AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Viola rolled her eyes at Betty Jean then turned to give Luke a sympathetic smile. “I hope I haven’t spoken out of turn, but your mother was expecting an engagement announcement any day, and then to hear that your girlfriend is marrying another man! It’s like something out of a soap opera!”
“Refill, anyone?” Blondie appeared at the table with his order as well as a full pot of coffee.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Mrs. Pantini said, putting her cup out. “My goodness, you’re absolutely glowing this morning.”
More like hungover and working way too hard, Luke thought. Then he frowned. She’d been here since the crack of dawn. She had to feel like crap. Wasn’t there anyone else who could have filled in for her?
Sarah flushed. “I’ve been here over a month now but I’ve never seen the place this crowded.”
Roger leaned in and lowered his voice. “It’s the news about Earl Handy. People have been coming in and out all morning to talk about how his death might affect them. That’s why we’ve been manning this table.”
“We’re on the GFCC,” Betty Jean said proudly.
“The what?” Luke asked.
“The Gray Flamingos Communication Committee. We’re more accurate than Wikipedia. If anyone in town wants to know what’s happening with the Earl Handy situation, then we’re here to provide information. We’re taking shifts all day long till the place closes.”
“Yeah, my mom told me about Earl.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry,” Mrs. Pantini said. “I forgot. You’re related, right?”
“Just distantly,” Luke said. “But I don’t understand. How is his passing going to affect the rest of the community?”
Betty Jean perked up. “I can communicate that to you. Apparently, this Earl person owns almost all the beach front property for miles. People are scared to death that his heir, that would be his daughter, Nora, is going to sell off the land for condo development.”
Luke could feel himself tense. Despite the fact that he was currently Whispering Bay’s poster boy for bachelorhood dysfunction, he liked this town just the way it was.
“Oh, no worries!” Betty Jean continued. “Apparently, old Earl stiffed his own daughter. His will explicitly states that the land is to revert back to the city of Whispering Bay for public use.”
It was exactly what Mimi had told them last night at dinner. “That’s some gift,” Luke said.
“Isn’t it?” Mrs. Pantini agreed. She glanced around the café to make sure no one else was listening. “The rumor is that Nora is going to hire an attorney to try to break her daddy’s will, but Pilar says the will is airtight.”
The seniors went back to talking about old Earl, so Luke excused himself as graciously as possible and found an empty table in the back.
He bit into his muffin. Not bad for low-fat. As a matter of fact, more than not bad.
Sarah delivered an order to a nearby table, tourists, by the look of them. She laughed at something one of them said, then went around the café, refilling coffee and chit-chatting with the rest of the customers. Luke leaned back in his chair and watched his new “roomie” in action.
A food truck, huh? Well, she was a natural at this kind of thing. She wanted, as she put it, to serve good food that makes people feel good, too. No worries there. She had the good food part down pat, as well as a talent for putting people at ease, the one exception, of course, being his mother.
Last night, when he hadn’t been sweating out the fact that he needed to tell his family about Torie’s engagement, he’d observed their reaction to her. No doubt that Zeke liked her. His brother-in-law, the cop, was a keen judge of character. And Mimi would have never leased his beach house to anyone she didn’t like and trust implicitly. Dad had been charmed by her and Claire had been intrigued by her free spirit. As for Cameron? It was pretty obvious the poor kid had a bit of a crush on her. Not that he blamed his nephew on that score. Sarah had that whole girl-next-door look going for her that any adolescent boy would find irresistible.
But his mother? There had been nothing but criticism in her eyes.
Sarah was on her way back to the counter area when he caught her gaze and waved her over. “Why don’t you sit down?
” Nice Guy Luke asked.
She pointed to the empty chair across from him. “Here? With you?”
“Don’t you ever take a break?”
“Sometimes. It’s just so busy right now, but I guess a few minutes isn’t going to hurt.” She sat down then slowly rolled her head to loosen the tension in her neck, letting out a long sigh as if she’d released a world of pent up tension. Asshole Luke wondered if she made a similar sound when she…
Get that thought out of your head, dude. Strictly roommates here.
Except, that squeaky clean wholesome thing she had going for her had a super extra helping of sexy on the side. Last night she’d come out to the patio wearing nothing but a pair of skimpy shorts and a T-shirt so thin he could practically see through it. What? Did she think he was some kind of saint?
