“Sweet Escapes operates in its own time dimension,” Liam says earnestly. “Ask anyone. A cup of coffee turns into lunch turns into dinner. Before you know it, you’ve been here all day.”
I glance around the café, surprised to see at least half the people who were here when I arrived still occupy the same tables. A few new faces have arrived, and a group of what looks like high school students take up the couches and chairs by the fire.
“Stay for just one more minute and keep this one company while I get him a coffee, will you?” Mae says to me, patting Liam’s cheek once more. He scrunches his nose, chuckling good-naturedly when Mae grips his chin between her fingers and squeezes. “Be right back.”
“Have you been Mae’s taste tester today?” Liam asks, sliding into the seat she vacated.
“I have. Fiona sent her a recipe for mince tarts, and she made a few variations. She had me try each of them and narrow it down to my favorite. I feel like I should go for a long jog when I leave. I don’t suppose there’s a gym in Honeywell?”
Liam presses his lips together and shakes his head. “No, sorry. Closest one is about thirty minutes away.”
Now it’s my turn to scrunch up my face. “Damn. I really will be jogging then. Good thing Cherry Lane is quiet.”
“Quiet, yes, but also hazardous once the snow hits. Side streets like that are always the last to get plowed, and the sidewalks are usually a mess.”
I groan. I need to stay fit for my job, especially if I keep eating the way I have been since I arrived in Honeywell. And honestly, now that I’ve sampled Mae’s cooking, I don’t want to stop any time soon. “Guess I’ll have to find some other form of physical activity.” I say it in an offhand manner, mostly to myself. When one of Liam’s brows arches, I realize how it must sound.
“I might be able to help with that.” His quiet words evoke an image of the box of condoms Natalie sent. My mouth works silently, unable to form words. He laughs under his breath and says, “My friend Nathan has a treadmill and an elliptical machine. He never uses them since he works all the time, so I’m sure he’d be happy to let you borrow one during your stay in Honeywell. I could set it up in one of the spare rooms for you.”
“Right, yes, a treadmill. A treadmill would be good.”
He leans forward across the small table, putting him close enough that I could easily reach out and touch him if I wanted to. “You sound disappointed, Joss.” His words are slow and soft, and there’s an almost wicked twinkle in his eye. Is heflirtingwith me? God, I hope so.
I’m about to respond when someone calls his name. We both look toward the counter where the young woman who works there—Regina, I think Mae said her name was—is holding up a cup of coffee. She tilts her head toward the front of the café and gives a playful eye roll. I follow the motion to find Mae talking to an older man near the front door.
“Guess she got sidetracked getting me that coffee,” Liam says, standing. “Sorry to cut this short. I’ll be right back, ’kay?”
I nod and watch as he winds his way between tables and chairs, pausing here and there to speak to people. He seems popular, although that shouldn’t surprise me after what Mae told me about him being known as a fixer. I bet his laid-back personality and charming smile don’t hurt, either.
He talks to Regina for a minute after taking his coffee from her. I’m so busy admiring the view from behind, I don’t notice the little boy approaching until he all but flings himself at Liam, wrapping his arms around his waist. Liam jolts in surprise and then laughs, circling one arm around the boy and bending to kiss the top of his head. A beautiful young woman with dark shoulder length hair joins them a second later, and Liam leans over to kiss her cheek.
The mince tarts turn to lead in my stomach. Either Liam wasn’t actually flirting with me or hewasand he’s no better than my disgusting, cheating ex. Alan’s betrayal was a hard knock to my confidence and it made me doubt myself in countless ways. I was so sure I saw something different in Liam. Something that put me at ease and piqued my curiosity—and my hormones.
Not wanting to stick around for introductions, I gather my purse and coat and make a beeline for the door. I’ve almost reached Mae when Liam calls my name. I turn to find him watching with me with raised brows, his arm still around the young boy, who I now see looks just like him. My heart drops, joining the lead ball in my gut.
In a stroke of genius—or madness—I lift the phone in my hand and pretend I’m getting a call. “Sorry,” I say as I inch toward the door, raising the phone to my ear. “I have to go. I’ll see you around.”
I spin on my heel, almost knocking into Mae, who’s watching me with an unreadable expression. “Thank you so much for today,” I tell her in a rush. “I’ll pop in for another visit soon, okay?” On impulse, I hug her. I intend for it to be quick, but she holds on, engulfing me in the scents of cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla. My throat thickens. I pinch my eyes closed and hold my breath, feeling a sudden case of sensory overload.
“Why don’t you let me introduce you to—”
I pull away from her abruptly. “Not right now. Please.”
She knows who I am. She knows I’ve just been through a messy public divorce. She knows my husband left me for another woman, and she likely knows I’ve come to Honeywell Hollow to hide out and attempt to heal. At least I’m counting on that as she stares into my eyes, making me feel yet again like she’s reading my thoughts.
“Of course,” she says finally. “Another time. You stop by whenever you want, all right? Here or the house, any time of day or night. I mean it.”
A stinging in my eyes joins the thickness in my throat. All I can manage is a murmured “thank you” and a squeeze to her hand as I slip past her. Outside, I suck in several lungfuls of cool, damp air. The sky holds a lingering glow from the recently-set sun, faintly illuminating the low-hanging dark clouds that threaten snow.
I’ve never been one to run away from things, but Natalie was right about me running away to Honeywell. Turns out all the running in the world won’t let me escape thoughts of my past. Or, apparently, my habit of being attracted to the wrong guy.
Still, as I wrap my coat tightly around myself and hurry to my car, a shaky smile flits over my lips. If Natalie could have seen me dashing out of the café to avoid Liam and his family, she’d have laughed herself silly. And luckily, the thought of that chases away the tears I refuse to let fall.
CHAPTER SIX
Those dark, weighty clouds filling the sky when I left the café carried through on their promise of snow. It started shortly after I returned to the rental house and continued into the next day and the next. Every time I look out the window, I feel as if I’m inside a snow globe.
The nice thing about all this snow is that I’m getting my wish for isolation. Mae has called a few times to check in, but I haven’t had any more unexpected visitors. The only person I’ve seen in the last three days was Nathan, Liam’s friend and business partner, who was sent by Mae to shovel my driveway. When he finished, I opened the door and called to him to see if he’d like to come in for coffee, but he said he had other work to do and he’d take a rain check.
