Breadcrumbs caught in Jess’s throat and she started coughing. Her eyes watered and she reached for her glass, desperately hoping to wash the crumbs away. Oh my God. She’d never realized that Sarah had known about her crush, or that Rick had kissed her all those years ago.
Mary and Abby were positively transfixed at this little tidbit.
“You saw?” was all she managed to say, covering her face with her hands.
“Yeah, I saw you kissing behind the sand dune. I didn’t say anything to Josh though. He would have had a fit. But it wasn’t as private as you thought.”
She shook her head, utterly mortified. “It’s not like we … you know. It was just one kiss.” One kiss and Rick had walked away.
Sarah reached over and squeezed Jess’s hand. “I’m just giving you a hard time, sis. I mean, I’d just started dating Mark. Besides, if you and Rick had been together maybe you wouldn’t have gone out with that asshat Mike.”
Like she needed reminding.
“I think you broke his heart, Jess. Though I always felt it was good riddance to bad rubbish. There was something about him that just wasn’t right for you.”
“Can we talk about something other than Mike or Rick?” She changed the subject. “Mary, how’re you feeling?”
“Good.” She smiled and patted her rounded belly. “Out of the feeling disgusting stage and not yet into the beached whale stage.”
Abby laughed.
Mary looked up at Sarah. “Maybe this isn’t the best topic of conversation, either,” she said hesitantly.
“It’s fine,” Sarah said, waving her hand. The waitress came with their meals and for a minute they halted their conversation as the bowls of pasta were put before them and fresh Parmesan sprinkled on top.
Jess relaxed and speared a tender crescent of tortellini. She was ravenous and the first bite exploded on her tongue, pasta and tangy tomato and cheese.
The topic changed and the rest of the meal passed with tales of Abby’s honeymoon in Paris and Mary’s dilemma about whether or not to find out the sex of the baby. Tiramisu and coffee were served and Jess’s belly was as full as her heart. She had good friends. A wonderful family.
The old strategy of protecting herself was wearing thin and all it took was one look around the table to know why. There was Abby, still in the honeymoon stage, her eyes sparkling all the time. Mary and her perma-glow from carrying a child inside her, and even Sarah’s wistful smile as she talked about her kids and the possibility of trying to get pregnant again.
Jess had thought she’d done all the hard work. She’d faced her fears and was just waiting for the right guy to come along. And still she felt she was somehow missing out on it all.
Maybe there was no such thing as the right man at the right time—at least not for her.
CHAPTER 12
It wasn’t unusual for Rick to drop by the house on Blackberry Hill to visit Abby and Tom. He’d done so several times before the wedding and a few times since. But today he was exceptionally nervous. Abby had invited him up to look at a window she was considering having him paint in the library, and with Rick’s low bank balance, he couldn’t afford
to say no. After assessing the window and pointing out two other spots where he could install custom-made pieces, Abby tried to convince him to stay for coffee. Despite how much he liked Abby, sitting around drinking coffee from fine china in the Foster House was the last thing he wanted to do this afternoon. He was feeling jittery and closed in. God, he wished he could go out on the ocean.
“I should get going. I’m working on a project for Jess and I’d like to finish before she comes around nagging at me.”
“Jess, huh?”
He scowled. “She twisted my arm to get me to do some holiday stuff for the women’s bazaar coming up. Promised to keep it all quiet and stuff. You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”
Abby’s face took on an overly innocent expression and Rick frowned. “Abby?”
“Well, I had dinner with Jess and Mary and Sarah. But they’re family and Jess already knew. They promised not to say anything. I was just so excited about my new door.” She smiled hopefully.
He sighed. It was probably going to get out sooner or later. He liked painting for a hobby, but taking on jobs was more like work and he was afraid he’d lose the fun of it if it became a job. There were lots of times that escaping into a project was all that kept him sane. Especially nights when he couldn’t sleep, when the memories crowded his brain a little too closely.
“Listen, about Jess,” Abby said, and her face turned serious again. “She had a run-in with Pam Greer outside Gino’s. She said it was fine but she was really upset, I could tell. I think she’s really dreading seeing Mike when he comes home. Just keep an eye out for her, okay?”
His insides seized. How much did Abby know? Jess was so quiet about her past but Rick knew it had been bad. That she had a reason to be afraid of her ex. Keep an eye out? Damn straight.
“Don’t worry about Jess. This town loves her. Everyone will have her back.”