Chapter 15
Colleen
"Thank you for meeting me here," Colleen said gratefully to Rachel, who was settling into her chair on the opposite side of the table. She'd specifically chosen Love You Coffee as the place for this meeting because she knew how much Rachel enjoyed the drink that she had created.
The famous Love Bomb.
Half almond milk, half two percent, with espresso and a teaspoon of ground vanilla bean.
It had taken over as the dominant drink in the town's coffee shop after Rachel had stormed into town a couple of years ago and ordered a hand-crafted version of it for herself, and Reef Matthews, the manager of the shop, had put it on the menu.
Instant hit.
Clutching her cup in a perfectly manicured hand, Rachel took a sip and rolled her eyes behind closed lids. Colleen laughed at the sight.
"I think you're only supposed to make a face like that in the privacy of your own bedroom," she whispered.
Rachel turned a furious red and looked away. "Sorry, but I need caffeine that badly."
"Bad day at work?" Colleen asked.
"You have no idea. This whole mess with the Love Committee and the sign requirements is making it more difficult for me to bring in business."
"What do you mean?"
"Word is getting out. A couple of possible prospects are tired of some of the more rigid policies that the board enforces."
"You mean they're sick and tired of Anne?"
Rachel shrugged. "Business owners these days are different. They want streamlined. They want simple. They don't like delays, and with e-tailing, they have way more options. They aren't as dependent on the local consumer market for sales."
"Sure, but Love You, Maine, has a special character to it. We have to attract a certain kind of business owner."
"Of course," Rachel agreed, taking a long sip of her coffee as Colleen did the same. "But some businesses can fit in here or anywhere, and some businesses just aren't going to make it in this tiny town. Some, frankly, are turned away by the cheesiness of the town's concept."
"Well, then, we don't want them," Colleen replied tartly.
Rachel shook her head. "You are a Luview through and through."
"Yes, I am. It's in my blood and bones."
"I'd like to see the town get bigger," Rachel said.
"Of course. It's your job."
"It's not just that it’s my job. I think there's something so special about Love You, Maine, that the message the town puts out there needs to be heard by more people."
"What message is that? Love?"
"It's not just love–or anyway, it's not just the idea of love. When you come here, you feel accepted."
"You feel that way because you fell in love with one of the town founders’ descendants."
"I don't feel that way just because of Kell," Rachel countered. She took another long sip and looked around. "Check out this coffee shop. I've been in hundreds of coffee shops over the years, especially in L.A. and D.C., and none of them are like this."
"You mean covered in red, white, and pink?"
Rachel laughed. "The decor definitely stands out."
Police lights flashed, and both turned to see Luke driving by in his pink police cruiser, the red and blue lights flashing as he drove slowly but determinedly through town.
"And then there's that." Rachel pointed.
"The pink cars?"
"Yes."
Colleen shrugged. "It's part of the appeal."
"Exactly," Rachel agreed. "Why not encourage more of it?"
"We don't want Luview getting too big. Part of the appeal is how small it is."
"Why not let the market determine that?"
"Ugh," Colleen groaned. "The market?"
"There's nothing wrong with the free market system."
"No, there's nothing wrong with it, Rachel. But we don't want big corporations coming in here."
"I didn't say anything about big corporations."
"You used to, though. That's the whole reason you're here, right?"
"I'm here because of Kell," Rachel said softly, her eyes glimmering with love. “Moved here because I fell in love with him.”
"I know." Colleen reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "And we're so glad you did."
"Speaking of falling in love," Rachel started, and Colleen's hand froze. "Why did you really ask me out for coffee?"
Blinking hard, Colleen just stared at her.
Early on in the time that Kell and Rachel had been together, Colleen had thought of her as a bit shallow.
No, she was never going to admit that to anyone, but Rachel Hart, the daughter of a fading Hollywood star and a high-powered entertainment attorney, had arrived in Luview determined to help the local artisan chocolate company get bought out by the mega corporation she worked for, and that first impression had left a bit of a bad taste in Colleen's mouth.
In the time that Rachel had spent settling into the town and into their large extended family, Colleen had learned that she was anything but shallow.
Still, Colleen was slow to warm. Having Rachel call her out on a matter of the heart was surprising.
They weren't best buddies, and this was definitely crossing a privacy line and a confidentiality boundary that Colleen held firmly.
"I can see it in you, Colleen."
"Did my mom say something to you?" Something flickered in Rachel's eyes. "She did, didn't she?"
"I haven't said a word to Kell," Rachel replied, her hand up in defense. "I swear to God."
"My mother cannot keep a secret," Colleen hissed. "She was not supposed to tell you that she caught Moore and me kissing."
Something about Rachel's affect made Colleen pause. Staring people down was a special gift she possessed. As the seconds ticked by, Rachel predictably became more and more uncomfortable, and then Colleen realized the deep, dark truth.
"My mother told you that I kissed Moore, but Kell told you that I–"
Rachel jumped in. "He told me what happened at the cabin."
The slam of her palm against the table was complete impulsivity, the sound making people turn toward them, their drinks almost spilling. Rachel grabbed both coffees before they could topple.
"I'm going to kill him," Colleen said calmly.
"Your little brother is a foot taller than you and outweighs you by a hundred pounds of solid muscle."
"Doesn't matter. I will climb him like a tree and I will cut his heart out."
"I would really rather you not do that," Rachel said primly. "I've grown a little fond of him."
"He really told you about what happened after the accident, he and Luke barging in and finding us in bed?"
"Yes.” Rachel grimaced. “He still talks about needing brain bleach. I thought you invited me out for coffee to talk about this."
"I didn't know you already knew! This changes the whole tenor of the conversation. I thought I was sitting down with you and having a bonding moment where I was going to confess this big, deep, dark secret of mine, and instead, you not only know part of it, you know the whole freaking thing!”
"That doesn't have to change the bonding part,” Rachel said with a sigh. "I would love that. I'm touched, Colleen. I thought you viewed me as shallow."
Colleen jolted.
"What? No!” she lied. "I would never think that of you."
One perfectly threaded eyebrow arched on Rachel's face.
"You're a really bad liar, Colleen."
Colleen started laughing. "You're right. I am." She took a giant gulp of her cooling coffee.
Rachel's other eyebrow rose, and she tipped her head down. Her look said, I'm judging you so hard.
"That's okay. I've always thought of you as small minded and a little bit stuck up."
"Hey!"
Rachel shrugged with one shoulder.
"If we're confessing our true feelings, why not air it all out? Put it on the table, then we can move beyond it. You must be desperate for a friend if you're turning to me."
"That's not true," Colleen said, though she struggled. "It's just..."
"Come to think about it," Rachel ventured, "You don't have many friends."
"I have plenty of friends."
"But not really, Colleen. You have your family. You have Moore. You have your colleagues at the hospital. And other than that, you have–who?"
"I have Jordy."
"Jordy's great. He's your gamer friend, but he's more like your son or your nephew."
At the word son, Colleen's skin began to tingle. Rachel was giving her a rundown she didn't expect, and the only way to stop it would be to tell her what she'd really been feeling.
"You're right. You know who my best friend is, Rachel?"
"Who?"
"Moore."
"Oh," Rachel said softly. "I see. You can't talk to him about any of this, can you? And that's got to hurt."
"It does,” Colleen confessed. "I can't really talk about this with Mom.
And Luke is completely off his rocker when it comes to me and Moore.
There are a couple of people down at the hospital, but whenever I try to talk about my romantic life, they just make Third Date Colleen jokes. I need somebody to talk to."
"And Kylie was busy." Rachel said flatly.
"No, I wanted to talk to you first."
"Me?"
"Kylie's great, but she's kind of contaminated by Luke."
"Contaminated?"
"I don't know what the right word is. Every time I think about talking to her, I just imagine she's going to go tell Luke and then that's going to make this worse because Luke seems to think that Moore and I aren't together."
"So you are together?"
"Not publicly together, but privately together."
"That's the same thing, Colleen."
"No, Rachel. Trust me, it's not."
"I see. You guys are hiding it?"
"Yeah.”
“Because of Luke?"
"No. Yes. I don't know. Mostly because of Jordy."
"Jordy? Why would you hide your relationship from Jordy?"
"We weren't going to. We were going to be completely transparent.
Go public, deal with all the flak from the town, the whole bit.
And then Moore picked up Jordy from the airport, and Jordy started talking about how much he doesn't like his new soon-to-be stepfather.
How he was glad that Moore got dumped by his ex-girlfriend, Hannah.
How he was excited to have a parent who didn't force a stepparent or a parent figure on him, and it scrambled Moore's brains. "