Chapter 1 #4
That semester, he’d planned to stay on campus rather than fly home to California for the Thanksgiving break.
When his roommate found out about his plans, Owen invited him to spend the holiday with his family.
Despite all the traveling Matt had done over the years, the only parts of Maine he was familiar with were the towns near campus, so he’d agreed.
When they walked into the Middleton house that Tuesday afternoon, mouthwatering scents and Liv rolling out a pie crust while wearing an apron with the Swedish Chef on the front greeted them.
After hugging Owen, she pulled out the apple cobbler she had made just for him because it was Owen’s favorite.
Then, as she worked on pumpkin pies, the two siblings caught up while Owen and Matt polished off the cobbler.
At some point that day, he must have met Owen’s parents and his other sister, Faith, but nothing from those introductions stood out.
He didn’t know why the encounter with Liv did.
Maybe it had been the apple cobbler or the way she and Owen interacted.
They’d teased each other mercilessly, but it had been clear they’d do anything for each other.
Although Matt had two younger brothers with whom he got along well, they weren’t as close as Owen and Liv obviously were.
Actually, although he was the oldest, he’d often felt like the odd man out growing up.
As identical twins, Theo and Aiden did most things together.
To make matters worse, he had little in common with either of them.
Growing up, he often spent more time with his cousin Adam, who was the same age as him, rather than his brothers.
He never spent Thanksgiving with the Middletons again, but he’d made multiple trips back to visit with Owen while in college.
Each time, Liv reminded him of the stereotypical girl next door.
The one everyone in town liked. The one who always greeted you with a smile and asked how you were.
And unlike her younger sister, Faith, she always seemed to be dressed for comfort.
The most formal thing he’d seen her in was jeans and a sweater.
If she had ever worn makeup, it hadn’t been when he was around.
The phone on the table buzzed as Liv set down the lobster bisque.
“Do you need anything else right now?” she asked.
“What craft beers do you have on tap?”
“Keller, Beaverbrook, and Running Shoes.”
“Someone named their beer company Running Shoes?”
Liv shrugged and smiled. “Maybe the names they wanted were taken and they couldn’t think of anything else. Of the three, it’s my favorite.”
“I’ll try it, then.”
His phone buzzed again, reminding him he had a text message. Once Liv was no longer within sight, he flipped the device over and read the message.
Owen: We’ll be there Friday night. We bought a house over on Tall Oaks Drive.
Matt: Your sister told me.
Owen: Do you want to get together on Saturday?
Matt: Whatever works for you and Jenny.
Matt had no plans he needed to work around. He also had plenty of time on his hands for the foreseeable future.
Owen: Saturday is good for us. We usually leave on Sunday nights.
Matt: Your place or mine?
Most of the time, he didn’t mind the attention he often got when he went out. Those he was with sometimes did.
Owen: We’ll come to you. Time?
Liv said Owen and his wife came up almost every weekend to work on their house. Early evening should give them plenty of time to do that.
Matt: 5:00
Owen: See you then.
When alone, many people checked their favorite social media sites or the news.
Matt preferred to avoid both, for obvious reasons.
So after Owen’s final text message, he opened the crossword puzzle he’d started yesterday and filled in the squares for thirteen down while he enjoyed his bisque.
He didn’t have lobster often. He found it too much work, but you couldn’t come to Maine and not have some.
Not to mention, Ocean View Grill’s lobster bisque was the best he’d had anywhere in the state.
Matt lifted another spoonful toward his mouth and read the clue for seventeen down.
Who discovered the Titanic wreck?
Beats me.
He’d never cared about the history of the famous ship. Honestly, he didn’t understand why so many people remained fascinated by it. The vessel sank more than a hundred years ago, and no one who’d survived the disaster remained alive.
Right now, he only had two of the thirteen letters in the answer.
Definitely not enough to even guess a name.
Thanks to modern technology, he could find out before his meal even arrived.
Hell, he could get that information as well as everything from a passenger list to what was served for dinner the night the ship sank.
Instead of looking up the answer, he moved on to a new clue.
Who invented basketball?
This one he could answer. Even better, it gave him a letter in seventeen down.
“How’s the bisque?”
At the sound of Liv’s voice, he looked up. “Delicious. And you were right. Owen and Jenny are coming up this weekend.”
“Thanks for the warning. Now I have time to come up with an excuse for why I can’t help them. I’ve done enough sanding and painting in the past month to last me a lifetime.”
He’d never lifted a paintbrush, but how hard could it be?
“Your meal should be out any minute. Do you want me to bring you some more water when I come back?”
“Please.”
Maybe she knew the answer to seventeen down. “Hey, do you know who found the Titanic?” he asked, stopping her midturn.
“Yeah, it was….” Liv paused, and her eyebrows scrunched together.
“Man, why can’t I remember his name? I watched a special about underwater archaeology not that long ago, and they mentioned him.
He also found some other well-known wreckages.
” She pulled her phone out, and he guessed she intended to look up the answer.
Before she did, though, she snapped her fingers. “Ballard. I don’t remember his first name, but his last name is Ballard. He’s a university professor somewhere.”
It was more than he had now.
“Why do you want to know? It’s kind of an odd question.”
“It’s a clue in a crossword puzzle.”
“If you get stuck on any other ones, just ask. I’m usually good at them.” Liv glanced at her phone and briefly closed her eyes. “I’ll be right back with your meal.” Phone still in hand, she turned and walked away.
Dismissing Liv from his thoughts, he focused on the crossword puzzle again. If he answered eleven across, he would have another letter in seventeen down.
A reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen.
Matt reread the clue and thought back to high school science class. The answer only contained four letters, and the last one was a T. The answer had to be rust, which meant seventeen down started with an R. What were some male names that contained six letters and started with an R?
As he went through common male names, he grabbed the last roll. Both Richard and Raymond were too long. Ryan contained only four letters. Maybe Liv could help him when she returned.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the one who brought out his meal.
“Liv needed to make a phone call,” the woman standing next to the table said as she placed his meal down.
“Thank you,” he said, looking up from his phone. He didn’t recognize her, but judging by her expression, she recognized him because her eyes doubled in size.
“Are you Matt Sherbrooke from Eclipse?”
Matt considered his options. He could lie and tell Maggie, according to her name tag, that he wished he were and that he got asked that all the time.
Over the past few years, he’d done that whenever he wanted to be left alone, and oddly, people usually believed him.
Or he could be honest and pose for any pictures she wanted.
This afternoon, he went with option number two and nodded.
“Oh my God!” Maggie’s voice went up several octaves. “My sister is going to be so jealous when I tell her you were here. We’re both huge fans. We saw your concert last year.”
“I hope you enjoyed it.” He’d had this same conversation countless times.
“We loved it. Next time you perform in the area, we’ll be there.”
Maggie and her sister might have to wait a long time for that.
“Would you mind if we took a picture together?” She pulled her phone out before she finished the question.
He’d known the request was coming. Regardless of his mood, he never said no when a fan asked for a photo. Without fans like Maggie and her sister, he wouldn’t have a career.
“Sure thing.”
Liv appeared at the table as Maggie took her second picture. “Maggie, your order for table 6 is ready.”
“On it.” Maggie stuffed the phone back into her pocket. “Thanks so much for the pictures. My sister is going to be super jealous when she sees them.”
“Sorry about that.” Liv gestured toward the other woman once she was out of hearing. “I needed to call my dad.”
“Don’t worry about it. Is everything okay?” He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about her tone was off.
“Oh, yeah, just some work stuff.”
Matt didn’t know Liv well, but he’d bet his Ferrari that she was lying. But if she didn’t want to share, he wouldn’t push the matter.
“Do you need anything else?” she asked.
“I’m all set for now.”
“Then I’ll let you enjoy your lunch. I’ll be back to check on you in a little while.”
Picking up his fork, he looked at the crossword puzzle still open and realized he’d forgotten to ask Liv if she knew any names that started with an R and contained six letters.
Several hours later, Matt stood in the same spot he’d started the day, only instead of holding a cup of coffee, he had a can of ginger ale in his hand.
Although the sun was setting, there was enough daylight left to make out the cruise ship at sea.
While he wouldn’t want to be stuck on a ship with so many strangers, he was a little envious of the individuals out there tonight.
It would be another two weeks before his new boat arrived and was ready for him to use.
Settling into a chair, Matt stretched his legs out and opened the paperback he’d picked up after lunch.
Like most people, he owned an e-reader, but there was something about holding a paperback in his hands that he enjoyed.
When he’d gone into the Book Nook after lunch, he’d browsed the shelves for a good half hour before purchasing the newest release from Curt Hilton, as well as books from two authors he was unfamiliar with.
He read the first page and stopped when the name “Liv” appeared.
Immediately, an image of Liv from this afternoon popped up.
Whether something was wrong or not shouldn’t matter to him.
She was someone he saw a few times a year, if that, when he went into the Ocean View Grill.
That barely made them acquaintances. Regardless, he’d thought of her several times since he left the restaurant this afternoon.
Something had happened to trigger the slight change in her.
Whatever it had been, Liv’s brother might know.
But since they weren’t friends, she might not appreciate him sticking his nose into her business.
He sure as hell hated it when people did it to him.
However, in his case, people often felt they were entitled to know everything about him because he’d picked a career that cast him in the spotlight.
And while he gave them some leeway, it didn’t mean he approved of the paparazzi trying to get onto his property or standing outside a restaurant, waiting for him to exit with his mom on her birthday.
Yeah, as curious as Matt was, he wouldn’t text Owen and ask about Liv. However, he might stop by the restaurant again this weekend and see how she was. A man had to eat, after all, and Ocean View Grill was his favorite restaurant in town.