Page 20 of Hooked on Lane

“Well, my son here needs to settle down. Find himself a good woman, so be sure to keep an eye out for him. I'm not getting any younger.”

“Mom, Jennifer doesn't need to know all about my personal life. Some things I'd like to keep private.”

The dynamic between Lane and his mom was amazing. They had a strong and healthy relationship, and I was jealous. A smile emerged. Didn’t they say you can tell how a man is going to treat you by how he treated his mother? Well, if that was the case, whoever ended up with Lane was going to be a lucky lady.

“Don't worry, Leanne. Lane has a trove of women in New York City to pick from…” I looked right at Lane and winked. He shook his head.

Not once did I show his mother my feelings for him. We both needed to be careful around her, especially when she was this adamant about him finding someone, but what mother wouldn't?

The waitress brought us our food, and I took a sip of my Dr. Pepper. “So, Leanne, what is one thing I absolutely need to do while I'm here?”

She smiled. “The square on Christmas. You think it's gorgeous now, but when the whole town gathers around andsings Christmas music, it's a sight for wonder. You won't find something like this in your big city.”

I forgot she was a small-town girl through and through. “Alright, it's on my list. Once Lane described the town a bit to me, I've been doing research. I don’t want to miss a single experience.”

A tall woman with dark hair glided up behind Lane. I raised my chin and tapped the table twice with my index finger to get his attention.Who was this woman?

Chapter Twenty-One

Lane

Standing before me was Nicole Peters. I watched as tears welled up in her eyes. “I can't believe it's you.”

My throat tightened. “You look exactly the same.”

Her voice quivered. “I didn't think I'd ever see you again.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

She stood there with her arms folded. I stood and touched her elbow and directed her away from our table. As we made our way through the tables, she glanced around, clearly uncomfortable, until we sat down at a faraway table.

“Do you remember the last time we saw each other?”

My throat tightened as memories of the disastrous evening flooded back to me. “I remember.”

We were sitting outside on the grass, surrounded by a garden my mother had been tending for years. The sun was setting, and I could tell from the conversations we’d had that day that it would not work out between us—our perspectives weren't aligning, and I couldn’t take on another person's feelings right then.

“Listen, it's been years. Let's not worry about what happened then. How are you?”

“I’ve been okay.” She looked up at me and squared her shoulders. “I just need to tell you one thing. Back then, I never understood why you had to go to Harvard, but I understand now. You had to follow your dreams, and it was worth it—I'm so proud of you for doing it.”

“Thank you, Nicole.”

We used to be good friends before we started dating. I smiled, my heart still loyal to the woman sitting with my mother, and I tried to quash the spark by quickly asking about her new job. She lit up when telling me about how much she enjoyed working at the bakery around the corner and how moving back to Amesbury after her divorce had been a blessing in disguise for her son.

Nicole's face softened as she glanced at the booth where Jennifer was sitting, chatting with my mom. “Anyway, I must get home to my son. Would you like to grab dinner and catch up while you're in town?”

“Sorry, I'll be busy with my mother and Jennifer. It's her first time here for the holidays. So many things to do.”

Nicole bit her lip. “She's a lucky girl. Hopefully, she knows that.”

I slinked back to the booth beside my mother, who shot me a sidelong glance. She'd always been fond of Nicole, and if the choice was hers, she'd marry me off without delay. Thankfully, this wasn't her call to make.

Jennifer kept her head down. My mom shot her a quick glance before standing up and giving me a kiss on the cheek.“Carter is going to walk me to the lodge. You guys stay here for as long as you want. This old woman needs some rest.”

"Sorry about that. Small town means running into ex-girlfriends.” Jennifer wouldn't make eye contact with me. What was going on? Surely, she couldn't be upset.

After leaving the money to cover our meal, Jennifer and I stepped out of the cozy diner into the bitter air. My teeth chattered as I pulled my scarf up over my neck and tugged my coat tighter around my body. We took slow steps as we walked down Main Street. The snow was coming down heavily now, and the Christmas decorations in the shop windows were barely visible.

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