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4

Hannah went through the motions of getting dinner ready, but she was so distracted she burned the chicken and overcooked the pasta. She tossed both in the garbage and started over, this time with baked potatoes and steaks that could be thrown on the grill whenever Luke got home. At least she hadn’t destroyed the salad, too. She put the bowl on the table.

She glanced at the clock and realized Luke was running late. There must have been some sort of emergency that kept him at the clinic. Just as well, since that would give the kitchen time to air out before he got here to ask questions about the ruined meal.

Hannah didn’t want anyone, least of all Luke, to get the idea that she was intimidated by having her childhood best friend—and Luke’s old love—back home again. Yet the instant her grandmother had told her of Abby’s return about a million insecurities had crowded in, followed by a cascade of memories from the summer that Luke and Abby had fallen in love and Hannah had had to sit by on the sidelines while the teen romance flourished right in front of her.

The three of them had spent countless hours on the porch at Seaview Inn, playing games and talking into the night. She’d been forced to turn a blind eye as Abby snuggled against Luke’s side in the old swing. On too many nights, as they walked off hand in hand, tears had leaked from Hannah’s eyes and she’d gone to bed crying. The only thing saving her from complete humiliation was knowing that Luke hadn’t realized just how miserable she was. Abby might have guessed, but she’d pretended otherwise, either to soothe her own conscience or to protect Hannah’s secret.

But they were all grown up now. Hannah was the one who was married to Luke, and she had not a single reason to believe he would ever be unfaithful. Once he made a commitment, he kept it. After he’d come home from Iraq, he would have gone back to his wife, if she hadn’t already started divorce proceedings so she could marry the partner in his medical practice.

That faith in Luke, of course, belonged to the strong, confident Hannah, not the one whose body had been disfigured by breast cancer and ravaged by chemotherapy. That woman had enough self-doubts to keep a psychologist busy for years.

She stiffened her resolve to keep those doubts to herself. She didn’t want her grandmother or Luke watching her constantly to see if she was on edge about Abby’s return. How did the saying go, “Fake it till you make it?” Well, she was going to fake being thrilled about Abby’s return or die trying.

“Sorry I’m late,” Luke called out, startling her as he jogged up the porch steps, then joining her in the kitchen.

“Last-minute emergency?” she asked, turning her face up for his kiss.

“Not exactly. I’ll explain later,” he said, a guilty flush in his cheeks. “I see you have the grill ready to go. Are we having steak?”

She nodded.

He sniffed the air. “Then why do I smell something that reminds me of scorched chicken?”

“Blast,” she murmured. “I thought I’d aired the place out. I need to get some of that stuff that wipes out odors.”

Luke frowned. “Something up? You never ruin a meal.”

She forced a grin. “That’s what you think. Maybe I’m just very good at hiding the evidence. After all, when I lived in New York, I excelled at takeout, not cooking. Ask Kelsey. She’ll testify to that.”

“If you say so. Let me get those steaks on the grill. I’m starving.”

Hannah thought he was awfully eager to escape the kitchen and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because he was hungry. Something was going on. The knot in the pit of her stomach—or maybe sheer paranoia—told her it had something to do with Abby. So did his strained efforts at making small-talk during their meal.

Still she couldn’t seem to bring herself to mention Abby’s return. Once she opened her mouth, she’d have to pull off that pretense that her world hadn’t been turned upside down.

After dinner, when she and Luke sat on the deck, watching the sun set in a blaze of color over the water, a kind of calm settled over them. She finally drew in a deep breath. This conversation couldn’t be put off another second.

“Have you heard that Abby might be back in town?” she asked Luke, keeping a close eye on his face as she spoke.

“Seth mentioned it this morning,” he said, his tone as casual as hers had been. The only thing that betrayed his nervousness was the searching look he gave her. He was obviously worried that she might overreact. “How’d you hear?”

“Grandma Jenny came by.”

“I figured she would.” He held her gaze. “You should know that I paid Abby a visit on my way home.”

Hannah’s heart seemed to stop. He’d heard Abby was back and had immediately gone rushing over to see her? That wasn’t good. “Really? How is she?” Her calm words belied her panic.

“She’s good. She says she’s back here to make a fresh start for herself. Apparently she’s divorced. And she’s the one who’s developing Blue Heron Cove.”

“I see,” Hannah said, a shiver of dismay chilling her. She reminded herself that she couldn’t let Luke see how that news terrified her. She forced herself to look directly into his eyes. “I think we should invite her to dinner. It will be great to catch up.” She managed to get the words out without choking on them.

“If that’s what you want,” he said oh-so-carefully, unmistakable worry in his eyes. “Are you sure, Hannah? It would be understandable if you wanted to keep some distance between you.”

“Understandable, why? Because you two have a history? That’s the very reason we need to reach out to her,” Hannah said. “Seaview Key is too small to start trying to avoid people. And you know how people talk. They’ll be speculating about what’s going on with us. Why give them any reason to gossip?”

Luke looked relieved by her response, which told her she’d managed just the right tone, casual and breezy.

“Okay, then,” he said. “Maybe we should include Seth.”

“Why?” she asked. Recalling what her grandmother had said earlier, a thought occurred to her, one that actually eased her mind just a little. “Luke Stevens, are you playing matchmaker? I thought that was Grandma Jenny’s domain.”

Luke chuckled, clearly more relaxed now that he was convinced that she’d taken the news of Abby’s return in stride. She gave herself a pat on the back for the successful deception.

“Hardly,” he said. “But Seth is the one who rescued Abby from drowning today. Maybe they should cross paths under more favorable circumstances.”

Unsaid, she knew, was that he hoped Seth would provide a buffer if things among the three old friends got awkward. Since she couldn’t deny that a buffer would be good, she nodded.

“Sounds great, but you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to freak out and start imagining things about the two of you,” she told her husband, deciding to be open about the elephant in the room. “We’ll just have a nice evening catching up. Asking Seth to join us makes sense. He needs to do more socializing. I worry sometimes that if he gets too lonely here, he’ll decide to move on.”

“I worry about that, too,” Luke admitted. “As much as I love Seaview Key, it’s not right for everybody. Since I’m the one who encouraged Seth to stick around, I want to do what I can to make sure he made the right decision.”

“You really do think of him as a kid brother, don’t you?”

“Sure. The bond we formed in Iraq will last forever. I’ll always worry about him. Of course, he’d tell you I worry a little too much.”

Hannah chuckled. “Have you been butting into his personal life?”

“Maybe a little. That’s why I think this dinner is a good thing.”

“A win-win all around,” Hannah said.

Luke nodded.

But despite the cheery optimism they were both expressing, Hannah couldn’t help wondering if she wasn’t deluding herself about the wisdom of this dinner party. In her attempt to appear unaffected by Abby’s return, it was entirely possible she’d gone too far. She might well be opening up a can of worms that would have been better left locked tight. Too late now, she thought wearily, pressing forward.

“Will Saturday work for you?” she asked her husband.

“Sure.”

“And you’ll talk to Seth or would you prefer it if I invited him?”

“I’ll mention it to him tomorrow. Seven o’clock?”

“Perfect,” she said. “I’ll check in with Abby and make sure she’s available.”

It all sounded so ordinary, just another dinner with friends, something they did on a regular basis. Unfortunately, if Hannah’s already-jittery nerves were anything to go by, this gathering was going to be anything but ordinary.

* * *

The unexpected knock on her door startled Abby so badly she upended the pail of already-filthy, soapy water she’d been using to scrub windowsills throughout the house. When she opened the door and spotted Hannah, she was even more stunned.

“Hannah!” she said, delight warring with caution. “I should have known word would get around that I’m here.”

“Since my husband was one of the people who knew, it was almost a certainty,” Hannah said, an edge to her voice that belied the even expression she managed to keep on her face.

The barbed remark left Abby momentarily speechless. Was Luke’s visit the reason Hannah was here? Abby wondered. Had she come to protect her turf?

Hannah flushed, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry,” she apologized. “What I should have said is that it’s impossible to keep secrets in Seaview Key. Word spreads faster here than weeds.”

Abby accepted the attempt to smooth over the awkwardness. “I remember,” she said. “But I got through the better part of a week before anyone knew. If I hadn’t come close to drowning yesterday, I’m convinced my secret would have been safe a little longer.”

“Any particular reason you didn’t want anyone to know you were around?” Hannah asked.

Abby studied her old friend, regretting all the years they hadn’t been in touch, wishing there weren’t this huge wall between them because of Luke. Hannah had always been the best kind of friend, one who’d listen without passing judgment. It was too soon to test if she could be that kind of friend again.

“No, not really,” Abby said evasively, not wanting to get into all of the reasons she’d wanted privacy. “Come on in. Do you have some time? This place is a mess, but I’m making progress. We can sit in the kitchen. I finished cleaning in there this morning and I have iced tea.”

Hannah laughed then, easing the tension between them. “Of course you do. I’ll bet it’s in your mom’s old pitcher with fruit painted on it.”

“It is,” Abby confirmed. “That pitcher probably qualifies as some sort of antique by now.”

Hannah held up a bag that Abby hadn’t noticed before. She should have, since the aroma of freshly baked cookies was wafting from it. “Grandma Jenny’s chocolate chip cookies,” she guessed eagerly.

“Fresh from the oven not fifteen minutes ago,” Hannah told her.

“Now it does feel like old times,” Abby said, leading the way to the big oak table in the kitchen where they’d spent so many hours doing homework way back when, at least before she’d gotten involved with Luke and Hannah had started making excuses not to join them. The surface of the table gleamed and the wood smelled of lemon polish.

“So how are you?” Hannah asked when they were settled at the table with tea and cookies. “You look good.”

“If you can say that with a straight face when you’ve caught me in ancient cut-offs and a faded tank top with my hair a mess and my nails in desperate need of a manicure, you’re better at spin than anyone I know.”

Hannah laughed. “That’s exactly why they paid me big bucks in New York for a lot of years. But you do look good, Abby. A little tired, maybe, but otherwise not a gray hair or a wrinkle in sight. I wish I could say the same.”

“Don’t go fishing for compliments. You look wonderful, too. Must be that marriage agrees with you. I heard about you and Luke not long after the wedding. I meant to send a note, but I was clearing the decks to move back here myself and time got away from me. I’m so glad that worked out for you, Hannah.”

“Do you really mean that?” Hannah asked, an unmistakable hint of vulnerability in her voice.

“Of course I do,” Abby assured her. “Even though you kept your lips sealed about it, I knew you had a crush on him back in high school. I always felt a little guilty that he chose me.”

Hannah regarded her with a surprisingly direct look. “I tried not to hate you for it,” she said, her tone serious, but a glint of real humor in her eyes.

“Didn’t always succeed, though, did you? I know things weren’t really the same between us after Luke and I hooked up.” She gave Hannah a hesitant smile. “I’m hoping it will be different now. I’d like to have my old friend back in my life again, especially since we’re both living here.”

“Then you really are home to stay? Luke told me you were.”

Abby nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“He also mentioned you’re divorced.”

“For almost a year,” Abby confirmed. “I took some time to reevaluate my life before deciding to come back to Seaview Key. I could have stayed where I was. I had a thriving restaurant just outside of Pensacola.” She shrugged. “It wouldn’t have worked. My ex has a lot of influence in that community and I needed a clean break.”

“You were married to a minister, I heard,” Hannah said, then added dryly, “That was a surprise.”

“To me, too,” Abby acknowledged with a chuckle. “Marshall is a great guy, one of the best, but being married to a paragon of virtue wore me out.”

“Not compatible with your wild streak?” Hannah teased.

“Something like that,” Abby said, her own tone turning serious. “I’ve missed this, Hannah. You and me. Just having someone to talk to who knows everything about me, good and bad. We shared so much history. Back then I felt like we were sisters, not just best friends.”

“Me, too,” Hannah admitted. “But sisters would probably have made more of an effort to get past what happened, instead of drifting apart the way we did.”

“Maybe,” Abby said. “Maybe not. I’ve learned a lot about family dynamics these past couple of decades. Sometimes friends get along better than family, at least it looked that way to me. Sadly, I didn’t have a lot of experience with either one.”

Hannah frowned. “Surely there were friends. You were always so outgoing.”

Abby shook her head. “Not really. I had acquaintances, a ton of them, but I was discouraged from getting too close to the other women in the congregation. Marshall didn’t want anyone knowing our business. And at the restaurant, I was the boss. I had to be careful with everyone there, too. As for the customers, I had to turn on the charm, be immune to the complaints. Turning the other cheek was so not me.”

Hannah couldn’t possibly imagine how isolating that had been, Abby thought, remembering the loneliness, the longing for someone she could open up to.

“I’m sorry,” Hannah said.

“Don’t be,” Abby said, her tone deliberately upbeat. “I’m leaving all that in the past. Somewhere around here there has to be some glimmer of the old me. I intend to find it.”

“Maybe you can start by having dinner with me and Luke,” Hannah said. “That’s why I came by. To see if you’re free on Saturday.”

It wasn’t just the invitation that startled Abby, but the warmth with which it was uttered. Taking it at face value, she said, “I really would love that.”

“Luke wants to include Seth, if that’s okay. He thought maybe you’d want to thank him for dragging you out of the water. Personally I think you need to find a safer way of getting a man’s attention, but what do I know?”

Abby thought of that moment when her senses had stirred in a stranger’s arms. It had been such a long time since she’d reacted to anyone like that. Did that make it something to be pursued or avoided at all costs? Seeing Seth again at The Fish Tale, feeling that same spark of attraction, had only added to her conflicted feelings. Unfortunately, with Hannah regarding her expectantly, she didn’t have a lot of time to decide.

“Sure,” she said finally, avoiding her old friend’s assessing gaze.

Hannah studied her curiously for a moment longer, then grinned. “Oh my God, you’re interested, aren’t you? I recognize the signs. For one thing, you’re blushing like a teenager.”

“Don’t be crazy. I barely know the man.”

“If you say so,” Hannah said. “But dinner’s going to be a lot more interesting than I was anticipating.”

Abby suddenly found herself hoping that Hannah was right.

* * *

Seth, Luke and a few of the other men in Seaview Key had been getting together for a while now to play poker on Friday nights. Seth’s discord with Luke the day before was no reason to stay away, he decided, not when he usually managed to take a few bucks from his friend before most nights were over.

Jack Ferguson was hosting tonight’s game in his apartment above The Fish Tale. He gave Seth an assessing look when he arrived.

“Saw you with Abby Miller yesterday,” Jack said, his knowing gaze shifting from Seth to Luke and back again.

Seth nodded. “Just getting acquainted,” he said, leaving it at that.

“Have you seen her since she’s been back?” Jack asked Luke.

“I stopped by last night,” Luke admitted.

Seth regarded him with surprise. “Really?” he said, not sure what that implied. Had Luke been lying when he’d claimed he was long over the woman? He sure hadn’t wasted any time in going to see her.

“Just a quick stop to say hello and see what brought her back,” Luke said, his gaze steady as if daring Seth or anyone else to question his motives.

“I’ll tell you what brought her back,” Jack said, pouring beers all around. “She’s behind this whole Blue Heron Cove development.”

Luke frowned. “What do you mean, behind it? She sold them the land, right? I thought that’s what she meant when she told me she was developing it.”

Jack shook his head. “No, it’s her deal, start to finish. She brought the plans by today for me to take a look. It’s nothing like the disaster some folks were painting it to be, myself included, I have to admit.”

“You’re backing it now?” Luke said, his surprise plain. “I thought you were dead set against it. You’ve been grumbling to anyone who’d listen since the word first leaked out that the land was going to be developed.”

“Well, I’m over it now,” Jack replied defensively. “I’ve seen for myself what she has in mind. Only a few houses, all high-end. She intends to keep most of the trees, wherever she can.”

“What happens if the builder points out it’s going to cost more to do it that way?” Luke asked. In his experience watching developments take a turn for the worse, money trumped ideals at every turn.

“She’ll stand her ground,” Jack said confidently. “If you’d heard her, you’d believe that.”

“Does Abby have any experience as a developer?” Luke asked, trying to imagine her in that role.

Jack shrugged. “Not that I know of, but I trust her to keep her word. I told her I’d back her up at the council meeting when she goes in for the final approvals.”

Seth was impressed. If she’d convinced Jack, a die-hard opponent of the island being overdeveloped, then Abby must have done quite a sales job. Her involvement might also make it easier for him and Luke to ask for a little backing for that rescue boat, too.

Nate Wilson looked at the three of them impatiently. “Are we here to play poker or are you guys going to chatter like a bunch of women all night?”

Jack gave him an amused look. “Forgive me. I thought you might be interested in the future of our community.”

Nate merely growled. “I’m more interested in winning back that money you stole from me in last week’s game.”

“Then you’ll have to play a whole lot better than you did last week. I’m feeling lucky again,” Jack told him, just as Tom Jenkins, their fifth regular, finally showed up. Jack pushed a beer in Tom’s direction, then nodded toward Seth. “Deal the cards.”

From that point on, they stayed focused on poker, beer and the snacks Jack had put out for them. Seth had the feeling there was something on Luke’s mind, but he kept silent until they were outside at midnight, both of them a little poorer. Jack had had a good night, just as he’d predicted.

“I was hoping to see you today,” Luke told him as they walked toward their cars.

“Something on your mind?”

“Hannah’s planning a dinner party for tomorrow night. She’d like you to be there. Are you free?”

“Sure, I can be there.” His suspicions kicked in. “If you don’t mind me asking, who else is on the guest list?”

“Just one other person, as far as I know,” Luke said. “Abby.”

Seth’s mouth gaped. “Seriously?”

Luke nodded. “Frankly, I thought it was a bad idea, but Hannah insisted. I think she’s trying to prove something.”

“To you?”

“Maybe. More likely, to herself. She wants to believe she’s not the least bit threatened by Abby’s return. I think your presence will help with that. Thanks for agreeing to come, especially after all the things I said to you yesterday.”

Seth considered his assigned role as buffer in a very tricky situation, then shrugged off whatever discomfort he was feeling. “If nothing else, it will give us a chance to talk to Abby about the rescue boat. It sounded to me back at Jack’s as if you didn’t have any idea that she was developing that property herself.”

“Not a clue,” Luke confirmed. “I’m shocked, frankly. Her folks were always the first to speak out against development on the island. They liked that it still felt like a small fishing village. She swears she’ll see that this is done responsibly and Jack’s backing her up, but I’m skeptical.”

“Abby’s been living in a bigger community,” Seth suggested. “She may need this place to change so she can feel better about being back. You certainly seemed to think she wouldn’t be satisfied living here as it is.”

Luke chuckled. “If Jack was right and she’s only planning on a dozen or fewer new houses, Seaview Key still won’t resemble that area around Pensacola. We’d have to grow a lot before we could support a mall or movie theaters or one of those big box stores.”

“Maybe she just needs a project, then,” Seth suggested. “She told me she gave up a business. She’s clearly not used to being idle.”

“And that’s why I have trouble believing she’s back to stay,” Luke responded.

There was no mistaking the hint of warning in his voice. Seth smiled. “Still looking out for me?”

Luke sighed. “I just don’t want you to get blindsided if she ups and leaves in a few months. She told me herself what her intentions were about staying, but that doesn’t mean I buy that she’ll be here for the long haul. What’s she going to do once she’s developed Blue Heron Cove?”

Seth gave him a long look. Luke held up his hands.

“Okay, backing off now. You’re a big boy.”

“Thank you. And thanks for the dinner invitation. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I wish I were,” Luke said.

“Are you thinking you could wind up skewered right along with the kabobs?”

“Something like that,” Luke said.

Seth laughed. “Maybe you’re the one who needs protection here, not me.”

“Entirely possible, my friend. Entirely possible.”