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“Thanks.” Lincoln forced out the word, aware of Grace’s glare. He’d seen her use that look on her students. Now he understood why they squirmed.
“Did you want something?” she asked tartly.
“Uh, yeah.” He searched his brain. “I have some new ideas for the lesson plan I need to discuss with you.”
“I’m sure that can wait until Monday.”
“Actually, it’s important.” Lincoln eyed Max, who glanced from Grace to him and back again.
“I was just talking to Grace about her cat,” Max remarked.
“What about her cat?”
“I ran Viola’s profile through the statewide database,” the other man explained. “No matches yet, but I’m getting daily updates.”
Though Lincoln wanted Grace to find Viola, he disliked the idea of the veterinarian being her heroic cat rescuer.
“I should get back to Bee.” Grace put her hand on Max’s arm and squeezed—in what looked like a very deliberate move. “Thanks so much for your help.”
“No problem.” Max nodded at Lincoln. “Good meeting you. Enjoy your stay.”
He turned and headed back to his table.
“What was that about?” Grace lowered her voice to an angry hiss.
Lincoln battled back a wave of both shame and jealousy. “Just what I said.”
“Look, stay out of my business and stop buying my father bacon burgers,” Grace snapped. “I got your message, okay? You and I are wrong. So don’t give me trouble if I decide to look for someoneright.”
Pivoting, she strode back to a table where a pretty, dark-haired woman was perusing the menu.
Lincoln’s heart hammered. Had he heard that right? Grace had decided to look for another guy to show her what the goddamned fuss was about?
It’d be his own fault for telling her to get a boyfriend. But she wasn’t on amissionto lose her virginity.
Was she?
Clenching his fists, he strode back to the bar. Ray was polishing off the last of his food.
“Nice guy, huh?” the older man asked cheerfully.
Lincoln muttered a curse and took out his wallet. He threw a stack of bills on the bar and headed for the door. “I gotta go.”
“Lemme know about the boxing,” Ray called after him. “Or don’t. I don’t really give a crap.”
Lincoln walked out to the building’s front porch and dragged in a lungful of evening air. Rainclouds boiled over the darkening sky. He went to his car and was pulling out of the parking lot before he realized that, again, he had nowhere to go.
He couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in his motel room for the rest of the night. He wasn’t about to hit any of the college hangouts. Most everything else in this shoebox-sized town was closed, not that he’d bother going to the hardware store or the cat café. Another run on the beach wasn’t an option.
He flexed his hands on the wheel. He could just get on the interstate and keep driving east until he reached New York. Leave sooner rather than later. This whole visit had been a mistake anyway. There was no good reason to stay.
Shoving the car into gear, he drove toward the on-ramp.
