Leah
Book business aside, there was a multitude of personal business at the Sandy Page, and Leah had no one to share it with. Brad was enmeshed in the beginnings of love, from the high of a first date to the low of saying goodbye to Ethan who was returning to Boston. Lucy, whose family tragedy she’d just learned of, was heavy on her mind. Eudora, who’d been the most unsettled of all, now seemed to be the only one relatively at ease. As for herself, Leah dealt with strain the only way she knew how that summer: new projects. Turning the kitchen area into a little café was her latest coping mechanism. Normally she’d be happy to have Luke back in the mix to assist, but after the reunion her feelings about him were complicated and confusing. It had taken a couple days to get up the courage to call him and ask if he’d be willing to take on one more project at the shop. There was no mention of the reunion. Or Holly Houston. Their call was businesslike and brief, but he agreed to come by. By then, Leah didn’t know if that was good news or not.
It didn’t help that her ex, Greg, had reached out again. She’d let his calls over the weekend go straight to voicemail. Whatever he had to say, he could leave a message. Only he didn’t. Instead, he called again that morning as she drove into work. She took the first rotary on Route 28 sharply, as her phone rang. Then the next. What Greg wanted was not important to her anymore. But as she headed down Main Street and stopped for a pedestrian crossing, she gave in. Something about the last few days had left her raw, ready for a fight. Greg was a perfect opponent.
“What?” she said, answering.
“Leah? It’s me.”
“I know who it is,” she barked. “Why do you keep calling?”
“I need to talk to you.” He paused. “Is now a good time?”
The man had such nerve. They were done. She was trying to get on with her life. “There is never a good time. What is it?”
Greg hesitated. “Maybe I should call back when you sound less busy. It’s kind of important.”
There was nothing he could say that would ever again register on Leah’s list of importance. “Please just say whatever it is. I’m almost at work.”
“I left Rebekah.”
After everything, it was the last thing she expected.
“Did you hear what I said?” he asked, when she didn’t answer.
“You left, or she did?” As soon as the words were out, Leah realized it shouldn’t matter. She was not interested in getting into the weeds. It was Greg’s mess, Greg’s life, and she wanted no part of it.
“I did,” he said adamantly. “Because I still love you.”
This time Leah pulled over. She swung into the parking lot for Tale of the Cod and leaned back in the driver’s seat. “Greg.”
“I do, Leah. I still love you, and I want us to get back together. I want our life back.”
His voice filled her car, but she could not let the words get into her head. She’d worked too hard that summer to rid herself of his broken promises.
“Can I come see you?”
“No. I need to stop you right there.” Leah looked around her, at the tourists starting to fill the sidewalks in their cheery summer garb, at the young family sitting on the bench by Buffy’s Ice Cream, all of it juxtaposed against the dread that was filling her. “This is too much. It’s outrageous.”
“If we could just sit down and talk…”
She had to cut him off before he uttered another crazy word. “You made your choices, Greg.”
“I never left you for her! I realize now that Rebekah was just a knee-jerk reaction to our breakup. To help me get through it.”
“Get throughwhat?” Leah wanted to hit the steering wheel. “I was the one who lost her job, who went down in flames over the scandal with Luna’s book. I was the one who lost everything, not you!” She stopped to catch her breath. “And what did you do, instead of supporting me through it? You had second thoughts! You called off our wedding.”
“And you left Boston. You packed up and left without giving us time to maybe figure things out.”
“Because you faltered. How could I marry someone who faltered? When I needed him most?” She was shouting now, andpeople outside the car were turning to look. Leah took a deep breath. “I don’t want to revisit things, Greg. This is crazy.”
“Leah, please, it’s not crazy—”
“It is. You’re reeling from your breakup with Rebekah or whatever the hell is going on back there, and you’re just grasping at straws. I won’t be your straw, Greg. Goodbye.”
The shop was just around the corner, at the end of Main, but it took Leah several minutes to collect herself. In the short drive until she parked her car out front, she’d gone from outrage to near hysteria. Who did Greg think he was?Whatwas he thinking? For an insane moment she wondered what had happened between him and Rebekah, then she chided herself. None of it mattered. On her way into the shop, she began to laugh. The ridiculousness of it all had gotten to her. She was still laughing when she unlocked the door and flicked on the lights. Across the room, a head popped up from one of the armchairs. Leah dropped her bag and screamed.
“It’s me!” Brad bolted upright looking equally alarmed. A blanket slipped from his lap. “Sorry, it’s just me.”
