The Truest Thing: A Hart’s Boardwalk Novel by Young Samantha

Author:Young, Samantha
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-18T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Iris had been pestering me for weeks to come to dinner. While she was trying not to push about why I was so low, I think she’d put Jack’s absence and my mood together and come to her own conclusion. Now and then, she’d drop him into the conversation, as if trying to read my reaction to the mention of him.

I’d accepted her invitation because Ivy had promised she’d be there, and I thought maybe she’d take the heat off me. Of course, I’d made this promise before I knew I was pregnant. Having only found out a few hours ago, I really wanted to call it off, but I knew if I did, Iris would start pushing me to talk to her.

They lived in a comfortable four-bedroom house in North Hartwell, a few blocks over from Jess and Cooper. Like all the houses in Hartwell, the home was clad with white wooden shingles, had a brightly colored awning, and a porch to while away the summer evenings.

It was Ira who greeted me at the door with a kiss on the cheek and a glass of lemonade. Ever the host.

“Iris is in the kitchen,” he whispered, “so I’ll say this quick. Warning: she invited someone else to dinner.”

A niggle of uncertainty moved through me. “Who?”

“Sebastian Mercier,” Iris announced as she strode into the hall, wiping her hands on her apron. She shot Ira a look. “Husband, you know I have bat ears.”

“I don’t know how I could forget.”

Her lips twitched as she turned to look at me. “Mercier is the chef who bought George’s old place and converted it into The Boardwalk. No one knows anything about this man or his seafood restaurant. He hasn’t attempted to get to know the rest of us boardwalk owners”—there was definite judgment in her voice—“so I thought I’d go over there, introduce myself, and invite him to dinner. His restaurant is opening in a month, and I think it’s high time we got to know this man.”

I frowned. “I thought you weren’t concerned about his restaurant now that you know it’s a seafood place.” Iris and Ira had been anxious about another restaurant opening on the boards. They already had competition from Cooper’s with his pub grub, Paradise Sands with its fancy European restaurant, and Bailey’s inn catered dinner for its guests. However, they were less anxious about the competition now that they knew it was a far cry from a pizzeria.

“Oh, she’s not,” Ira said dryly.

“What am I missing?”

“I just thought it would be nice to get to know him.”

“And matchmake.” Ivy appeared in the doorway to the sitting room. “Hey, Emery.”

I smiled because it was nice to see her. “Hey.” Then her words hit me. “Matchmake?”

“Pfft. Lies.” Iris waved a hand at Ivy and wandered back into the kitchen.

Ira shook his head at me and mouthed “truth.”

Uh-oh.

Following father and daughter into the sitting room, I asked quietly, “What’s going on?”

Ira and Ivy exchanged a look, and Ivy sighed as she curled her feet under her on the couch.

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