Page 6 of Reuniting with Lucy
So many questions, most of which could never be answered. What to do now? Would she give him a second chance? Did he want one? As the thoughts raced, she returned and sat, her hand wrapped around a to-go cup. The glint from the diamond ring on her left hand was his answer. She was married. Game over.
He didn’t want to look at her but kept involuntarily sneaking glances. He finally caught her eye but couldn’t read the expression.
It seemed like she remembered him, and not fondly, but he couldn’t know for sure without asking her. He decided he’d follow her lead. If she didn’t say anything, neither would he. If she brought it up, he’d explain his side of the story. It was too late for a relationship, but perhaps they could salvage a friendship. That would be helpful since they had to work together.
“We heading over there now?” Lucy asked Adam, who nodded.
Jack stood and grabbed his notepad. This was an unexpected turn of events. He’d run to New Bern to escape his problems, only to find different, prettier ones.
CHAPTER THREE
Lucy hated being late. Especially to a meeting where she wanted to make a good first impression. Mr. Snuggles must have gotten into something that upset his stomach. Tiny puddles of vomit littered the floor—a minefield of puke. She hadn’t factored cat vomit clean up into her timeline and was now behind schedule. Once she got out the door and into the sunlight, she realized her shoes didn’t match.
“Close enough,” she mumbled. “No one will notice.”
She hurried into the coffee shop only five minutes late. Adam and his friends sat at one of the larger round tables. Two of them, she recognized. Adam’s best friend, Spencer, and Spencer’s brother, Garrett. The other had his back to her, so a set of broad shoulders and a crisp haircut was all she saw. Lizzie stood next to them, smiling at the unknown man.
After greeting her employees, and the Three Musketeers—a group of retirees that hung out at the shop every day—Lucy made her way to the table. While apologizing for her tardiness, a pair of caramel-colored eyes met hers. Midsentence, her mind went blank, and she completely derailed from whatever excuses had been coming out of her mouth. Jack.
She finally pulled it together enough to blurt out something about cat barf.Smooth, real smooth.
“Gross,” Adam said, holding up a hand. “No details needed.”
Her request to grab a coffee wasn’t just to satisfy her caffeine addiction. She needed a minute to pull herself together and figure out how to handle this new situation. While she poured, she head-screamed for Lizzie to come over and talk to her. Normally, they were so in tune, she’d only have to think about needing Lizzie, and she’d have been there. Apparently, Lucy’s mental message was drowned out by the sound of Jack’s rippling muscles.
When she returned, and Adam introduced Jack, it was all she could do not to dump her scalding hot coffee in his lap. She thought she’d gotten over him. Guess a tiny bit of animosity remained.
Jack had filled out. His chest was broader than she remembered, and his arms more muscular. She could see why Lizzie was distracted. When they made eye contact, her heart froze for a beat. His eyes were mesmerizing, like tiny black holes that would suck her in if she let them. Ten years had added a hint of wariness, which piqued her curiosity. What had he been doing all this time? No, she couldn’t go down that road. The past was just that, and she’d let it go.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, looking away quickly. Thank goodness the only available chair was across the table from him. She slid into it, disconcerted by how fast and intense all the same feelings rushed back. It was the UNC quad all over again.
Adam started the meeting, and they got down to business.
“I’ve been to the site and drawn up a tentative timeline of what needs to be done and when,” Jack said. “We’ll start the outside construction next week and do the roof and outside facade for the whole building at once. Then we’ll get started on Lucy’s space.”
She tried to focus on what he was saying, even attempted to take notes, but hearing him say her name sent a tingling thrill up her spine.Tamp it down, Parker. He was a jerk, and she was engaged—end of story.
He seemed to know his stuff, which put her mind at ease about the remodel. She’d just have to get over the personal issues. Maybe have Adam be a liaison, so she wouldn’t have to interact with Jack directly.
After the meeting, they agreed to head over to the site. Adam offered her a ride, and she accepted.
“So, you gonna be okay working with Jack?” he asked once they were in the car and on their way.
“Yeah. Why do you ask?” she said, wringing her hands in her lap.
“I don’t know. I sense tension between you two. Did I miss something? Do you know him?”
“Was it that obvious?” She sighed. “He’s the Jack Lizzie brought up last night. The guy I met at UNC?”
“What? Are you serious?” Adam said. “What are the odds of that? So, what happened? Did you guys date?”
“We talked for about five seconds,” Lucy said. “He asked me out and then never showed. That’s it.”
“I feel like that’s not it, but okay.”
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. He doesn’t even remember me. I’ll pretend I don’t know him, and he’ll never be the wiser.”
“He remembers you, Lucy,” Adam said, stopping for a red light and looking over at her. “And he looked very surprised to find out you had a twin. When you left to get coffee, he asked about Lizzie. Whether she used to have blond hair and if she went to UNC with you.”