Page 7 of Slow Kind of Love

“It’s so funny.” Heather chuckled. “You don’t want to have a relationship with one of the hottest men in Crystal Lake because you found a gray hair down there. I mean, geez Louise, wax your muffin.”

“Muffin? You still use that word?”

“Don’t you?” Heather snorted, reaching for the carafe so she could refill her glass.

“I don’t call it anything.” Uncomfortable, she looked away, her gaze traveling the room before pausing on a table tucked away in the far corner. A redhead stood there. Elise couldn’t see who she was talking to, but something about her caught Elise’s attention.

She was tall and slender, dressed as if she’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine with her fitted brown, cream, and gray plaid jacket and dark gray skinny jeans tucked into soft brown leather knee-high boots. Her hair was long and fell in waves down her shoulders, and her profile showed creamy skin, scarlet lips, and a willowy frame that would make a man look twice. A cream-colored beret was perched on her head just so, and she used her hands to speak.

Elise watched her for a few seconds and only dragged her eyes back to Heather when her friend grabbed her hand.

“Hey. You. Earth to Elise. We need to have this conversation.”

“No.” She was firm. “We don’t. There’s no conversation to have for a whole bunch of reasons I don’t want to talk about right now. And as my best friend, I would hope you’d understand and cut me some slack and drop it.”

Heather seemed like she was going to say something else, but then clamped her mouth shut, and the two of them finished their lunch. It didn’t take long to fall back to the ease of their decades-long friendship, and by the time they were done lunch, the carafe was empty, most of it enjoyed by Heather. Elise offered to give her pal a ride home as they paid their bill and got up from the table.

“Just let me go to the bathroom first.” Heather giggled. “I don’t think I’ll make it home. I swear to God, if I knew what having four kids would do to my bladder, I wouldn’t have had them.”

“Liar.”

Heather cracked a lopsided smile. “I know.”

“Meet me outside.” With a wry grin, Elise watched her now-tipsy friend weave her way through the tables and head to the bathroom. She grabbed her purse and walked toward the exit, stopping to chat briefly with Ruby Blackwell, the owner of the establishment, before continuing on her way.

She took exactly two steps before she realized the man sitting across from the redhead she’d spotted earlier was Link.

Her heart sped up. That heat from before was back staining her cheeks like she was a teenager again. Shit. What the hell was wrong with her? She dragged her gaze from the woman to find his eyes on her. Link didn’t look surprised to see her. He didn’t look happy or concerned or anything, for that matter.

He tipped his head to the side and raised his chin. A hello of sorts. The kind you give someone you barely know.

There wasno way Elise could leave the Blue Elephant without walking by their table, and the redhead had turned to see what had grabbed her lunchmate’s attention. Drawing on that last shred of strength inside her, Elise kept moving and gave a polite nod as she passed his table, her eyes avoiding his altogether.

That was it. She said nothing, and he didn’t try to stop her. Elise strode across the parking lot to her car, head held high, jaw clenched tight. She was shaking, which made her feel stupid, and she swore as she searched through her bag for her keys. She was still looking, still muttering under her breath when Heather appeared.

“Are you okay?” Heather asked with a frown.

“Yep.”

“You look pissed.”

“Nope. I’m good.” She found her keys and unlocked the car.

“That was Li—”

“I know,” she curtly cut off her friend.

“Okay,then.” Heather slid into the car without another word.

Elise cranked the tunes and pointed her vehicle toward River Road. She didn’t want to talk about Link or the woman at his table. Didn’t want to acknowledge how it made her feel. How him acting like she was nothing made her feel. She had no right. She’d pushed him away and should be happy he’d found someone else.

Even if it was a little too quick.

Not thinking about it, she thought. Because if she did, that would mean she’d made a mistake. That would mean she cared more than she thought she did, and her hurt feelings had more to do with that than a bruised ego.

“Shit,” she muttered, turning onto Heather’s street.

Elise Avery might not know much, but one thing she knew for sure. Contrary to what Heather thought, she was too damn old to deal with the fallout.

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