‘You were the same when you came to New York. Look how that turned out. Do you remember how you lost your job?’
‘It was a short-term thing anyway. I never planned to stay,’ Lucas shot back. ‘You know my boss was an idiot. He called me out on every little detail. And he found out about the stupid review online. He never left me alone after that.’
‘And you snapped back, which isn’t like you. Out of the two of us, you have always been the calm, sensible one. I hate seeing you like this. Please Luc, just sit with me for a minute.’
Lucas let out a long sigh, but he slumped down next to his sister. His body felt so heavy.
‘Willow really gets to you, doesn’t she?’ Mia said. ‘I can tell something happened between you just now. You were both acting so jumpy.’
‘It was nothing …’ Lucas shrugged. ‘It was a moment. I thought I felt something there, but I think I’m kidding myself.’
‘She has just come out of a long relationship.’
‘Thanks for pointing out the obvious.’
‘And you clearly don’t like Jake much.’ Mia paused. ‘I remember him a bit from school. He was the loud one, wasn’t he? Didn’t he come here a lot and always act up to get everyone’s attention? I remember Mom couldn’t stand him.’
Lucas was picking at the edges of the table. ‘Jake is a jerk; he always has been. I don’t know what she sees in him.’
‘But he’s not here now, is he?’ Mia mused. ‘I dunno, maybe we need to find out more about this whole situation. Not you though, Luc, because you’ll just mess things up as usual. Maybe I can do some gentle investigating.’
‘Mia, please don’t interfere.’
‘I’m not interfering. I’m clarifying facts and there’s a difference.’ Mia patted his cheek playfully. ‘And one day you might thank me for it.’
Mia stuck around, helping Lucas set up for the evening. The two of them chatted lightly while they worked. Mia was in an upbeat mood.
‘I forgot to tell you my news,’ she said brightly. ‘I was trying to before, but I got interrupted by all that drama. I’ve found myself a job.’
Lucas looked up from the burgers he was preparing for later. ‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’
‘Well, I was walking past the bookstore and I bumped into old Ernie. We got to talking. He’s struggling to manage things now and he needs an assistant.’
Lucas pushed his prepared meat to one side. ‘And you said yes?’
‘Yeah. It’s just a temporary thing while I decide what I want to do next.’
‘But what about your fashion career? You were doing well in that little boutique in New York.’
Mia shrugged. ‘Yeah, it was good, but I wasn’t really going anywhere with it. I guess this way I will give myself some time to think about what I really want to do next. And you know how much I love reading. This could be good for me. I can relaunch the bookstore.’
Lucas walked over to the sink and started to wash his hands. He could detect a shift in his sister’s tone. She was preparing a salad for him and slicing up vegetables, but she had barely cut anything in the last minute or so. Instead, she was staring blankly at the knife.
‘Mia,’ he said finally, wiping his hands. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s really going on with you and Joshua? You’re clearly planning to stick around here for a bit, so things can’t be good, and I know you’ve been ignoring his calls.’
‘You noticed that, huh?’
‘It’s hard to ignore. Your phone goes off every minute.’
Mia sighed. ‘I took one call. When I walked over to the lake the other day. I knew I had to speak to him. And I told him it was over.’ She paused and lay the knife down carefully on the side. ‘He’s been cheating on me, Luc. I caught him with my best friend. He keeps begging for a second chance, but I don’t think I can – not yet anyway; the trust is gone.’
Lucas had suspected something bad; he had never liked that shifty guy – there had always been something so fake about him and the way he could never quite hold eye contact. A cool rage passed through him.
‘He was always such a bad choice,’ Lucas said, without thinking. ‘I don’t know why you’re attracted to men like that. It was obvious he was going to hurt you.’
Mia glared at him. ‘It wasn’t obvious, Luc. We loved each other. I can’t help who I’m attracted to.’
Lucas thought of Willow and his thoughts darkened even more.
