Harlequin Heartwarming August 2020 Box Set by Melinda Curtis

Author:Melinda Curtis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

THE WORDS TUMBLING out of Julie’s mouth might as well have been gibberish as far as Grace was concerned. They carried no meaning beyond the first few which were, “So I connected with this guy on one of those dating sites…” because that was the precise moment when that overbearing control freak from the Coast Guard stepped inside Mabel’s Diner.

Grace immediately ducked her head to stare at her roasted beet and kale salad as he stood in the doorway, scanning the room for an empty table. There was one a few tables down from where she and Julie were sitting.

“Hey, are you with me here, Grace?”

Grace risked a quick glance at her best friend, whose back faced the diner’s door. “Sure, it’s just that—” she lowered her voice “—someone has come in and I don’t really want to have to talk to him.”

“Is this someone you met online?”

Julie started to crane around but Grace hissed, “Don’t! He’s looking our way.” She picked up her fork and stabbed at a chunk of beet, keeping her head down but catching movement out of the corner of her left eye as he walked toward the empty table.

“What’s going on?” Julie started to turn her head.

“I said don’t look.” Grace poked the tip of her friend’s shoe under the table.

“I don’t have to ʼcause now he’s sitting four tables down on your side, facing me.” Julie paused. “And he’s super cute. Are you holding out on me, my friend?”

Grace felt her face heat up. “I just met him this morning. He’s from the Coast Guard, about my lighthouse project.” She leaned across the table, keeping her voice at a whisper. “I wasn’t impressed. He seemed like a bit of a jerk.”

“Well, he sure doesn’t look like a jerk. What’s the story then?”

“Too long to go into now and besides, I don’t want him to think we’re talking about him.”

“Right now he’s reading the menu. Maybe he didn’t even notice you.”

“Good.” Grace set her fork down, knowing there was no way she could finish her salad.

“When do I get to hear the story?”

“Soon enough, don’t worry. Look, I can’t sit here while he’s eating his lunch. Can we go?”

“I’m not finished.” Julie pointed to the remnants of quiche on her plate.

“C’mon, don’t give me a hard time. I don’t want to have to talk to him right now. Besides, I’m meeting Henry at the store in half an hour.”

“You still have half an hour. Maybe you’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“I don’t want to get friendly with him. He’s here to discuss my idea with Henry and me and…and I don’t like the way he makes me feel. I mean,” she rushed to explain after seeing Julie’s worried expression, “I just got a bad vibe from him about the whole thing.”

“A bad vibe? You’re a throwback, Grace Winters. You know that, right?”

Julie could always read her, ever since senior year in high school when Grace’s life was on hold. Julie and her mother had just moved to the Cove and she and Grace soon became best friends.

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