Authors: Erin Nicholas
“You’re a
terrible
listener,” Marc muttered to her.
“What did you expect? You looked like a crazy person. I was
concerned
,” she told him, her eyes still on Luke. He looked like he might throw up or something.
“Josie told me that he was on his way over to check the house for me. I drove like a maniac to beat him here.”
“Good job,” she commented dryly. “You couldn’t call me? Would have saved you time and me a heart attack.”
“You would have answered my phone?” he asked with a frown. “That’s not cool.”
“Well, I…” She realized he had a point there.
“My
God
. What are you doing here?” Luke finally interrupted.
“I’m…back.”
Suddenly she was enfolded in Luke’s arms.
“Holy shit,” Luke whispered against her head.
That about summed it up.
“Are you okay? What happened? What are you doing here?” Luke crushed her to his chest. “When did you get here?”
She focused on the one question she felt prepared to answer. “Today. A few hours ago.”
Luke was dressed for business with gray pants, a white shirt and a gray and black tie.
He pulled back but kept his grip on her upper arms. “You came to Marc’s house when you got here? Why?”
“Marc came to pick me up. My car broke down on the way back.” Yeah, that sounded as bizarre as she’d expected.
Luke looked confused. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I called the restaurant and he was the one who answered and when he heard the problem he offered to come. You were busy or something.”
“Interviewing,” Marc answered.
Sabrina looked at him quickly. He sounded annoyed. He was leaning against the counter, frowning, his arms crossed watching her and Luke.
His eyes dropped to her butt. “Maybe you should put some clothes on.”
She blushed. She felt it—and hated it—at the same moment she became aware of the draft against the bare skin of her buttocks, revealed by the shirt pulling up while Luke hugged her. Only Marc could see. But that was more than enough to cause a hot flush.
“Right.” She glanced from Marc to Luke and back. “Don’t talk about anything interesting until I get back.” She narrowed her eyes at Marc in particular.
“Nothing more interesting than the messed up order of drinking straws,” Marc replied.
She pulled the hem of the T-shirt down as she turned and hurried from the room.
Marc turned to face his friend and business partner. “There’s a huge mess up with our drinking straw order.”
“First I’ve heard of it,” Luke said sarcastically. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the kitchen table, mimicking Marc’s posture. He looked like he was waiting for something.
Marc had a pretty good idea what it was, but there was no way he was bringing up the reason Sabrina was back in Justice. No. Way. In. Hell.
He did not want Sabrina to tell Luke she was pregnant. He couldn’t explain why but he didn’t want Luke to know. Yet.
Because he would have to know eventually. Everyone would.
Just not yet.
He wanted a chance to talk to Sabrina. It felt like things weren’t quite worked out. He wasn’t sure why things needed to be worked out between them. Or what things even needed to be worked out. Or what worked out meant exactly.
But he wasn’t ready for Luke to know.
He wanted to talk to her before she told anyone else.
Not that he knew what he was going to say. Or how he was going to explain to her why he needed to say it.
He was getting used to things having to do with Sabrina being complicated.
“I’m back.” Sabrina breezed back into the room. She still wore Marc’s T-shirt but now she also had his bathrobe on. Which was huge on her. It hung to her ankles, the shoulders were halfway to her elbows and the sleeves hung several inches past her fingers. At least she was covered.
“That’s dressed?” he asked as she walked past.
“What part of doing laundry do you not understand?” She frowned at him.
“I need new machines. This is taking forever.” Though he had a feeling that if it was anyone else, or she was wearing anything else, the time wouldn’t have felt so torturously long.
“Luke.” Sabrina moved toward the table. “I have something I need to tell you.”
Marc started sweating as if he was in the middle of a run.
No. Not yet.
How could he stop it, though?
Luke shifted where he was leaning on the counter but kept his arms crossed. Had he not known him so well, Marc wouldn’t have realized he was incredibly uncomfortable, fighting hugging Sabrina again or storming out of the house. “How long are you staying?
“I, um…” Sabrina glanced at Marc. “A while. A few months for sure.”
“Oh. I had no idea you were coming home.” Luke was clearly trying to sound casual. Marc could hear the tension in his voice though.
“I didn’t know until recently myself.”
“Your dad doesn’t know.”
“No. Luke, I have some news.”
She said it confidently and Marc felt his gut clench.
Not yet. I have to tell you…
He had no idea what he had to tell her but he had to tell her
something
.
“Great,” Luke replied. His fingers dug into his arms.
Marc could tell Luke was struggling to stay calm. He hated this. For both of them. This was going to be a bad moment. Luke Hamilton didn’t yell. Often.
“I’m—”
“Oh, shit!”
Both Luke and Sabrina turned to face him.
“
What
?” Sabrina demanded.
“I forgot to tell you that the straws are backordered,” Marc said looking at Luke. And avoiding looking at Sabrina.
“Oookay,” Luke said slowly.
“It’s going to be like two more weeks.” In reality the straws would probably be there the next day. He’d straightened the whole order out that morning.
“Two weeks?” Luke looked confused.
“I was
talking
,” Sabrina said through gritted teeth.
“This is important,” Marc said. “It is our livelihood.” He’d never used the word livelihood in his life.
She swung back to face Luke. “Luke, I’m—”
“Was that the buzzer on the dryer?” Maybe if she went into the laundry room he could find a way to follow her and tell her whatever it was that he needed to tell her so badly.
“
No
.” She glared at him over her shoulder. “I didn’t hear anything.” She turned back to Luke. “I—”
Marc panicked. He did the only thing he could think of and knocked the glass on the counter to the floor. Orange juice splattered everywhere. Especially down the back of Sabrina. And his bathrobe.
“What the f—” She spun, obviously irate. “What’s your problem?”
“I knocked it off the counter. Accidentally. Sorry.”
She glared at him for a minute, then her expression changed. Marc realized she’d figured out what he was up to.
She turned back to Luke and said quickly, “I’m pregnant.”
Marc felt like she’d punched him in the stomach. Luke looked like he felt the same way.
Sabrina looked surprised that it had come out that way.
A minute ago she’d been planning to say it and now she looked surprised.
He shook his head. The woman drove him nuts.
Then he focused on his friend. The man who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
“Luke?” He moved forward in case he needed to catch him.
“You’re
pregnant
?” Luke asked, staring at Sabrina.
She nodded.
“Wh… How… Who…”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, waving all of his partial questions away. “I am. I’m here. I thought you should know.”
“Who’s the father?” Luke demanded. “Where is he?”
Sabrina faced him and said firmly, “That doesn’t matter. He isn’t here, he isn’t coming here. He’s not an issue.”
“I want to know who the hell he is,” Luke said. “Is he going to be responsible? Is he going to marry you?”
Sabrina was shaking her head before he even finished. “No. To all of that. He’s not involved with me or the baby and it’s going to stay that way.”
Luke’s face got redder and Marc grew concerned.
“Buddy, are you—” Marc started.
But Luke turned on his heel and stomped to the door. The kitchen door slammed behind him hard enough to make Sabrina jump. The next thing they heard was Luke’s truck roaring out of the driveway.
She blew out a long breath. “Dammit.”
“You didn’t think that reaction was a possibility?” Marc asked dryly, moving to get a towel to clean up the juice on the floor.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I just had to get it over with.” She watched him mop up the juice and asked, “What got into you with all the stupid interruptions?”
“I didn’t think the timing was right.”
“When is the best time to tell my best friend, who almost proposed to me once, who I haven’t seen in four years, that I’m pregnant with another man’s baby?” she asked.
“Maybe not in the first ten minutes of seeing him again.” Marc stood with the dishrag. “Based on experience,” he added, looking toward the door that he was surprised still had an intact glass window in it.
She looked at the door too and sighed. “Yeah, maybe.”
The Camelot was beautiful. She’d almost forgotten how incredibly warm and welcoming it was. Going to dinner at The Camelot was like a mini-vacation—exactly the way Luke and Marc had intended it to be.
The Camelot’s main dining room had a stone fireplace in the center that opened on two sides and was surrounded by heavy round oak tables with padded chairs. Soft music played and the dishes were china and crystal, yet the atmosphere was friendly rather than conservative, and even though families were seated at their own tables, conversation was often exchanged from table to table, with laughter the most prominent noise in the room.
They had extended the comfort to the waiting area as well. It was the largest she’d ever seen in a restaurant, almost one-fourth of the entire building. The room was filled with smaller glass tables surrounded by overstuffed armchairs and even the occasional loveseat. Drinks, specialized coffees, appetizers and desserts were served there and people felt more like they were sitting in a friend’s living room than waiting in a restaurant. No one minded waiting out here. The food was certainly worth it, the service was the best and, above all, the atmosphere was relaxing and uplifting. It was
the
social spot in Justice and for nearly a ninety-mile radius. They also did a pretty decent business from people traveling through the area who heard from the locals that they had to stop and people who’d stopped once and then made a point to end up in town around dinnertime when they came through the next time.
Besides the restaurant, there was a large reception hall with a high ceiling, a polished wood floor and one wall made entirely of glass. It was beautiful on clear nights when the moon and stars shone in. Every Saturday there was entertainment of some kind from bands to comedians and once a month they opened the hall for a youth dance.
There was also a lounge with a huge center bar that served every drink imaginable. They had several non-alcoholic specials and the entire establishment was non-smoking. There was a huge jukebox in the corner and three pool tables in back. This area then led out to a patio area complete with tables, three grills and another smaller bar. This was the area that, according to Kat, they wanted to expand with a sand volleyball court and outside activities during the summer.
All in all, Marc and Luke had done exactly what they’d always dreamed of doing. They had created a place where people could go to see friends and family and feel welcome, comfortable and at home. They also, of course, employed all locals, making an important economic contribution to the town.
Both guys felt strongly that they were giving back to the community that had given them so much.
The restaurant was quiet now, between the lunch and dinner crowds, and even the front hostess podium was vacant at the moment.
She took a seat in one of the chairs by the door. She’d hung out at Marc’s for a while, but she’d found herself getting comfortable. Really comfortable. She loved Marc’s house. It felt good being there and she knew that she couldn’t let that sink in. She was moving in with Kat as soon as her friend got back to town and that would be only temporary too. They hadn’t set a timeline of course, but she couldn’t live with her friend forever.
The problem was, Sabrina wasn’t good with permanence. There was a lot of pressure to it. She had a hard time doing anything with forever in mind. What if she chose wrong?
It was easier to face things knowing that it wouldn’t last or that she could change her mind. She lived in apartments with no longer than a six-month lease. She had roommates that never stayed more than two or three months. She had jobs that she could leave if she grew frustrated or bored or something better came along.
Those were the thoughts that brought her back to the fact that she was embarking upon the most permanent thing she’d ever done—being a mom. There weren’t re-dos with that. She couldn’t change her mind or move on if it didn’t work out.
Her mom had done that.
Sabrina was in this for the long haul no matter what.
And it scared her to death.
So she wasn’t doing anything else that required a long-term commitment. She wasn’t doing anything crazy like buying a house and she had to get out of Marc’s before she started thinking about how great it would be to have a home like that.
Now she was sitting in the only other place in town she could really go—The Camelot.
She realized rather quickly that she didn’t have any friends other than Kat and Luke here anymore. Not friends who would drop their work day to come and see her anyway. Which was her fault. She hadn’t kept in touch with anyone. Leaving had been hard enough without keeping relationships going. She knew she’d missed weddings and birthdays and holidays. But it was easier to ignore it when she wasn’t getting invitations, announcements and cards.
Which all meant that she was pretty lonely and bored right now.
If this was what her days were going to be like, she needed something to do.