I shrugged in answer, tapping my fingers on the table, stuck in the pale blue beauty of her gaze.
“I decided to finish writing my book here. And I missed my dad and brothers.”
“That’s it? You sure?”
Now she was the one to shrug in answer. It had never been this hard to get her to talk to me. It used to be the opposite; we’d lie in bed together, kissing, making love, talking for hours, sometimes until the sun came up. We’d always had something to say to each other.
I sighed as we drifted into another silence.
Savannah interrupted the quiet with our orders.
Charlotte snatched her milkshake from the table for a taste. “Oooooh, this is really good. Tell Oliver he’s amazing as usual. Um, I’m doing Vi’s next book club. You should come, Savannah.” She grabbed a cheesy tot and ate it, shooting me a mock glare as she chewed.
“You know I never miss Vi’s book club but talking about your books is going to be the best. Adaline is a total badass. Are you planning to hook her up with that new hot cop from the last book? What’s his name? Jaden Skerrit?”
Her eyes darted to mine before she answered. “I haven’t gotten far enough into my manuscript, so we’ll all have to wait and see.”
“I can’t believe you killed her husband off—RIP, poor Tim! That was the one time I wished I’d read spoilers. When I got to that chapter, I cried my eyes out. You owe me a dang beer, Charlotte.”
“Gah! I’m sorry. But I thought we were cool since you sent me that ‘Tears of my Readers’ coffee mug.”
“Ha! I bet you drink out of it every morning and cackle maniacally, don’t you?”
“I would never!” Charlotte gasped with mock offence as she steepled her fingers beneath her chin and let out a teasing evil laugh.
A ridiculous stab of jealousy hit me. She could talk and joke so easily with Savannah, or Elizabeth, even my mother, and Violet. But not with me.
“Well, you already know I can’t wait for the next book. You guys enjoy your burgers,” she said through a grin.
“Thank you, Savannah. It was so good to finally see you again.”
“We missed you around here. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” I called to her retreating back before turning to face Charlotte. “So, Vi’s book club, huh? Fair warning, there is book talk, but they mostly get tipsy and gossip, right?”
She lightly smacked a hand on the table and laughed. “That’s the only reason why I agreed to do it. I can’t talk about my books, here, in my hometown with people I grew up around, not with any kind of seriousness. I’d feel like a pretentious ass.”
I drew my head back in surprise. “It’s not pretentious to talk about your work. Everyone in town loves your books.”
A lovely blush rose over her cheeks as she contemplated my statement. God, she was so damn cute. “Noooooo, no one reads them, just Savannah and Elizabeth,” she scoffed. “People are just being nice because I grew up here.”
I chuckled. “Sorry to break it to you but that isn’t true. You have a lot of readers in town.”
“Let’s talk about something else. Adaline and I aren’t getting along lately and I’m mad at her.”
“Ah, she’s not talking to you?” I took a bite of my burger and waited to see if I would get an answer or a shrug.
“Nope. She’s unusually quiet. I’m getting kind of nervous about it, if I’m being honest. My deadline is looming over me like a nightmare.”
“Call my mom,” I suggested. “Write with her at Vi’s. She swears it’s the secret to her productivity—a constant flow of caffeine and baked goods while observing the good folk of Sweetbriar going about their daily business.”
She bit her lip in indecision. “You wouldn’t mind if I did that? Really? Are you sure?” The eagerness in her expression made me smile.
“Not at all.”
“Thank you, Cade.” She beamed at me. “I missed writing with your mom so much.” She seemed to have missed everyone except for me.
Ouch.
Without meaning to, I rubbed a circle over my chest, to ease the ache there caused by her words—or rather, her lack of any words that would imply she had missed me too.
She was so cavalier about being gone, like it was no big deal. But it had devastated my life when she left and it was only in the last few years I had managed to pick up the pieces and put them back into some semblance of what I used to be.
“Of course. Just because you moved away doesn’t mean this isn’t your home.”
“Right. Sweetbriar will always be home for me.”
“And now you’re back. You should feel comfortable here. I want you to.”
The weight of her stare silenced me once more as my heart stuttered in my chest.
We spent the rest of lunch in companiable quiet. It was comfortable instead of awkward. Maybe this had been a good idea after all.
“I brought your check.” Collectively startled by Savannah’s voice, we both jumped, then drew our hands back sharply when we reached for the check at the same time. “You two will always be the cutest.” She spun away, heading back toward the bar.
“Let me pay,” Charlotte said.