Page 31 of Playing for Keeps
“I think I should put you to work.”
Alicia chuckled and lifted the paper menu. “I think your mom might find me and drag me out if I tried to leave the kids with her so I could haveanotherjob.”
Caroline propped her elbow on the table. Her boss of a sister-in-law juggled two kids and a handful of jobs like it was easy as walking. Alicia tapped her nails against the tabletop, patient smile plastered in place, but her raised brows said she was waiting for Caroline to crack. But what was she waiting for?
Bella Knight appeared beside their table and pulled a notepad from her apron pocket. “Whew. It’s been a day. The Christmas rush has got me running around like I don’t know which way is up.”
“You’re doing a great job. Who could come to town and miss out on a Flapjacks breakfast?” Caroline asked.
Bella lowered the notepad and relaxed her shoulders. “That’s so sweet.”
The Christmas rush got the best of all of them at one point or another. An encouraging word always helped lift Caroline’s spirit, and passing that on was the next best thing. “Just speaking the truth.”
Bella took their orders and skipped off to the kitchen with a new pep in her step. Caroline restedagainst the seat with a smile. They were all in this together. For every small-town rumor that threatened her business, there were a dozen wonderful friends everywhere she looked hoping and praying she’d succeed.
Alicia leaned over the table with that bright smile—the one that captured the heart of everyone in America during her pop star era. “Anythingelsegoing on?”
“Okay, you’re scaring me. Is something supposed to be going on?”
“Maybe. How are things with Justin?”
She froze. Justin was never far from her thoughts, but she wasn’t any closer to knowing what to do about it. How could she ever trust a man who left the way he did?
She pressed a hand to her stomach, the tension forming knots at the memory of their last conversation. She turned her gaze to the tabletop, blinking away the sting in her eyes. She had loved him. Probably still did.
“There are no things with Justin. That was in the past.”
“But it isn’t in the past. He’s here now,” Alicia explained.
“That doesn’t mean there’s anything new with us. We live in the same town. That’s it.”
And that was enough. With the Christmas season looming over her head, she didn’t have timeto fix things that had been broken and forgotten years ago.
“What about the flowers?” Alicia asked.
Great. She regretted telling Alicia about the flowers. “They were nice. I didn’t call him.”
“Why? What if he wanted to talk?”
“Good for him. I wanted to talk a long time ago.” She threw her hands in the air as if it were perfectly reasonable to lose her temper at lunch over something that happened over a decade ago.
Ugh. There was that ugly anger she’d been pushing away for years. She wasn’t used to being mad at anyone. Before Justin, the only person she hadn’t liked was his dad. Then Justin added his name to the very short list of people she shouldn’t trust.
Alicia glanced at her hands. “I think he’s sorry.”
“For what exactly?”
“Leaving.”
Caroline scoffed. “See, that’s where the miscommunication happened. I was never upset that he left. I was upset he didn’t give us a chance. He made the decision for both of us and never asked me to go with him.”
Alicia bit her lips together. “He knows that.”
Pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes, Caroline sucked in a few fortifying breaths. “I thought we were more than we actually were. You’re right. He’s a great guy, but I’m still hurt.”
“And you’re allowed to be,” Alicia said, resting a hand on Caroline’s arm.
“I haven’t been nice to him,” Caroline whispered as her chin quivered. Knowing she hadn’t been doing the right thing burned her heart. She rarely had malicious feelings for people. Having them for Justin went against everything she believed.
