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“Okay, you got me. I’m probably going to need some help with your car. Left a message for a guy I know.”
“I can always call my roadside assistance. You don’t have to do anything.”
“Yeah, but since you wanted to explore, and I’m waiting on his call, I figured…we could hang out.”
He looked so darned earnest. Hadn’t he pulled the same earnest look with me back in the day? It seemed familiar. And enticing. I was instantly skeptical.
“Our time on the boat and this morning at breakfast, it was nice,” he went on. “I thought maybe we could re-create our old summer routine. Today. Together.”
His cheeks grew rose-tinged and his mouth quirked to one side for a flash. I remembered that look. I used to call his bluffs when we played cards. He had a great poker face (unlike me), but the mouth twitch came when he said something hard to admit, or when he was…vulnerable.
It must have been hard for him to see me and bare the truth of why he’d left me. Then again, it was also the least he could do. I’d literally shown up on his doorstep. Ten whole years later.
“Yeah, I don’t know…”
He backed up. “You’re right, I’m overstepping. Didn’t mean to crowd you out.” He turned to head back to wherever he’d parked.
My stupid, traitorous heart leapt in my chest. It was probably riding the high of that incredible breakfast sausage. Or it knew what deep down I didn’t want to admit yet. “Wait. Adam?”
He turned with so much hope in his eyes it nearly cracked my chest open. “Yeah?”
“Don’t go.”
6
Adam
Yeah, I was pushing it by inviting myself along with Jillian for the day. And I really had called a buddy about her car, but he’d maybe already texted back he went out of town. After driving one block, I turned around and parked my truck. I hoofed it back to the marina, finding Jillian where I’d left her.
I considered it a sign, and I wasn’t a signs kind of guy. Road signs maybe.
“You have some nerve, don’t you, Hoffstetter?” Jillian glanced back at me as she picked up her pace walking along the marina. She was grinning at least.
If only I could work up the nerve to be truly honest with her. You deserved better back then. You deserve better now. But here she was, disappointed by her ruined weekend plans, and I had nothing but time. She’d be back to her life soon enough. The least I could do was try for some better memories for our short time together.
We walked closer to the docks, taking in the mix of motorboats and larger sailboats. There was real money up here with some of the summer home crowd. My parents’ wealth was a drop in the bucket compared to the legacy families who owned mansions and yachts around the many miles of shoreline.
Speaking of yachts, a slick sports cruiser moved in from the channel connected to Lake Michigan. “These put my speedboat to shame.”
Jillian shaded her eyes with her hand. “The thought of owning a boat sounds exhausting. Insurance, maintenance, docking costs. Total nightmare.”
“Maybe simpler is better.”
“Yeah. Sometimes I think it is.”
Simple guy with a simple life? Maybe I could compete for Jillian’s attention after all. Wait, hadn’t she mentioned a guy possibly joining her? A Nate? Noel?
“So, what’s this idea you had about re-creating our summer?” she asked.
Not much of a plan there, so I had to think fast. The first and most obvious thing came to mind. “When’s the last time you rode a bike?”
“On purpose? Probably five years ago.”
“And accidental?”
“When Hudson took me to a spin class while she visisted. My butt hurt for days.”
“I can’t promise the seat won’t make you sore, but if you want a slice of the old days, there’s a bike shop with rentals a block over.”
