Beck looked at me strangely. “What prompted that?”
Oops. I really need to learn to think first and talk second. “Just the three of you, not to mention adding Cole in college.”
“You think Cole is hot?”
“Obviously.”
“Huh. Didn’t think he was your type.”
“He’s not. You know I like guys with a sense of humor. But on a purely molecular level, he’s hotter than hell.”
Why Beck frowned, I had no idea.
And then it hit me. I hadn’t thought of Mathieu in all of four minutes. So much for that streak, which was now over.
“Go ahead, say it.”
I sighed. “The last thing I want to do is bring everyone down with my moping.”
“I’m not everyone.”
True.
“Mathieu’s sense of humor was what had first attracted me to him. He waited on Colette and me.”
“The one with the big tits?”
Beck was impossible. “Yes. And also an incredible pastry chef, thank you very much. Her boobs are not her best asset.”
“If you say so.”
I ignored him. “Anyway, he had us laughing all throughout dinner. Colette did warn me, that very night and when we started dating, that Mathieu was a charmer. But I didn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. Looking back, I should have listened when she told me to ‘watch out for that one.’ Maybe if she’d stayed around, things would have been different.”
“Where did she go?”
“Colette was accepted into the spring program and graduated last December. We still stay in touch online, but I haven’t seen her since. She probably won’t be shocked when I tell her what happened.”
Parker pulled into Heritage Hill, parking his truck and turning toward me.
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Mae. You can’t beat yourself up for not seeing signs, whether they were there or not. That’s not how love works.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “How the heck would you know? You haven’t been in love a day in your life.”
Beck’s smile told me he hadn’t taken offense, which was good, because I hadn’t meant any. I knew he was capable of love. He adored his younger sister and loved my parents, especially my father, like his own. But romantic love? Not so much.
“Because I have two hot friends who both fell in love this past year who told me so.”
I could always count on him to lighten the mood.
“Who do you think is the hottest of the four of you?”
“I am not answering that question.”
We got out of the truck, me goading Beck into answering all the way into the house.
I was amazed at the renovations. Heritage Hill looked totally different. Beck told me that they’d been working hard on it since last summer and had sent some pics, but the transformation was even more impressive in person.
“You guys did a great job on the inn,” I said as we walked into the kitchen. On the island, everything for a taco bar was laid out, the smell of seasoned beef coming from the stove. “Now there’s a sight to behold. Mason Bennett, cooking. You’re just missing an apron.”
