This Can't Be Love (Whispering Bay Romance 5)

“Why? Because he’s single and rich and travels all around the world? The whole thing sounds really boring,” Zeke teased. Then in a more serious note, “Not that I begrudge the guy a thing. If it hadn’t been for him, we might not have gotten together.”

“True,” Mimi said, smiling adoringly at her husband.

There was a story there, to be sure. Zeke’s words implied that there had been a time when his and Mimi’s relationship had been in jeopardy. How had Luke been responsible for fixing that? Because she’d witnessed enough early mornings with these two to know that they were madly in love with one another. It was refreshing to see a couple so happy after eighteen years of marriage. It almost made the cynic in her believe in true love.

“He’s a bachelor, then?” Sarah asked.

“Technically, I suppose,” Mimi said. “He has a girlfriend, Victoria.” She took a sip of her tea, then frowned, like she’d just remembered something. “They broke up a while ago, but I’m sure they’ll get back together again.”

Zeke nodded absent-mindedly in agreement.

Luke and the gorgeous brunette from the photos were broken up? “What makes you think they’ll get back together?” Why she wanted to know, she wasn’t sure. What did she care about Luke Powers’s love life?

Zeke and Mimi exchanged a look that said this was something they’d discussed before. “Luke and Victoria have been dating forever. Three years to be exact,” Mimi confided. “But they’re always breaking up and getting back together again. It’s become kind of a pattern.”

“The relationship sounds a little unstable to me.”

“No kidding. Victoria is…complicated. She’s beautiful and smart. Graduated undergrad from Harvard, then Yale law school. Her family’s from Boston. Lots of old money. My mother would give her left kidney to have Victoria as her daughter-in-law. But the rest of us? Well, let’s just say we’re not so easily impressed.” Mimi looked at her curiously. “Why all the questions about Luke and Victoria?”

Oops. “It’s just, there must be at least a dozen photos of him and a woman I assume must be Victoria on the table by the living room couch. I couldn’t help but notice them and be curious.”

Zeke raised a brow. “A dozen photos of Luke and Victoria out on display? That doesn’t sound like your brother.”

“My mother pulled those out of an album that Victoria sent to her last Christmas and had them framed,” Mimi said. “Poor Mom. She’s got a lot riding on that relationship.”

So, the Luke Powers shrine of beauty hadn’t been built by him after all. Not that it mattered. Luke and his love life were no concern of hers. But finding a place to stay was. If his attitude from last night hadn’t changed, she probably only had a couple of days, tops, before Mr. I’m-Sexy-and-I-Know-It tried to kick her to the curb. She’d found the copy of her lease and stuck it in her backpack, but she hadn’t had time this morning to read the

fine print.

“Back to my question about the upstairs apartment,” Sarah said to Tom. “Would it be okay if I moved in? I promise I won’t disturb any of the construction.”

“Sorry,” Tom said. “But I don’t think it’s safe. We’ve completely gutted the bathroom, ripped up the floors, that kind of stuff. And to be honest, I think it would be an insurance liability for the company.”

Damn. She hadn’t thought about that.

“Who would want to stay in a musty work zone when you have that great beach house?” Allie said.

“I was just asking, you know, in case the situation ever came up that I might need a place.”

“Trust me,” Mimi said, “the beach house is yours for as long as you need it. Luke hasn’t used the place in forever. He’s probably even forgotten he owns it.”

Chapter Four

Lunch was slow today and Sarah had already prepped what she could for tomorrow’s breakfast. Lucy was willing to close up The Bistro so Sarah snuck out an hour early to check out an efficiency apartment in Panama City.

Online, the place had seemed charming (in a boho-chic kind of way). In real life, it was more hobo than boho. The super had opened the door to show her the apartment and no fewer than a dozen cockroaches had scattered for the hills. No matter how cheap the rent, there was no way she could stay there. While she’d been waiting for the super to show up at the apartment from hell, she’d read her lease. The document was signed by Ann Powers, who according to Mimi, had Luke’s power of attorney.

Sarah wasn’t a lawyer, but she was pretty sure the lease was a binding agreement. The thing was that over the past few weeks Mimi had become a friend and she hated the thought of causing trouble for her. If Luke (who, after all, was the home’s legal owner) wanted his house back, it would be pretty crummy of Sarah to insist he honor a lease he’d known nothing about.

She was sitting in her hot car, contemplating her limited (okay, nil) choices when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “Hey, Mom.”

“What’s wrong?” Olivia Jamison immediately asked.

“Why do you think there’s something wrong?”

“A mother knows when there’s something wrong with her only child.”

“I’m absolutely perfectly wonderful,” she lied. No use worrying her mother over something she couldn’t control.