Page 67 of Fish Out of Water

Jake took his time getting dressed, using this moment to collect his thoughts and brace himself for the woman he was about to face. How he would explain Robbie staying the night, he didn’t know. He felt like he was back in college again, trying to bring guys home during summer break when his parents were out, only to have them return when Jake’s hookup was standing in the kitchen with nothing but underwear on and a glass of water in his hand.

But when he emerged from his room, trying much too hard to be casual as he sauntered into the kitchen, Isabel looked less than concerned.

“Good morning, Jake,” she said, scrubbing the dishes she’d left in the sink overnight. “Sleep well?”

Jake looked down at the floor, his confidence eroding. “Yeah.”

“Robbie could’ve stayed for breakfast, you know.”

“He needed to leave.”

“I understand. He probably has to be at the bookstore early in the morning.”

“Yeah, probably. I might—” Jake paused. “I might stop by there today if you don’t need me.”

“Oh, perfect, you can bring his dish with you.” Isabel smiled. “I’m surprised you haven’t been in there yet. It’s really a charming little place, even if certainpeople can’t see it.”

He cleared his throat. Isabel hadn’t known about his impromptu trip to the store earlier in the week. As far as she knew, this was the first time he and Robbie had even hooked up.

“Right,” he said. “Uh, aboutthosepeople… don’t say anything to them about me and Robbie. He doesn’t want them to know.”

“I won’t,” Isabel said quickly. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to, Jake.”

“Please don’t. It’s not even—we’re not—I doubt it’ll ever happen again. We’re not dating or anything. It was just a one-time thing.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I just want you to be happy.” She turned off the sink and dried her hands on a dishtowel. “If Robbie makes you happy, then that’s good.”

“He doesn’t. I mean, he’s fine, I guess, but it’s nothing like that. Like I said, it’s not a real thing. It’s definitely not going to happen again. Anyway, I’m gonna head out soon. I need a walk or something.”

“To clear your head?” Isabel looked at him knowingly.

“You could say that.” Jake ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “It’s been a long couple of months, Aunt Isabel. I really didn’t think it could be this complicated living here.”

Isabel chuckled. “Welcome to Eventide, dear. It’s not what it seems from the outside.”

Jake smiled wryly. “No, it’s not.”

Jake’s walkled him directly to the bookstore, which had just opened minutes before. He could see Robbie inside, standing behind the counter in the same clothes as yesterday. He really had needed to duck out quickly if he wanted to get to work on time, but not taking even a few seconds longer to say goodbye still stung a little.

Jake opened the door, cringing as the bells jingled above him. Robbie glanced up, his initial smile fading when he saw who it was.

“Welcome to—oh.” He set the book he was reading down. “Lucky you, you’re the first customer of the day.”

“I’m not here to buy anything.”

“Then what?”

“Isabel wanted to return your baking dish.”

“You could’ve brought it with you to the beach tonight.” Robbie’s lip twitched. Jake couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or amused.

“And I came to see you.”

“That’s rich.”

“I mean it. Why didn’t you say goodbye this morning?”

“Ah, come on, Jake. We were going to see each other again at the beach this evening. It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”