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Lucy rolled her eyes dramatically, then lowered her voice to imitate a man. “Of course your butt doesn’t look too big in that dress! Lucy, it’s not you, babe, it’s me. Or my personal favorite, Golly, I really thought that was just a cold sore!”
Sarah laughed. “Ouch! But I think most people would be able to see through those.”
“Yeah, but imagine really being able to tell when people are lying. Most of the time it’s not pretty. It’s like…you’re inside their head and seeing things that are better left private.”
“Yeah, that would be awful,” Sarah agreed.
“I guess I just have that face,” Lucy said.
“What face is that?”
“The non-threatening kind. I tend to blend into the scenery, you know?”
Sarah wanted to tell her that she had a nice face (when she wasn’t looking like an owl) but the buzz in the back of her head got louder, a sure sign she was still dehydrated from last night’s shenanigans. How many times had Luke refilled her glass? The cad. He’d probably done this to her on purpose as some s
ort of payback for speaking her mind. Had she really called him selfish to his face? Maybe one day she’d learn to keep her big mouth shut. She grabbed her water bottle and took a big gulp.
“So…” Lucy said. “Did you like the book? The one Will recommended?” Will Cunningham was the head librarian at the Whispering Bay Public Library and a good friend of Lucy.
“I loved it. I thought I’d read all of Steinbeck so I’m not sure how I missed Travels with Charley. Kind of makes me wish I had a dog. And a permanent address so I could actually have my own library card. Thanks, by the way, for putting in a good word for me with Will. My mom’s a librarian, so I know he’s not supposed to lend out books to anyone without an ID with a Whispering Bay address.”
Lucy nodded sympathetically. “Maybe once you get your food truck you can get a dog. After all, Steinbeck traveled with Charley in his RV.”
“True,” Sarah mused. “You know, Will is really cute.” In a totally nerdy way, but she didn’t say that part out loud. “Is he single?”
Lucy startled, but she quickly composed herself. “He’s not dating anyone that I know of. Do you want me to try to fix you up with him?”
“Not for me, silly, for you. He seems like such a nice guy.”
Lucy laughed, but it came out sounding more like a nervous snort. “Oh, that’s rich! Wait till I tell Sebastian. That’s my brother. He and Will are best friends. He’ll think it’s totally funny that you think Will and I should…you know, get together.”
Did the barista protest too much? Sarah tried to read through Lucy’s words, but apparently she didn’t share Lucy’s talent for reading people.
The bell above the front door pinged and they both turned around.
“Holy wow. Speak of the devil,” Lucy muttered.
Luke walked into The Bistro, clear-eyed and looking so good in a plain white T-shirt and worn out jeans that Lucy wasn’t exaggerating when she’d compared him to the devil. But Sarah wasn’t tempted in the least. Nope. He might be Whispering Bay’s newest most eligible bachelor, but as far as she was concerned, here he was just another customer. She put on her most professional smile and asked, “What can I get you this morning?”
* * *
Blondie was doing a good job of trying not to act hungover, but Luke could see the weariness behind her forced smile. He tried to hide his own smile. Normally, he wasn’t this petty, and a whisky hangover was sure as shit nothing to laugh about, but there was satisfaction in knowing that she was suffering some kind of repercussion from last night.
You’re a real prince, all right.
She thought he was a dick. And worse yet, one who didn’t love his mother or care what anyone else thought. He shouldn’t let her opinion of him matter. Once Frida and Ed came back from their vacation, Sarah would be gone and he’d never see her again. But she’d struck a nerve. It wouldn’t kill him to make more regular trips back home. His business was stable and more than lucrative. He didn’t have to supervise every single job the firm took on.
He studied the overhead chalkboard menu. “Good morning,” he said in a purposely loud voice. She winced, and he got such a perverse pleasure from it that he was instantly contrite. Stop being such a bastard.
“I’ll have a coffee. Black. And a low-fat muffin, if you carry any.”
“Low-fat muffin. I’m on it!” Lucy said with a shy smile before scurrying off to the back kitchen.
Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. “You seem awful cheery.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I caught three grouper this morning. They’re already cleaned and filleted and just waiting to be cooked and eaten.”
“It’s just after ten. What time did you get up?”
