Mike didn’t know Rob well, but he liked him. He seemed like a stand-up guy, and Jane had said he’d helped her a lot with her mother. That was good enough for him.
“Hey, is that Maxi’s husband over there?” Rob nodded his chin toward the door.
Mike squinted through the crowd. He’d only met Maxi’s husband, James, a couple of times in passing, but it did look like the guy. “I think so.”
“Looks like he just got out of a boardroom meeting,” Rob said. “Should we invite him to join us?”
“Sure. Maxi, Jane, and Claire are all together, so we might as well be too.” Mike turned and waved at James. The guy really did look like he’d come from a board meeting with his linen slacks and polo shirt, quite a contrast to Mike’s black T-shirt and tan board shorts.
It took a second for James to recognize Mike and figure out that he was waving him over. They shook hands all around, and then James pulled a barstool up to the pub table they were sitting at and ordered a Sam Adams Boston Lager.
“So, you looking for something to do while Maxi is out with Jane and Claire?” Rob asked.
James glanced from Rob to Mike. “I... I guess you could say that.”
Mike could sense something was off. “They’re at Splash, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, it’s just...” James let his voice trail off and looked down into his beer.
“Is something wrong?” Rob must have picked up on the vibe too.
James sighed. “It’s just that Maxi and I aren’t together anymore. I would have thought you guys knew that from Jane and Claire.”
“What? No.” Rob looked at Mike.
Mike shrugged and shook his head. Jane hadn’t mentioned anything, but this didn’t seem like something she would talk lightly about. Maxi and James had been married a long time. They had kids. This was serious.
“What happened?” Mike asked.
James shrugged. “I wish I knew. I came home the other day, and she had her bags packed.”
“With no warning?” Rob looked skeptical.
James grimaced. “Well, now that I look back, I could see she was bored after the kids left. I encouraged her to take up painting. Thought that would be enough, but I guess not.”
“Darn, tough break.” Rob swigged his beer, his eyes drifting back to the television.
“I just can’t figure it out.” James sounded downright despondent. “I wish I knew why she was so mad. I’d try to rectify it if I knew what to do.”
Mike shrugged. “Who knows what women want? Sometimes they’re hard to figure out.” Like Mike’s last girlfriend, Tiffany. She’d kept him on his toes by saying one thing but then doing the opposite. And no one should even get him started on how she refused to accept that they were broken up, even though he’d explained it to her face-to-face and in the nicest way possible. Maybe he’d been too nice about it? Even now, he felt a pang of dread when he looked at his phone, thinking it might be her with another text expecting them to get back together.
Thankfully, Jane wasn’t like that. At least she didn’t seem to be. It might have been because Tiffany had been a lot younger than Mike, and Jane was eight years older, or maybe it was just that their relationship was so new that she was on her best behavior. Either way, Mike had already discovered that Jane was a lot more mature.
“So I guess Jane or Claire didn’t say anything about why Maxi left?” James had a pleading look in his eye that reminded Mike of how Cooper looked when he wanted some table scraps.
“No. Sorry.” Rob did sound genuinely sorry.
James took a pull of his beer. “I just wish I knew what to do to get her back. I don’t want to push her—I get that she probably needs some space. I thought she’d come back after a night away, but it’s been a couple of days now, and I don’t think she is. I’m clueless as to what to do to get her back.”
The poor guy was miserable. Too bad Mike had no idea how to help him. But he knew a few people that might. “If you really want to know what to do to get Maxi back, then I think you need to talk to Jane and Claire.”
Chapter Ten
“Maxi really seems to be doing well,” Jane said the next morning as she stood outside Sandcastles, talking to Claire. She was waiting to meet Mike so they could take Cooper for a walk on the beach then head to Tall Pines to visit her mother and his grandfather.
“Yeah, almosttoowell.” Claire handed Jane a white bakery bag. Inside were two chocolate chip muffins, Addie’s favorites. “Take these to your mom.”
“Thanks.” Jane opened the bag, stuck her nose in, and closed her eyes as she inhaled. “Smells delicious. Anyway, I hope Maxi can keep her spirits up. She certainly is keeping busy with the paintings for the art show, and she also volunteered to paint the candles for the wedding.”
