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“Nonsense,” Jennifer insisted. “Consider it my treat. Besides, consider it a business expense, with you being my top client.”
Simon turned to Caroline. “Can I get you your usual coffee while you peruse the menu?”
“Yes, please, Simon,” Caroline replied with gratitude. Simon nodded and excused himself to fulfill their orders.
“I’d better get going,” Jennifer said, her tone apologetic. “I’ll see you back at my place this evening.”
Caroline bid her friend farewell and Jennifer left the cafe, disappearing into the bustling city. As Caroline settled in, her coffee arrived, and she decided to forgo any food and instead set up her laptop. The cafe’s creative ambiance was infectious, and she was eager to dive back into her writing.
With her laptop screen glowing before her, Caroline’s thoughts drifted back over the past three years. Her father had passed away from a heart attack just two months before she’d discovered her husband, Robert Parker, was cheating on her. Two weeks after that revelation, she lost her job as the head of NYU Libraries.
Robert had insisted on keeping their house, a brownstone on the Upper West Side of New York, leaving Caroline and their twelve-year-old daughter, Jules, with nowhere to go. Jennifer had graciously taken them in, and they had lived in her three-bedroom Soho apartment for nearly six months, depleting Caroline’s meager savings as she desperately searched for new employment.
However, there weren’t many opportunities for a forty-four-year-old librarian in New York City. During Jules’s school hours and between interviews, Caroline had begun writing “Cobble Cove Mysteries.” Writing had become her refuge, a way to escape her shattered marriage, fading career, and the resentment of her now fourteen-year-old daughter.
Jules had been furious when Caroline uprooted their lives and moved them back to Plum Island, her small hometown in New England. She held Caroline responsible for the divorce and blamed her for everything that had gone wrong. However, their bond had recently started to mend as they collaborated on Caroline’s new book, and the prospect of the TV series had brought them closer.
Caroline sighed contentedly and turned her attention back to her writing, eager to immerse herself in the world of her characters once more. However, her solitude was short-lived as a tall, impeccably dressed man approached her table. He appeared slightly flustered but politely asked if he could share her table.
Caroline surveyed the crowded cafe and realized that every seat was taken. She offered a friendly smile and gestured to the empty chair. “Of course, please have a seat.”
The man smiled gratefully and settled into the chair across from her. He seemed like a creature from a different world, with his expensive attire and an air of sophistication that contrasted sharply with the cafe’s casual atmosphere.
A server promptly arrived at their table, and the man ordered a sugary designer coffee concoction, which didn’t take long to arrive. Caroline couldn’t help but suppress a shudder at the sweetness overload. The man seemed to notice her reaction and chuckled as he took a sip.
“I have a sweet tooth,” he confessed, striking up a conversation. “My parents are always on my case about it. Even my sixteen-year-old son shakes his head at me when I have to satisfy my sugar cravings.”
“My teenage daughter has a sweet tooth, too,” Caroline mused.
“Really?” He chuckled. “Teenagers and their sweet tooth! It’s a universal struggle, it seems.” He held out his hand. “I’m Brad.”
“Caroline.” She shook his hand and noticed his handshake was firm but not rough.
As Caroline sipped her coffee, she soon found herself engaged in a pleasant conversation with Brad. While they chatted, Caroline couldn’t help but observe him discreetly. Brad was a striking figure. She estimated his height to be roughly six foot three inches, just like her brother. His stylish, short, straight, jet-black hair was graced with subtle streaks of gray at the temples, framing a strong and handsome face that looked like a great artist chiseled it. Brad’s piercing blue eyes sparkled with a warmth that drew you in, and when he smiled, it was nothing short of heart-stopping.
Their discussion meandered from favorite books to travel destinations, and Caroline found herself genuinely enjoying Brad’s company. It was a rarity for her to strike up conversations with strangers, especially a strange man. Caroline learned that he was from New York, but his job in the entertainment industry took him all over the world. He had a sixteen-year-old son, Connor, who was his pride and joy. The two of them had been close since his wife left them when Connor was eight months old. Except for a few visits, Connor didn’t know his mother well, and he shied away from what he did know.
“I’m thankful that my son and I have such a close bond,” Brad told her. “I always worried when I was younger that my kids wouldn’t be as close to me as I was with my parents.”
“Are your parents still around?” Caroline asked.
“Yes, my mother and father are still both fit and don’t look a day older than fifty-five.” Brad laughed. “Or so my mother likes to tell everyone.”
“I was close to my parents, too,” Caroline admitted.
“By was, you mean—“ Brad’s brows crinkled as he looked at her questioningly.
“My mother passed away ten years ago from cancer.” Caroline swallowed the burning lump, thinking about her mother still brought to her throat. She cleared her throat. “My father passed away three years ago from a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.” Brad’s eyes filled with compassion. “Do you have siblings?”
“Yes, I have an older brother. He also lives in New England,” Caroline told him. “Well, he’s actually my half-brother. His mother passed away during childbirth.”
“Oh, no, that’s horrible,” Brad said.
“My mother was a doctor at the hospital in Boston where my brother was born,” Caroline explained. “His mother had a complicated pregnancy and had been hospitalized for her last two months.”
“How did your parents end up getting together?” Brad’s brows tightened in a curious frown.
