Page 9 of Broken Promises

how close Ed and Mom were. More power to Mom if she and Ed were dating, but she

had never mentioned anything to me. And this was the kind of a thing that she’d bring up.

“I invite Ed over whenever I make pancakes,” she replied suspiciously quickly. I arched my brow, and Ed patted his stomach.

“Your mom is my pancake dealer. Everyone knows she is the best cook in the county, and she keeps me well-fed.”

“Tell me about it. I spent my teenage years enjoying these pancakes; it was about time I passed the torch on to someone else.”

This interaction told me nothing about their relationship, if there was one, but Ed seemed nice enough. He had kind eyes, and he appeared respectful and sweet. I wanted my mom to be happy, and if her happiness was by his side, I was more than supportive.

“I’m going to have to get going soon, Lucy,” my mom said, sitting at the table. “The floral shop isn’t going to open itself. We’ll hang out when I get back home, okay? I’ve stocked thefridge with groceries, so feel free to make whatever you’d like for lunch. Or you can order something. There’s a cute little restaurant just around the corner…”

“Mom, I’ll be fine.” I gave her a small smile and chewed my pancake. She always tended to worry. Some things never changed, I guess. “Just go. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Ed looked at my mom. “I’ll drive you over if you’d like, Eve.”

“That would be great. Thank you,” Mom responded. “I’m already late, but I wanted to ensure I was here when you woke up. Do you have any plans for today?” She gathered her things and tossed them into one of her tote bags.

“I thought I might check out downtown, hit the bookstore and coffee shop, and then we’ll see where the day takes me.”

“Well, have fun, and feel free to stop by the floral shop.” Dashing over to me, she kissed my forehead while Ed put his mug in the sink, washing it out.

“I better take your mom to her flower shop before she loses all her marbles,” he commented quietly, but it was still loud enough for her to hear.

“I heard that!” she yelled from across the hall, and I laughed.

“I’ll see you around, Lucy.” Ed followed my mom toward the front door.

“Love you!”

When the door slammed shut, I was left on my own. Silence surrounded me, confronting me with my encounter with Luke yesterday. It was foolish to think I wouldn’t have run into him at some point, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

I need to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t think about it,I decided, finishing my breakfast before heading into the town.

Port-Cartier was a small New England town in that swelled in the summer due to tourists. It wasn’t as popular as the bigger town next to it, but that was the way the residents preferred it. The downtown ran parallel to the beach. Each side of the street had different businesses, with the restaurant and coffee shop sitting just feet from the beach. My home was a short walk to downtown, and since I didn’t have a car, my choice was made for me. Growing up, I had always walked everywhere—until I started dating Luke in our sophomore year, who insisted on driving me everywhere.

I had forgotten how much it had sucked to walk in the summer with the humidity. By the time I reached The Book Nook, my hair was sticking to my face and neck and starting to grow a little frizzy. For that reason, in Seattle, with the rain and dampness, I had often

kept my hair piled on top of my head. I rarely showed my natural curls anymore, but maybe that was another change that needed to be implemented.

I stepped inside the bookstore, breathing a sigh of relief as the air conditioning hit me. The Book Nook was in a red brick building with large windows that let in plenty of natural light. Even from outside, I got a good peek at the neatly lined shelves with a wide selection of books of all different genres.

“Lucy!” a tall, black man at the front counter called out, sliding his glasses from the top of his head to his nose to inspect me further.

“Gabe, is that you?” I stepped forward hesitantly. “Oh my God, how are you?”

Gabe came out from behind the counter to hug me. We had been friends in high school—not the super close kind, but it was still the kind of friendship that was comfortable.

“Fabulous as usual! I heard you were coming back, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.”

I smiled. “I didn’t realize that you had moved back to Port-Cartier.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you drop off the face of the earth.”

I cringed as a pang of guilt spread through me. When I left, I left everything and everyone behind—aside from my mom. I cut all the contact with everyone I once knew, thinking it was exactly what I needed for a fresh start. Back then, I didn’t realize how that choice affected those around me. “I’m sorry; I just needed to get away from here after everything that happened. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Pssh, it’s water under the bridge. My husband and I moved back a few years ago and

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