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Marcos raised an eyebrow. It seemed unlikely to him that Megan would understand what he’d been through or what lay ahead of him.
She shrugged. “Like I said, I’m not being nosey. But if you want to talk, I’m a good listener.”
“What makes you think I don’t want to face the world?”
“The fact that you’re here.”
He nodded slowly.
“You haven’t come here to make a life, but from what I understand, you don’t really have a life anywhere else either. You left everything that was your life when you got divorced.”
“True.”
“I was the same when I came here. I didn’t want to make a life here. I just wanted to escape from the life I’d left behind.” She smiled. “I didn’t understand then what this place does to people. It seems that when you come to Summer Lake, a perfect partner falls into your lap and you get to stay here and live a wonderful life. Maybe that will happen for you.”
“No.” The word came out so forcefully it surprised him as much as it did Megan.
Ollie looked up and gave him a woof.
He reached down to scratch the dog’s ears, more to avoid Megan’s gaze than anything else. “Sorry, Ollie. I didn’t mean to get loud.”
Ollie licked his hand, as if to let him know he was forgiven, then trotted down to the water’s edge.
“But there was a reason you were so adamant.”
He nodded. “I’m not here to hide from the life I left. I screwed up; I screwed up by getting into that life in the first place. I should never have married her. I don’t want to stay here and live a good life, because the woman I love is living a good life somewhere else.”
“Oh.” Megan looked confused. “You still love your ex-wife?”
He shook his head. “I never loved my ex-wife. I wanted to. I thought she was the right person for me to love, but she wasn’t. She didn’t love me either. She thought I was a good bet, but I let her down.”
“I see.” Megan still looked puzzled. “So, who and where is the woman you do still love?”
“She’s still in Napa, where we grew up together. And next weekend, she’ll be here.”
Megan beamed. “So, Summer Lake will be able to work its magic for you! She’ll come here, and you can tell her you still love her and …” Her words trailed off as she watched his face. “No? Why not?”
“I don’t deserve her. She loved me as much as I loved her, but I let her down, and I left her and went back to Sicily.”
Megan frowned. “Why?”
He shook his head. “Because I was a stupid, stupid boy.”
“But now you’re a smart man, and you can make up for the past.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”
He nodded; there was, and he couldn’t wait for next weekend to roll around. He wanted—needed—to see Molly. To talk to her, to explain the reasoning behind the stupid decisions he’d made when they were kids.
Chapter Two
Molly stared out the window as the plane thundered down the Hamilton-Groves runway and climbed into the sky above Napa. She peered down, looking at all the familiar landmarks from a different perspective.
Chelsea nudged her in the ribs. “You’re not allowed to worry about the restaurant until Monday. Grady’s more than capable of taking care of the place.”
“I know.” She wasn’t going to tell her friend that it wasn’t the restaurant that was on her mind. Looking down on the town and the surrounding countryside, all she’d been seeing were the places where she and Marcos had hung out when they were kids.
