“Not at all.” Claire turned to Jane. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No. I should have thought of it earlier, but I kept expecting her to leave town abruptly.”
“She seems to be settling in.” Maxi sipped her coffee, looking at her friends over the rim of the mug. They were watching her expectantly. “Okay, I know you guys are dying to ask about James. The truth is I’ve been busy with the paintings, and maybe I’ve been using that as an excuse not to think about our relationship too. I’m actually not sure what to do.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Not since I saw him at the Purple Blueberry.” Maxi put the coffee mug down and leaned forward to pet Cooper, who had been lying at Jane’s feet. “By the way, don’t think I don’t know that you both put him up to that... and have you been dressing him too? I noticed he had an outfit that was less...”
“Stodgy?” Claire supplied, and the three of them burst out laughing.
“I guess you might say that.” Maxi admitted that James had taken to going a bit overboard with the business attire.
“I hope you don’t think we were going behind your back.” Jane’s face softened. “He really is in a bad way.”
“Once we were convinced he didn’t cheat on you, we couldn’t help but give him a few pointers.” Claire’s expression turned serious. “I hope we weren’t overstepping.”
Maxi shook her head. “No, I think it might help. I feel like we can’t go back to the way things were. Something has to change.”
“But you are going back.” Jane said it as a statement rather than a question.
Maxi paused, her gaze traveling to the bread store. Claire and Rob had a good thing, and Jane and Mike did too. She couldn’t imagine starting dating again. She had no desire to do that.
When she’d seen James at the Purple Blueberry, she’d been impressed that he was making an effort. She leaned back in her seat. “Yes, we will get back together, but I want to make it perfectly clear that from now on, I’m going to focus on living my best life. I just hope James can see his way to being a part of it.”
Chapter Twenty
Jane and Andie stood at the full-length mirror in Jane’s room. The inn had been spruced up for the arrival of the wedding guests, but tonight was a night for relaxation and fun before the storm of the guests’ arrival.
If only Jane could figure out what to wear.
“What about this one?” Andie pulled a chic black sheath dress out of Jane’s closet and held it up to Jane’s neck then turned her so she could see it in the mirror.
Jane supposed the dress had potential. It was simple, just the way she liked it, but was it good enough for the opening? What would Mike think of it? Andie, of course, looked like a model in a gray chiffon pantsuit with silvery trim. Her dark hair had been brushed to a silky sheen and flowed down past her shoulders.
“I don’t know. It’s kind of plain.” Jane glanced into her closet. Maybe she could dress it up with some fancy shoes?
“It suits you. With some simple sparkly earrings and a necklace, it would be stunning,” Andie said.
“Maybe.” Jane slipped the dress off the hanger and pulled it over her head.
“This reminds me of your freshman prom, when you couldn’t decide what to wear.” Andie zipped up the back and nodded her approval over Jane’s shoulder in the mirror.
Jane smiled at the memory. “You picked out that pretty blue dress, and I got a lot of compliments.”
Andie nodded. “I think you look even better now.”
Jane turned back to the mirror. She supposed she looked okay. Luckily she had a slim figure, and the dress accentuated that and seemed to make her silvery pixie haircut look modern and chic.
“Those were fun times.” Jane turned to Andie. “I miss those times.”
“Me too. Simpler times. These last few weeks have been...” Andie’s voice drifted off, and she looked away from Jane, out the window toward the ocean. Jane’s heart sank. Here it was, the good-bye speech. At least Andie was trying to let her down gently.
Jane picked a pair of diamond stud earrings out of her jewelry box. “It’s been great having you here, but I get that you want to go back to work.”
Andie turned from the window. “When I first came, I figured I would bolt after a week like usual. But I wanted to spend more time with Mom, and then there was the garden project, and suddenly this place started to grow on me. And now I’ve realized that Lobster Bay is where I belong.”
Jane turned from the mirror, adjusting the back of the earring. “You mean you’re staying?”
