“Thank you, sir,” Jeff said, shaking the buyer’s hand who’d just bought his Lamborghini. Jeff was sad to see it go, but it was a weight off as well. He didn’t have to worry about making sure nothing ever happened to it. And, it was sort of a statement to himself. He’d become successful enough to afford it, but now he’d become self-assured enough to no longer need it.
Jeff watched the buyer drive away the sports car. Then he went back into his house to get the keys for his SUV. He’d promised his mom that he’d stop by the arts and crafts fair that was going on this weekend. His mom and Mrs. Waters had purchased booth space, and from what he’d heard so far, sales were going well. Jeff was happy for both of them.
Jeff started the engine and backed out of his driveway. He adjusted the radio to a new station, then pulled onto the street. It was a warm spring Saturday, the sky blue, the air fresh, and Jeff was determined to make this a good day.
His mom had told him that Mrs. Waters had continued to purge her junk and that she’d had some colossal conversation with her ex-husband. Jeff hated to always get information second-hand about the Waters family, including updates on Alicia. He hadn’t seen her since that day at the Main Street Café, and that had been more than a month ago. But he’d determined that she’d have to come to him if she wanted to ever be friends again. Meanwhile, he’d concentrate on developing his real estate business and rebuild from the mistakes his cousin had brought in.
On a personal level, he’d decided not to date for a while. He didn’t have an exact time limit in place, but he made it a general practice not to go to parties and get-togethers his friends might invite him to.
Jeff pulled into the parking lot of the arts and crafts fair. He was surprised at the number of cars, but then again it was Saturday. He paid the small entrance fee, then looked around for his mom’s booth.
“Jeff!” someone called out.
He turned to see his friend Grant Shelton—the person he’d left a message with about doing some repair work when he’d first started spending time with Alicia.
“It’s been a while,” Grant said. “Did you ever get my message after you called me a couple of months ago?”
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t call you back,” Jeff said. “It turns out I didn’t need your help after all.
“No worries,” Grant said. “Looks like you’ve been busy though. I’ve seen your realtor signs up everywhere.”
Jeff laughed. “Just keeping busy. What about you?”
“The same old thing—working nonstop, it seems.”
A woman came up to them and slipped her hand into Grant’s.
Jeff couldn’t be more surprised. Grant had always sworn off any guys-get-togethers, especially if it involved women. He had a kid from his first marriage, which had been a rocky one, so he frequently used the dad card to get out of invitations.
“Maurie, do you remember Jeff?” Grant asked.
“I think so,” she said in a slow voice, tilting her head to study him.
Jeff didn’t recognize the woman. She was pretty with dark, curly hair, and green eyes. And it seemed Grant liked her a lot. That was good news in Jeff’s book; it meant his friend might have actually found some happiness in his life after his cruddy divorce.
“Jeff, this is Maurie Ledbetter,” Grant said. “She used to live down the street from me, but she was mostly homeschooled.”
“Okay,” Jeff said, holding out his hand and shaking Maurie’s. “Nice to see you.”
“Well, we’d better get going,” Grant said. “We’re picking up Trent from his mom.”
Jeff was definitely going to call Grant after this to find out more details about what was going on with this new woman. “Great, we’ll need to catch up sometime.”
“See you later, man,” Grant said, pulling Maurie along with him.
Jeff watched the couple walk away. They seemed to be in sync, and he wondered if he’d ever have that.
He turned to survey the various booths; then he started to walk through them, thinking he might return to the booth with western sculptures. A couple of minutes later, he found his mom’s booth. Several women were crowded around it, and his mom and Mrs. Waters were busy answering questions and displaying jewelry. When his mom looked his way, Jeff waved. She smiled and mouthed, “Come back in a little bit.”
So Jeff moved away, intent on returning to the western sculpture booth, when he bumped into a woman. “Sorry,” he said, reaching out to steady the woman. Then he realized it was Alicia.
“It’s okay,” she said, looking up at him. Her eyes rounded. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi . . . Are you okay?” he asked. She wore an olive V-neck shirt beneath a dark jacket, which made her eyes look darker than normal. He was glad to see she wore a soft, curious expression, not the skittish one she’d had when they were at the café with their moms.
“I’m fine,” Alicia said. “Looks like this place is busy—a good thing for our moms.”
“Yeah.” Jeff shoved his hands in his pockets. The conversation was definitely awkward, but he couldn’t come up with anything better to say or any question to ask to prolong their interaction.
But Alicia hadn’t made her excuses and left either.
The smallest hope grew inside Jeff, but he tamped it down. It was only a coincidence that they’d run into each other.
“So, how have you been doing?” Alicia asked.
She was still standing in front of him, and she was asking him questions. Jeff blinked. “Busy,” he said. Then he gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Don’t you hate it when people say that? I mean, it’s like they’re saying they’re busier and more important than the person they’re talking to.”
“True,” Alicia said with a nod. A small smile had turned up her pale red lips.
Jeff wondered if she was wearing lip gloss.
“Maybe it’s just a brush off, like when someone says ‘fine.’” She slipped her hands into her jeans pockets, and Jeff couldn’t help but notice how well her jeans fit her curves.
“I just saw Grant Shelton—remember him?” Jeff asked. “We both talked about how busy we are.”
Alicia gave a small laugh, and Jeff’s heart tripped.
“Grant was a couple of years older than us, right?” she asked. “One of those all-state athlete guys?”
“Yeah, I think he played a few sports.”
Alicia glanced away for a split second. Was she done speaking to him? Did she wish that they hadn’t run into each other? “So what’s Grant up to? Besides being busy.”
Jeff could answer these questions. “He’s dating someone. He went through a divorce, you know, and has a kid.”
Alicia nodded. “Yeah, I think I remember that. Who’s he dating?”
“Maurie someone . . . Do you know her?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “What about you?”
“Do I know Maurie?”
“No, are you dating someone?”
Jeff blinked. He was totally unprepared for this question from Alicia. That small bit of hope returned. “I’m not.” He saw her swallow.
“No Paige?”
“Definitely no Paige,” he said. “And I don’t think I’ll be dating for a while.”
Her brows shot up. “Oh, really? Why not?”
It was Jeff’s turn to swallow, and he couldn’t believe he was about to say this. “Because it’s going to be hard to find a woman who will compare to you.”
Alicia’s face pinked, and one side of her mouth lifted. She didn’t act completely surprised at his comment, only pleased.
His hope grew.
And she still wasn’t trying to walk away.
“My mom said the hot cocoa was really good here,” she said. “And the giant cinnamon rolls.”
Jeff grinned. “Cinnamon rolls, huh? Should we go see if your mom’s right?”
Alicia gave a tiny shrug, but her smile had grown.
So they walked together toward the food trucks. Everything smelled and looked delicious, Jeff decided. Maybe he was just really hungry, but he would have eaten whatever Alicia wanted if it meant spending more time with her. He knew he shouldn’t be letting himself have this much hope. She’d been pretty adamant about not being friends. So he wasn’t quite sure what was going on right now; but he wasn’t going to question it at this point.
While they stood in line behind a frazzled young mom with two small kids, Alicia nudged his arm. “I’m paying, just so you know.”
“I can pay,” Jeff said.
“If anyone owes anyone anything, it’s me who owes you.” She placed a hand on his chest when he tried to argue. “You brought your mom into my mom’s life. And she’s made miraculous changes. I’ll never be able to thank you for that, so let me buy you a cinnamon roll.”
Jeff was only thinking about how her hand was on his chest. Through his clothing, he could feel the warmth from the pressure of her palm. Could she feel how hard his heart was thumping? He nodded. “Okay, but only if you insist.”
Her laugh was light. “I insist.”
She dropped her hand and turned forward again as if she hadn’t just shifted his entire world.
The young mom with the kids placed her order, then Alicia stepped up and ordered two cinnamon rolls and two hot cocoas. They sat at the end of a long picnic table, while another group of people occupied the other end.
“How’s the real estate market?” she asked after they settled on their seats.
“Overall, it’s been great for me,” he said. “Now that I’ve been in business for a while, I get a lot of personal referrals from previous clients. Also, with the court case over, I’m way more focused on what I need to be.”
“Did your cousin ever counter-sue?” she asked, then took a sip of her hot chocolate.
“Not yet,” he said. “Dawson says the longer Kyle waits, the harder it will be for him to build a case.” He shrugged. “Not that he really has a case anyway.”
“I’m glad.” Alicia cut into her cinnamon roll and took a bite. The rolls were so gooey with frosting that they took a fork and knife to eat.
“How’s your job going?” he asked, after taking a bite of his own roll. It was as delicious as it smelled.
Alicia exhaled. “It’s the same as always. Pretty boring, actually. No exciting confrontations with ex-girlfriends lately.”
Jeff groaned. “I can’t believe Paige did that.”
“What ever happened to her?” she asked in a casual tone, but Jeff could tell she was genuinely curious.
“I haven’t heard from her since the day I threatened to file a restraining order against her.”
Alicia’s mouth fell open. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” Jeff said. “Dawson recommended bringing it up. It worked. She dropped all contact.”
“I keep expecting that picture she took of me to show up on social media somewhere as a death threat meme.”
“Hopefully, she’s smarter than that,” Jeff said. “I just don’t know why I even started dating Paige in the first place.”
Alicia laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Paige is model gorgeous. I mean, every man probably wants to date her,” Alicia said. “And the ones who don’t, fantasize about dating her.”
Jeff took a sip of his own hot chocolate. It was the perfect temperature now. “Those men are wasting their time, just like I was. I’m not exactly proud of some of my decisions. But I’m working to make changes.”
This seemed to interest Alicia. “What changes?”
He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture of his Lamborghini with its new owner. “This is Eric—the man I just sold my car to this morning.”
Alicia stared. “You sold it? Why?”
“Like I said, I’m making some changes.” Jeff smiled at her surprised expression. “Hey, do you want to check out the booth with western sculptures with me?”
“Okay,” Alicia said, with no hesitation at all.
That was good enough for Jeff.