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She made that garbled sound then turned and ran into her house. Thea followed her inside and the door slammed behind them.
I stared at the closed door, debating whether or not I should follow her. The curtain fluttered and I saw her peek out the window, making the decision for me. Summer obviously doesn’t want to see me right now. I’ll respect that. After all, I’m going to be here for a few weeks. She can’t avoid me forever.
CHAPTER2
Summer
“So why the 911?”
I looked around Seaside Brew. It doesn’t seem like anyone is in hearing distance, but to be safe, I rested my elbows on the table and leaned closer to Eve.
“I saw Adam last night.”
“Where?”
“In his parents’ driveway.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be so surprising. Rumor had it he was coming back to town.”
“Yeah, but that was eight days ago. When he didn’t appear immediately, I hoped the rumor mill was wrong.”
“You could have just asked his mom.”
“If I ask anyone about Adam, they look at me with pity, so I stopped a long time ago.” I took a sip of my iced chai. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you, but one of the reasons I love hanging out with you…aside from your sparkling personality…is because you’re not from here. You don’t treat me like some tragic female who can’t move on because of a failed relationship.”
“Who treats you like that?”
“Everyone from Seaside,” I said. “Well, everyone above Gen Z.”
She didn’t look totally convinced, but instead of pushing, brought the conversation back to why I sent her a 911 text asking her to meet me this morning.
“So what happened? What did he say? What did you say?”
I took another drink for fortification.
“Neither of us said anything. We just looked at each other.”
“Sounds like a meet cute out of one of my romance novels.”
“If only.” I took in a breath and let it out on a sigh. “I took Thea for a hike and she got all muddy, so when we got home, I gave her a bath. The bathroom got messy, so I let her out while I cleaned it. She didn’t come when I called her, so I stepped outside and found her in the Barnes’ driveway, with Adam. I was so shocked, I just stood there staring at him, trying to figure out if he was real.”
“How’d he look?”
“The same. Amazing. And he was changing the oil in his dad’s truck and had taken his shirt off.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, his six pack has gotten even more impressive over the years. And his hair looked amazing. Shiny and thick without a strand out of place, despite the fact he’d probably worked on his father’s boat all day.”
“So why didn’t you say anything?”
“Thea came over by me and when I looked down at her, I got a glimpse of my muddy shins and realized I was a mess.” I shook my head, cringing as I told her what happened next. “I let out a horribleargghhhsound and ran into the house.” Her eyes rounded. “Not my best moment, for sure.”
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that horrible.”
“Maybe not, but you know what really pisses me off?” She raised her brows. “Since I heard Adam was coming home, I put in a little extra effort, you know? Nothing crazy. A little makeup, curled hair, nicer clothes. And the one day I look like crap, there he is.”
I leaned back in my chair and smacked my hands against the table for emphasis.
