‘Like the Parkers and the Honey Pot Inn,’ Willow added. ‘And Macguire.’
Lucas rubbed his chin. ‘I guess so. Although other things come and go.’
Mia looked at him bemused. ‘Really? Anyway, I thought maybe it would be nice if Willow joined us this morning?’
Lucas knew he probably paused a bit too long, but he was totally thrown by the suggestion. Willow joining them? Would she even want to? To his astonishment, Willow was beaming with excitement.
‘Oh, could I? That would be so cool. I’ve not got anything planned today …’
‘Willow hasn’t been back to the Falls since she returned. Maybe we could go there,’ Mia suggested casually. ‘I know you went yesterday, but you don’t mind going again, do you, Luc? We could take some snacks? Remember, like the old times?’
‘Maybe you two should just go,’ Lucas suggested. He scanned the apartment, at the mess Mia had already created. ‘I could use the time to clean up here and like you say, I went yesterday—’
Mia immediately jumped up and tugged on his arm. ‘Oh no, Mr. Grumpy – you don’t get out of it that easily. Whatdoes it matter that you went before? You’re coming too. We’re going to have so much fun.’
Lucas found himself nodding along, but pretty unenthusiastically. He seriously doubted that fun would be in store today.
Stress maybe. But not fun.
Chapter 19
Willow
This was the last thing Willow had expected to happen, but now she was simply going along for the ride; after all, she needed something to take her mind off her miserable evening. For a start, she hadn’t meant to be so short with Mia last night, but it had been such a shock seeing her there at the door, especially when Willow had expected to see Lucas, or maybe even Jake. When Mia had apologized and asked where Jenn was, Willow had been snappy with her and told her off for visiting so late. She had immediately regretted her actions when Mia had quickly left.
When Willow arrived to apologize, she was relieved that Lucas had disappeared into the kitchen. She didn’t need to be staring at his moody face while she spoke to Mia. It would only annoy her.
She had been surprised when Mia had made the comment about Lucas being in love with her but judging by the face that Lucas pulled before he left the room, it was either an ill-timed joke from Mia or she had made a mistake. Either way, Willow chose to ignore it.
They may have been close once, but there was no way Lucas loved her.
‘I was rude because I kind of thought it might be someone else,’ she had told Mia, feeling a little pathetic. She decided not to be completely honest and tell her about her thoughts about Lucas, that was too confusing.
‘Oh who?’
‘My boyfriend – well, ex-boyfriend, I guess. Jake. We are on this break at the moment but I thought maybe—’
‘He was coming back for a little bit of fun?’ Mia probed.
Willow immediately felt herself relax. ‘Yeah, that. I guess I just wanted to let off a little steam.’
Mia had nodded enthusiastically. ‘Oh, I totally get it. I had such a crush on him when I was younger. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have admitted that!’ She giggled. ‘Who doesn’t want to let off some steam from time to time?’
‘The thing is, the last thing I want is for us to get back together. If I’m honest, I think our relationship has been struggling for a long time.’
She paused and then added, ‘I kind of feel bad though. Shouldn’t I be upset or angry or something? Not relieved?’
And not having weird, hot fantasies about your brother, she thought, her face growing warm. Last night she had dreamed about him and it hadn’t exactly been PG-rated …
Mia sat back to consider this. ‘Was he a good boyfriend when you were together?’
Willow nodded. ‘At first, yes, but these past few years, things have changed. I guess I got busy at work and then Jake started to get involved with his online stuff. I dunno – I think we just grew apart. We’re still friends. We still get along but—’
‘There’s no spark?’
Willow stared down at her hands. It felt wrong talkingabout Jake to someone she barely knew, but it was also good to clear her head.
‘No,’ she said finally. ‘There’s nothing there for now. And I’m fairly sure Jake is interested in another woman. I don’t even care though. I think I would be happy if he met someone else.’
