Victoria’s posture stiffened, and her eyes glittered with malice as they fixed on June. “While I have you here, you could actually make yourself useful,” she said with false sweetness, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Since I’m having Holt over for dinner soon, you can let me know if he’s allergic to anything. I wouldn’t want our romantic evening spoiled by an unexpected allergic reaction.”
Lucy felt June’s entire body go rigid beside her and quickly stepped in before her friend could respond.
“I think the only thing anyone in this town would be allergic to is your venom, Victoria,” Lucy said sharply. She hated being cruel to anyone, but this woman had pushed every boundary. “And if Holt is your dinner guest, that’s a question you should be asking him directly.”
Lucy moved forward, gently but firmly pushing Victoria back from the clinic entrance. “Now, I really do have to go. Please leave.”
Victoria glared at both women with undisguised hatred, then turned and stalked away with her head held high.
“How can she not tell the difference between you and Lacey?” June asked in amazement, staring after Victoria’s retreating figure. “You have different colored eyes, different hair, completely different personalities.”
Lucy sighed and shrugged. “She’s never been able to tell us apart, even when we were children. I think she just doesn’t pay attention to people who don’t matter to her.”
“Good grief,” June breathed. “How could someone be that detached from reality and so caught up with themselves that they come across as clueless?”
“Spoiled,” Lucy offered. “She’s always been spoiled and pampered.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m already an hour late.”
“I hope you’re not going to take what she says to heart about keeping away from Tom,” June said, catching her arm gently. “Don’t let her come between you and Tom. She did that once before.”
Lucy smiled sadly. “I know. I think about it more than I should lately.”
“Don’t,” June advised firmly. “Leave the past behind and move forward. You and Tom deserve happiness.”
Lucy looked at her longtime friend with gentle understanding. “Maybe you should take your own advice.”
“I don’t think there’s anything for me to look forward to,” June said quietly. “You heard what the girls saw, and Victoria just confirmed it. She’s already marked Holt as her territory.”
“That’s just looking at it from one side,” Lucy pointed out. “Maybe you should give Holt a chance to show you what he actually wants.”
June nodded reluctantly. “Go on, get out of here. You’re already late enough.”
Lucy rushed toward Teacups and couldn’t stop her heart from jolting when she saw Tom, who was sitting at a table on the porch. He saw her immediately, waved, stood, gathered his things, and walked toward her. As they drove toward her family home on Point Drive, she couldn’t stop thinking aboutVictoria’s words and her own complicated history with Tom. The memories came flooding back to the day Tom had broken up with her forty years ago, telling her he was going to marry Victoria. She’d asked him if he loved Victoria, and he’d simply said there was more to marriage than love. Case closed.
By the time they reached the Hoops House, her family’s ancestral home that had been in her family for generations, Lucy had worked herself into an emotional state she hadn’t experienced in decades. The house looked beautiful even in its current state of renovation, its Victorian architecture and wraparound porches facing the ocean with timeless elegance.
Tom pulled into the circular driveway and stopped in front of the garages. As he switched off the engine and turned to smile at her, it took everything Lucy had not to blurt out the questions that had been haunting her for four decades:Why did you marry Victoria instead of me? Did you ever really love me at all?
Instead, she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and put a smile on her face.
“I’m sorry I was so late,” Lucy blurted again. “I feel like I ruined your afternoon.”
“No problem,” Tom replied, his eyes warm as they met hers. “While I was sitting at Teacups, I realized how long it had been since I’d taken time off and just relaxed.”
Lucy gave a soft laugh. “Now that’s not really true.” She pointed out as she slid from the car. “You were sort of working by keeping an eye on Margo and looking for anyone who seemed suspicious.”
Tom laughed as he climbed from his car. “True,” he admitted. “The house is looking good.”
“It looks like a construction site,” Lucy said with a sigh.
Before she could say more, the front door opened, and John, the construction foreman, walked out to greet them.
For the next hour, they walked through the house together while John and his senior engineer explained the work that had been completed and what remained to be done. Lucy loved being close to the inn and Margo, but she was eager to return to her childhood home. Lacey stayed here too when she was in town, and the house held so many precious memories of their family.
“Another three weeks,” John and his engineer concluded as they finished the tour. “The electrical work took longer than expected, but we’re back on schedule now.”
After the contractors left, Lucy and Tom walked through the empty house together, their footsteps echoing in the rooms that would soon be filled with the furniture that was in storage, which would bring the house back to life again.
They paused in the living room, where the late afternoon sun streamed through the windows, casting long shadows across the hardwood floors.
