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I give him a small smile. He reminds me of my dad – friendly, warm, and always ready for dessert. “Because it means you all get free desserts?”
“Exactly,” he says, taking a big bite of a chocolate chip cookie. “Are you Elizabeth perhaps? Courtney’s new partner?” I guess I never really did introduce myself. Tyler made sure no one but him talked to me that night.
“I am.” I nod. “I’m sorry about, um, well, setting the alarm off the other week.”
He laughs, waving off my worries. “Don’t worry about it. Things happen. How are you liking Pine Cove?”
That’s a weighted question.
“I’m loving it,” I tell him, talking more so about how I felt last week rather than right this moment. “Pine Cove has this certain something to it.”
“Is that right?” Another voice startles me, but this time, I already know who it belongs to.
Closing my eyes, a wave of emotion flows through me at the familiar sound. Like a sixty-foot wave cresting, and then pummeling down.
When my eyes meet his, the wave hits me square in the chest. It rushes through my veins, trying to pull me under, the wave unaware that I’m already there – already drowning.
My heart takes off double time.
He looks good. So damn good.
Even with dark circles under his tired eyes, he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
I’ve missed those eyes.
I’ve missed him.
It takes me a while to realize he even asked me a question, and both him and the Chief are waiting for me to speak.
“Yes,” I croak out, clearing my throat. “I thought you wouldn’t be here.”
“Well, you were wrong,” he says, his eyes becoming slits. “Like a few other things.”
“What?” I can’t seem to catch my breath. Every short intake feels like I’m breathing in fire.
Sensing the tension, the Chief quietly slips away, and Tyler steps closer.
“You heard me, El.” His words cut me like knives even though they’re not sharp in the least.
“How have you been?” I ask lamely, and he rubs the back of his neck, shaking his head.
“I’ve been just fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No…I…I knew you’d be fine…I just…” The words struggle to form, and with the way he’s looking at me…I don’t know.
“Why are you here?”
“I was just dropping off cookies from Courtney,” I tell him, my voice small. I take a few small steps back, but then I stop and look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I–”
“You don’t have to explain yourself. We agreed to just fun, and it ran its course. No hard feelings.” Tyler studies me, staring at me for a long moment. He runs his hands up and down the back of his head, and when I think he’s going to say something else, he just blinks and walks away, his shoulders tight.
I open my mouth to call out to him, but then close it, not even knowing what I would say.
My drive back to the café is short, but long at the same time, with my mind reeling and replaying every word and reaction from Tyler.
He wasn’t mad. He seemed more sad then anything else. And that look in his eyes right before he walked away…I saw something in them. Something that has my heart beating a little faster and my palms sweating around the steering wheel.
Hurrying back to the café, I burst into the kitchen, and Courtney jumps, the whisk in her hand clattering into the bowl in front of her.
