me at ease. The home was sparsely decorated, but everything had been updated. The floors were made of solid hardwood. The living room bled into the kitchen, which had been updated with new cabinetry and appliances.
“It’s beautiful in here, Luke.”
Luke put his hands in his pockets. “I still have more to do, but it’s coming along. Anyway, I’ll go get you some clothes.”