“Well, you live here too,” she huffed, feeling a little childish, like she was grasping at straws to grab hold of the old anger that used to burn between them, only to find it had lowered to a simmer with maturity. “Just because you’re some award-winning property developer—”
“Someone’s done their research,” he said, laughing quietly as he brushed his hair out of his face casually. Their eyes caught and held for a long moment.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you and high-school me by not making it big in the city,” she said and dragged her eyes away from his, hating how her throat had begun to tighten, emotion trying to spill out from her. A hand touched hers and she jumped at the sudden warmth.
He didn’t say anything for a second and his eyes turned gentle. “I don’t think you’ve disappointed anyone coming back here.” Luke shrugged. “It’s our home. Maybe it just took you a little longer than me to figure that out.”
He managed to make it sound like another competition, but she smiled, the words soothing her somehow.“I wish I hadn’t stayed away for so long. I think my mom needs me.”
“I like being close to my parents too. You saw me, still going back for breakfast every Saturday.” He shrugged. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Jones.”
The silence that fell that time felt softer. For the second time since returning to Magnolia Springs, April found herself surprised at how easy it was to actually talk with Luke. Even if she let herself get a little riled up, still feeling the pull of the old rivalry that had always existed between them, there was a larger part of her that couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted in the intervening years since high school. Her musings were interrupted by the arrival of their food.
“So,” he said, breaking the quiet first and filling her with a sense of satisfaction, like she’d won something somehow. “The bar.” He scooped up a forkful of pasta and chewed while he watched her expectantly.
The … bar?“What?”
His brows furrowed. “That is what we’re here to talk about, right? I mean, I’ve tried to talk to your brother about it, but—”
“What about the bar?”
“Well, are you keeping it? Selling it? I have a potential buyer lined up.”
A potential buyer?“God, my dad hasn’t even been gone a year but the vultures are already lining up. What—you thought you’d wine and dine me and I’d hand over the deed?”
Alarm flashed across Luke’s face. “April, no. That’s not at all what I—”
“You told me to come to dinner and talk.” She pushed back from the table and stood. “As if you actually cared about me as a person.” She scoffed. “I knew this was a terrible idea. Howdareyou fake sympathy for me to convince me to come to dinner, just to trick me into a business conversation?” God, she’d known he was an ass, but she hadn’t thought he’d sink this low. Pretending to ask her out just for a sale? “If Noah knew about this, he’d kick your ass.”
For half a second, she debated throwing the remainder of her water over him, but the other diners had already fallen silent to watch the drama unfold between them and the last thing April needed was to give the town more of a reason to stare at her. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked out.
With her angry stride, she’d made it halfway down the street before the heaviness in the air broke, the sky darkened, and the clouds bucketed down the rain that had been building all day. Like her mindwantedto piss her off further, she suddenly remembered one of her dad’s favorite catchphrases:Never trust a weatherman.
She blinked rapidly before giving in, hoping the rain disguised the tears on her face. The downpour was thick but warm, creating a fine mist that made the town look unfamiliar, mysterious, as it wrapped around the streetlights and curled between the tree branches. Lights pierced the sudden dark and a waveof water flew over her as a car sped through a puddle, drenching her from head to toe, even more thoroughly than the rain thundering down like heartbeats against the sidewalk.
“Oh, you absolute—”
The car halted, the brake lights coming on, and then the passenger-side door was flung wide. “Get in, Jones.”
Luke.
“Fuck you, Pointer.”
“I can splash you again, if you prefer.”
“You wouldn’t dare—” She squealed as the car reversed with the door still wide open, braking suddenly to cause a wave of water she didn’t quite manage to avoid. Wiping water out of her face, she marched over and gripped the doorframe tightly as she glared at the man behind the wheel. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Get in.”
“No.”
“April, it’s pouring down, you’re soaking wet, and your cute little shirt is absolutely see-through. I’m not going to let you walk home looking likethat.”
She jumped, folding her arms across her chest when she realized he was right. “Well, maybe you should have thought of that beforeyou”—she pointed her finger in accusation—“sent a wave of water crashing over me.Twice.”
Luke’s eyes dropped when her arms fell away fromher chest to gesture at him, and he licked his lips as their blue hue darkened to almost black. A pulse ofsomethingshot through April as Luke drank her in, but she quickly pushed it away, focusing on her fury at him.
“I won’t tell you again, April. Get. In.”