Page 49 of Neap & Spring

“Cal.” Roman’s voice is different now. Softer and more understanding. “You were in love with her.”

“I wasn’t, Roman. Don’t be annoying.”

“You were. You are.” He’s staring at me like he’s seeing everything for the first time. “This makes so much more sense. We all thought you were just being impossible. But it’s not about the restaurant. It’s about her.”

The boat rocks harder now. The water is getting choppier as we drift farther from the calm of the harbor. Wesley adjusts his footing automatically with muscle memory from a lifetime on these waters.

“And now she’s avoiding you,” Wesley says, and it’s not a question.

“Completely.” I finally speak, my voice hoarse. “She won’t look at me. Won’t talk to me. She goes through Roman for everything now.”

“Hey,” Roman protests weakly, still processing. “Don’t drag me into this.”

“You’re already in it. She asked you about the supplier contracts yesterday!”

“Because you were busy!”

“I wasn’t that busy,” I murmur, more to myself than anything.

Wesley reels his line in, the movement slow and patient. He checks the bait and adds a weight to the line, his fingers working quickly despite the cold. “You’re mad at her.”

“Yeah.” I watch him cast again, the line sailing farther this time. “I’m mad at her. I opened up and told her everything. And she couldn’t do the same.”

“Maybe she has her reasons,” Roman says, moving back to his rod, but he’s looking at me differently now. Like he understands me more than he did before.

“I’m sure she does. But if she can’t trust me enough to tell me —” I stop, reeling in my line just to have something to do with my hands. “Then what are we doing? How am I supposed to work with her for the next five months if we can’t even have a conversation?”

“Only five months left already?” Roman’s line tugs. He starts reeling quickly, a large grin on his face.

I watch him reel, but whatever was there let go. He curses under his breath.

“Feels like she’s been here longer than a month,” Wesley mutters, opening the cooler to grab more bait.

It does. It feels like Vivienne’s been back in my life for years instead of weeks.

We fall into silence for a while. The only sounds are the slap of water against the hull, the cry of gulls, and the whir of reels as we cast and retrieve.

I try to focus on fishing and on the cold air filling my lungs.

But my mind keeps drifting back to her.

She sits at that table day in and day out, completely focused on her screen. The dark circles under her eyes have gotten worse this week. I think about how she orders food every day and how I see it sitting there, barely touched, when Becca clears her table.

My mind drags up the look on her face when I handed her that coffee and she stared down at the mug — at the exact shade of brown she likes. Pain had flashed across her face, just for a second, before she locked it down again.

“She works hard,” Roman says suddenly, breaking the silence.

I glance at him. He’s moved to the other side of the boat, trying a different spot. “What?”

“Vivienne. She works really hard.” He casts his line, the movement awkward compared to Wesley’s easy grace, but it lands where he wants it. “I’ve been watching her. Not like watching watching, but you know, observing.”

“That’s literally the same thing,” Wesley quips with a smirk on his face.

“You know what I mean!” He huffs. “She’s there early and stays late. Well, stayed late. Not anymore, I guess.” Roman props his rod against the railing and grabs his coffee. “She talks to everyone and takes notes on everything. She asked me about the herb order yesterday and actually like, really cared about the answer. I don’t even care about the herb order, honestly. No offense, Chef.”

Heat spreads through my ribs. The feeling is uncomfortable, and it takes me a second to recognize what it is: I’m jealous.

Not of Roman, exactly. But of the fact that he gets to see her like that. He gets to watch her work and see her engaged in the restaurant. She’s asking him questions and caring about the answers. Probably actually answering his own questions back. He gets to see the version of her that’s focused and brilliant and completely in her element.