Me: Any interest in swinging by Maple Cove Treasures at some point? It’s sale day, and I want a sweatshirt.
Rachel: Love that crotchety old man. Count me in. Let’s go after lunch. Shopping is better with a full belly anda buzz.
Viv: My girl ^^^
“It was really… sweet.” I push the hair back behind my ear, finishing my recap of the morning. I shared the news the PI sent with Viv while we walked to The Tavern and abbreviated it drastically for Rachel. I don’t need to burden her with my history. Thankfully, a simple, “I got some news that rattled me,” was good enough for her.
“That tracks. Luke has always been a good guy. He’s dealt with some things, you know? Like when his dad passed, it wassosad. That family has been in this town forever, and Luke’s dad was a really nice man. Luke gave up any plans of leaving when his dad got sick.”
Rachel grew up with Luke and his family. She, like most others here, stuck around Maple Cove, choosing small-town life over starting somewhere else.
“What do you mean?” I ask, curious about what Luke had hoped to do if his dad hadn’t gotten sick.
“Okay, well, this is all speculation since Luke never really told anyone what actually went down, but his girlfriend Samantha—they were together forever—wanted to move to the city. Between us, she was a real B. Anyway, she took off a little before everyone found out about Luke’s dad’s diagnosis. Apparently, she wanted nothing to do with Maple Cove or the bed-and-breakfast, and basically just wanted a new life.”
“Did they break up or—” I hope my question appears conversational rather than probing. I don’tneedto know. Iwantto know, but the girls don’t need to know that.
“Well, that’s the thing. What no one really knows is if it was a mutual ending, or if, like, Luke would have followed her and she didn’t want him to. Luke just doesn’t talk about it. Either way, though, his dad became sick, and even if he ever planned to leave, that was the end of that. Pretty dark time, you know, with the end of that relationship and then everything with his dad.”Rachel lifts her glass of wine and takes a polite sip. “If you ask me, Samantha is an idiot for leaving because that man is a catch.”
“He is a hottie, no doubt,” Viv agrees.
I should reply, but I feel a little caught up in this ex-girlfriend info, though I have no business wanting to know more. What’d she look like? Was she pretty? Did his mom like her? Was she a good fit for him? Why do I even care? I shouldn’t. I don’t.
“My fiancé played football with Luke back in high school. Luke was a great guy then, and still is now. He’s completely devoted to his family.Swoon.”
“So, would you say that Luke makes good… vacation-fling material for my dear friend Liv here?” Viv hedges.
I give her my best “what the hell?” glare. Naturally, she ignores me.
“Oh, definitely. He’s rooted here, so that’d totally be like a no strings attached kind of deal. He’s committed to the B&B.” She points her finger at me, twirling it in a circle. “Are you on the hunt for a vacation hookup?”
“Liv needs to get laid. Simple as that.”
I’m gonna kill her.
“I do notneedto get laid. Don’t listen to Viv.” I shoot daggers in her direction while she snickers on the other side of the table.
“Okay…” Rachel looks between us.
I groan. Guess we’re doing this.
“Here’s the short version. I dated a guy for a while. We almost moved in together, but he was an ass and had no life direction. He cheated on me, and I haven’t had the most successful dating life ever since.” I pick up my drink and take a less-than-polite sip.
“When was that?” Rachel asks.
“Yeah, Liv, when was that?” Viv cocks her head, a stupid smirk on her face.
Rubbing my forehead, I mumble, “Four years ago.”
Viv gestures toward me as she looks at Rachel, one eyebrow nearly meeting her hairline.
“And you haven’t had”—Rachel’s voice drops to a whisper—“S-E-X since?” Her eyes are wide with disbelief. Viv purses her lips at Rachel as if trying to decipher why she would spell the word out rather than just say it.
“She needs to clear the cobwebs from her vagina or I fear it will wither and die,” Viv adds.
“We all know that’s not a thing, so shut up. My vibrator has done a great job, thank you very much.”
“Yeah, but that’s no comparison to therealthing.” Is that pity I hear in Rachel’s voice?
