Page 64 of A Simple Regret

“Buffalo wrap and fries, please,” I request, sliding my menu toward our server.

Cade orders his usual bacon cheeseburger and fries, while Oaklee chooses a chef salad with fried pickles on the side.

“What do you do, Maren?” Oaklee asks, sipping her water.

“I’m a cosmetologist.”

“You are? That’s cool. Here in town?” she asks.

“Yes, with Jenn and Lila.”

“Oh, I go to Lila, but she’s so hard to get into now since the nail side of her business took off so much. I’ve been thinking of switching.”

“Well, I won’t poach her clients, but if she says it’s okay, I do the walk-ins while I’m building my clientele list. I'd be happy to help," Maren replies, taking a drink of her lemonade.

“Good to know.”

“What do you do?” Maren asks.

“I’m a nurse at the clinic in town,” Oaklee replies.

“Really? I’m going to need a doctor for Theo,” Maren states, sitting up a little straighter. She glances to me. “Is it the same doctor?”

I give her a small nod and a smile. “Dr. Houston is still the doc in town.”

“I love Dr. Houston,” Maren insists, a slight blush creeping across her face. “I admit, physicians are the one thing I didn’t have a chance to research before I up and relocated our lives. To know Dr. Houston is still here is a huge relief.”

“He’s an amazing doctor and man. I really enjoy working there,” Oaklee says.

“She’s also going to school to be a midwife,” Cade adds to the conversation, the pride practically dripping off his words.

“Wow, really? That’s exciting!”

“It is,” Oaklee confirms. “It’s a lot of extra schoolwork, but I’m really enjoying it so far.”

“She’s doing phenomenal,” he adds, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

“How did you two meet?” Maren asks, and I can’t help but kick back and smile, ready to hear the story.

Oaklee laughs. “He hit on me, and I turned him down.”

Cade rolls his eyes. “She’s being dramatic.”

I can’t help but laugh. “No, she’s not. He totally took his shot and she told him no.”

“In Cade’s defense, I was dating someone at the time.”

“It was probably his lame pick-up lines he kept throwing at her,” I mutter loud enough for everyone to hear.

Cade gasps. “Those were my best lines! Besides, they worked,” he replies smugly, wiggling his eyebrows.

“How about you two? How did you two meet?” Oaklee asks, catching me by surprise. My gaze snaps to my brother, who’s looking down at the tabletop.

“Oh, uh, I grew up here,” Maren replies slowly, as if gauging how much to say. “And…we used to date.”

Oaklee’s eyes widen and then it’s as if the lightbulb flips on. “Oh. Oh! She’s the one?” she asks, her gaze sliding to where her fiancé—my brother—sits.

Cade gives me a soft smile and confirms, “Yeah, she’s the one.”