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Chapter 17
“Brooke told me he wants Sam to be a board member at Folio Publishing.” Bee Delaney sipped her appletini and flicked a lock of long, brown hair back over her shoulder. “That’s why he came to Bliss Cove, apparently.”
Grace glanced toward the tavern’s front door as it opened again and a couple entered. Lincoln had stalked outside a few minutes ago and, based on the tension in his posture, he wasn’t planning on coming back.
“Here you go.” Rory sailed over with their dinners of lobster ravioli and stuffed halibut.
Both Bee and Grace thanked her and started eating. Rather, Grace tried to eat. She wasn’t all that hungry.
Her father had finished his dinner at the bar and gone to the back of the tavern to shoot pool. Though she was pleased to see him socializing, there was a tight knot in her chest that she suspected had less to do with the bacon burger than it did with Lincoln.
“So Lincoln wants Sam to join Folio, but Sam doesn’t want to?” she asked.
Bee nodded and ate a bite of halibut. “I guess Lincoln stuck around to try and convince him. Apparently he doesn’t get why Sam would want to live in Bliss Cove rather than go back to New York.”
Of course he doesn’t.Lincoln couldn’t grasp why anyone would turn down a “bigger” opportunity or life. That was the one major lesson he’d failed to learn during his decade-long career studying little pockets of humanity.
“Hey, do you think you could ask him if he’d be willing to do a reading or a talk at the library?” Bee asked. “My programming budget isn’t very robust, but I could pay him a stipend.”
“I’m sure he’d do it for free.” Though Grace was annoyed with Lincoln on multiple levels at the moment, she knew he wouldn’t give a second thought to participating in a program at the library. “I’ll ask him on Monday.”
Monday.
After all this, she and Lincoln still had to work together. And here she’d thought theirnot-a-datewas awkward. It would be excruciating to face him in the classroom again, much less teach. Maybe she could send him off to the workroom to laminate posters or make copies.
Except the students really liked him. Despite his lack of teaching experience, Lincoln had already proven to be a natural. He was a wonderful speaker who listened well and engaged with the kids in a way that inspired their interest and enthusiasm.
Grace shouldn’t have been surprised. He created connections with people and learned about what made them tick before crafting his richly authentic stories. Hardly a wonder that he’d already formed a bond with her students.
She poked at the ravioli.
“Hey.” Bee leaned forward, her eyebrows lifting. “He looked exceedingly possessive when you were talking to Max.”
Grace tsked and shook her head. “Trust me. He’s not interested.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
He’d had plenty of girlfriends in the past, though. She’d seen online pictures of him with countless attractive women at book signings, museum openings, and award dinners.
The glammed-up women in diamonds and gowns were his dates, while the others were fans who were likely more into him than his books. In fact, most of those groupies probably didn’t know the difference between aperipeteiaand adeus ex machina.
The uncharitable thought didn’t come from the best part of Grace, but seeing as how her life had tilted so radically off-balance in the past ten days, she forgave herself for being snarky.
“Then trustme.” Bee took a sip of her drink. “That cavemanshe’s minevibe he was giving Max was not the attitude of a man who is not interested.”
With a sigh, Grace ate a ravioli. “Honestly, Bee, even if Lincoln were interested, which he’s not, he’s leaving at the end of May. It’s not as if we could ever have a long-term thing.”
“Well, you keep telling me you don’t want a long-term thing.” Bee reached for a roll from the bread basket. “You don’t have time. You’re too busy. You don’t want a relationship. Unless, of course…you actually do?”
Grace’s“No, I don’t”came out a little slower than usual.
“Why not?” Bee asked. “I’m sorry, buttoo busyis a pretty weak excuse.”
Grace reached for her wineglass and took a healthy gulp. It was true that most people her age wanted to find a partner, if they hadn’t already. The number of dating and hook-up apps was evidence enough of that. And yes, dating made her nervous, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to shut down the idea completely.
Besides, she’d always had a vague idea of getting married and having a family…one day in the fuzzy, amorphous future. How had she expected that to happen if she didn’t actually seek it out and make an effort? It wasn’t as if she could rely on adeus ex machinato drop the perfect man out of the sky and right into her path.
