Page 97 of Fish Out of Water

Jake clamped his jaw shut tight enough that it twitched. His teeth hurt. His palms hurt where his nails dug into them. His temples throbbed with a tension he hadn’t felt in months.

“For a change of pace,” Robbie said meekly. He’d already lost. Now he was just making a fool of himself in front of people he shouldn’t have even cared about making him look a fool. “It simply seems like perfect timing.”

“With him?” Madeleine arched a single, thin eyebrow. It was so severe, it could have cut through Robbie like a knife.

“We’re friends, Mother. This is what friends do.”

Jake glanced back at the chair a few feet behind him. Had he been any closer, he might have allowed himself to stumble back and drop into it, but from where he stood now, he forced himself to remain upright, hurt and rage blinding him in flashes.

“You can go,” Madeleine said with sudden disinterest, “but don’t be surprised if your role as manager is filled when you return. We cannot run a cafe without a manager. You must know that.”

“Of course.” Robbie nodded resolutely. He shoved his hands inside his pockets, then removed them when Robert Jr. shot a critical eye at the stance. “I wouldn’t be gone for long—a few weeks, maybe a month at most.” He looked toward Jake, who refused to spare him a single glance anymore beyond the peripheral view he got when he tilted his head just enough.

“Then that’s hardly a sabbatical,” Robert said. “Why not stay here and help us for once? You’re old enough that you really need to start thinking about settling down and starting a family of your own, and the knowledge you could glean from this renovation might prove invaluable for when you finally do take control of the family businesses.”

Robbie dropped his gaze to the floor. Jake was certain that Robbie had heard this spiel before, and at this rate, it would not be the last time he heard it either.

Only now, when his eyes were cast down, did Jake finally look at Robbie again. He was miserable. He was deflated and beaten and pathetic. A pang of guilt rushed through Jake, and then he remembered why Robbie had called him here and how Robbie, not for the first time in his life, had failed to do the one thing he needed to.

“You’re right,” Robbie said quietly. “I’ll stay. Sorry for wasting your time.”

“It’s all right,” Madeleine said, her voice softening as if she were playing her role as mother picture perfectly. “And Jake—” she turned to Jake.

“Yeah?”

“Safe travels when you leave.”

Jake recoiled at those words. He already knew Madeleine thought he was a bad influence on her son, filling him with flighty ideas of a free, albeit destitute life. But it was never clearer than now, when she turned on her heel and gestured for her husband to follow her.

“We’ll get the door,” she called back to Robbie. “Have a good evening, Robert.”

Robbie sank into the nearest chair, dropping his head into his hands. The front door clicked closed, and Jake listened for the hum of an engine or crunching of tires on gravel before remembering their car was electric and Robbie’s drive was paved.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked, turning to Robbie’s crumpled frame.

Robbie didn’t look up. “I don’t know,” he mumbled through his hands. “Please, Jake. I know I fucked up.”

“That was yourone shot.” Jake pulled his coat on so harshly, he felt a thread in the shoulder go. “You fucking coward.”

Robbie nodded, face still buried in his hands.

“You’re not leaving now, are you? I mean, you’d have to run away like a thief in the night, and Mier knows you’d never do that.”

Robbie finally looked up. His eyes were shining, and his hair fell limply over his brows, obscuring exactly how pitiful his expression was. “I could never have left,” he murmured. “I’m sorry, Jake, but you were right about me: Iama coward, and I was reacting in haste. I strung you along, but the truth is…” He took a shaking breath, hiding his face again while he regained his composure. “The truth is, I was afraid of losing you.”

“Well, you’ve lost me now. I can’t be a part of this anymore, Robbie.”

“I still love you.”

“I know. I have to leave.”

A single, silent tear trickled down Robbie’s cheek. Jake had to stop himself from stepping forward and wiping it away, and Robbie did it himself a second later with a rough hand and a sniffle. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough for you.”

“And I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough for your family.”

Robbie closed his eyes. Jake knew him well enough to understand that he wasn’t going to open them again until Jake was gone, so he did him one last service and hurried out of the room, leaving Robbie and that gorgeous house and everything it stood for behind.

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