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22
“Have you heard the news?”Betty asked as she and Nell bustled inside carrying paper bags bulging with baked goods, with the Cafe Oasis logo printed on them.
Kat looked up from the invoice she was entering into her laptop on the desk in the foyer. “Hi Betty, Nell. What news is that?”
Nell flattened her gray hair, which was standing on end because of the strong breeze outside, and handed Kat one of the bags. She opened it and grinned. A spinach, cream cheese, and chili roll. Delicious.
“That nice boy who was staying with you has rented the office above Cafe Oasis,” Nell said. “Just yesterday, apparently.”
Whoa. Kat drew in a slow breath. “Do you mean Sterling?”
One couldn’t jump to conclusions when he’d been the devil incarnate as far as they were concerned until a matter of days ago.
“Yes, that’s the one,” Betty said. “My, he’s performed an about-face, and it’s all your doing.”
Kat ducked her head, embarrassed. “I don’t know about that.”
“Pish.” Nell waved her free hand. “He as good as told us.”
Her heart flopped like a landed fish. “You saw him?”
All of a sudden, she wanted to know how he was, whether he was struggling as much as she was, how he was settling in, and whether he regretted his decision to stay. Or, possibly, whether he was rethinking it. If he left, it would certainly make her life easier. She may have accepted that Teddy would have wanted her happy, but that didn’t mean she was ready for a relationship, and seeing him around town would drive her to distraction.
“When we went there for breakfast. He’s rented a house in town as well.” Betty’s expression turned sly. “He’s looking very handsome.” She fanned herself. “Must be the sea air. I always say the men in this town are more attractive than your average bloke.”
Kat bit her tongue. Hard. She wished she could stick her fingers in her ears and drown them out. She didn’t want to hear that he was flourishing. She wished him the best, but she also… well, she missed him, damn it, and it’d be nice if he missed her, too.
“Mavis is already collecting bets,” Nell said.
“Bets?” Kat echoed, uncomprehending.
“On which young lady will snatch him up first,” Betty explained. “We don’t get too many young men moving to the area. I don’t suppose it’ll take long for the sharks to start circling. I’ve got money on Bex.”
“Bex?” She was beginning to feel like an idiot. What, exactly, was going on here?
“Yes,” Nell said, snapping her fingers in front of Kat’s face to catch her attention. “Is something wrong with your hearing today? You don’t seem yourself.”
“Just a headache.” It wasn’t a total lie, since a steady pounding was developing behind her temples and her left eyelid was spasming. “Why would Bex want to snatch up Sterling?”
Betty sighed with all the flair of a seasoned soap-opera actress. “Why do you think? Rebecca is a pretty, single mother, struggling to get by. Sterling is a successful, good-looking man of a similar age, and while he comes across as cold, he’s not at all. He’s a man with stepfather potential.”
Kat felt sick. Her gut churned and she actually thought she might throw up. Would she have to sit by and watch while her close friend got together with the only man she’d cared for romantically since Teddy had died, and formed a ready-made family?
“You don’t see it?” Nell asked. “Neither do I. I think Brooke is more his style.”
“B-Brooke,” she stuttered, clutching her temples. God, could this conversation get any worse?
“They’re both reserved and very clever,” Nell added. “Plus Brooke doesn’t come with the same level of baggage that Rebecca does.”
And there they went, making it worse. Kat had more baggage than either Bex or Brooke. Was she a hopeless case? And why had none of them considered her as a prospect when they were matchmaking?
Wait a minute—did she want to be included? God, this was a nightmare.
“Do you want in on the action?” Betty asked. “Ten dollars gets you one entry. If you want to choose someone who’s already on the board, the buy-in price is double.”
This was crazy. Completely bonkers. Kat gaped at them for a long moment, then, with effort, snapped her jaw shut and said, “It’s wrong to gamble on people’s personal lives. I won’t be a part of it. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
She sounded snooty, even to herself. Betty and Nell both drew back, regarding her with identical expressions of censure. Then they stuck their noses in the air and walked off. Nell paused, then came back and grabbed the paper bag she’d given Kat earlier. Kat watched it vanish, disappointed that her temper had ruined her morning tea.
