‘Maybe they’re jealous of your cute coat.’
‘Wellobviously.’ I adjusted the tailored collar.
He grinned. ‘Grab a seat. That’s if you think you can bear my company.’
I sniffed the air, feeling my stomach rumble. Seeing Jonah’s eyes widen, I realized he’d heard it too. ‘For a plate of whatever that smell is,’ I told him, ‘I can put up with you for a bit longer.’
‘That,’ he informed me, ‘is The Cozy Catch’s world-famous lobster stew. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.’
‘No.’
‘It’s not why you’ve come to Pine Harbor today?’
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘No. I didn’t move here from Chicago for the lobster stew.’
‘Huh. Whydidyou move here then?’
‘I don’t think we’re at the life-story-sharing stage just yet.’
If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it.
‘But,’ I continued, ‘get me a bowl of that stew and a cold beer and who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky.’
His eyebrows shot up.
‘Not like that,’ I added quickly. ‘I didn’t meanphysically.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. I almost never put out on the first date.’
‘This isn’t a date.’
‘OK, you grab that booth before someone else does, and I’ll get us some stew and a couple of drinks. Are you a draft or bottled beer kind of woman?’
‘Guess.’
He looked me up and down shrewdly. ‘Draft?’
I was impressed. ‘Correct. How’d you know?’
‘You just seem uncomplicated.’
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.
While he chatted to the man behind the bar, I slid into the booth, removing my coat and draping it on the seat beside me. It was super warm and cozy, courtesy of a big roaring fire in one corner of the room. Condensation coated the inside of the windows, but I could see that the snow was still falling outside. The place was busy, the low of hum of many conversations punctuated occasionally by noisy laughter. Families, couples, big groups that could have been workmates having a knock-off drink.
I thought of the little Irish bar near the hospital back in Chicago. Grace O’Malley’s, it was called. Dark inside, with sticky floors and shadowy corners, it was a favorite haunt for hospital staff. A place to drink off the horrors of a hard shift and catch up on hospital gossip. There was always someone sleeping with someone they shouldn’t be. I had a sudden longing to be back there, in familiar surroundings, with Holly nursing a glass of chardonnay and bitching about how useless the doctors were. The yearning to see her face was so strong I reached for my phone in my coat pocket on the seat beside me, thinking I’d give her a quick video call.
‘You OK?’
I looked up at Jonah, who was standing next to the booth with two glasses of beer in his hands. His brow was furrowed.
I jerked my hand away from my coat, as if I’d been caught doing something wrong.
‘Yeah, why?’
