The Truest Thing (Hart's Boardwalk 4)

I bit back my laughter.

My steps faltered a little when I saw Michael was now at Dahlia’s stall. He seemed to have ingratiated himself quickly with our group. It turned out that Michael and Cooper were becoming friends, running on the beach together in the mornings.

The image of another man jogging on the beach flickered at the edge of my memories, but like always, I pushed it out.

And it was like that mere flicker conjured him.

I’d been listening to my friends but also watching as Main Street got busier. As my eyes moved through the crowds, I spotted him.

Jack.

Waiting at a burger stand with a petite brunette.

I was hit with a wave of déjà vu.

And sadness.

And frustration.

Jack turned his head and met my gaze.

Longing slammed me deep in the gut.

Since the humiliating morning I’d offered myself to him on a platter and he’d refused, Jack had done as I’d asked and stayed far away.

I missed him. I didn’t even know why since we hadn’t spent that much time together over the years. However, the time we did spend was loaded with so much emotion and truth.

He was the person I wanted to trust completely. The person I wanted to tell everything to. I’d been ready to that morning.

I still wasn’t sure if Jack had pushed me away to protect me like he had Cooper, or if he was telling the truth when he said he didn’t want me permanently. My heart said it was the former. My hurt clung to the latter. Especially seeing him continue to sleep around with tourists like the brunette at his side.

Either way, Jack hadn’t wanted me enough to even try, and I was done.

“Emery, what are you staring at so hard?” Jessica asked.

Afraid of being caught, I pulled my attention from Jack. “Nothing,” I mumbled.

“What are you looking at?” Vaughn asked.

I glanced up, thinking he was insisting upon Jess’s query, but he was talking to Bailey. She shot me a knowing, excited look that made me want to disappear. Then Dahlia nudged her, glowering, and Bailey glared back.

Oh no.

Did my friends suspect I had feelings for Jack?

Suddenly, the carnival held no appeal for me. I didn’t want to see Jack here with another woman. Moreover, Bailey was a good friend, but she lacked subtlety. And the last thing I wanted was for Vaughn or Cooper to know about my crush on Jack Devlin. I’d never had male friends before, and I may have once been willing to lose their friendship over Jack, but not anymore. If Jack didn’t want to fight for what was between us, then I certainly wouldn’t jeopardize hard-won friendships for it.

Glum, I said, “I … uh … I think I’m going to call it a day.”

“Oh, don’t go,” Bailey replied.

“She can go if she wants to,” Dahlia argued.

“I don’t want her to go.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want, especially when your head is in cloud cuckoo land.”

Dammit. They did know. And reading between the lines, Bailey was for my crush on Jack, and Dahlia was not.