Five Years or So Read online

  “Mason, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m just driving in from the airport. Coming early for Dad and Lillian’s wedding. Got hungry and saw the signs for this place and stopped in. I saw you when I walked in and thought I’d come over and say hi.”

  “I haven’t even ordered yet. Do you want to join me?”

  Mason’s eyes lit up. “Love to.”

  She motioned to the seat across from her. Mason sat down and waved to the waitress who brought him a menu.

  “They’ve got some good-looking things on the menu. It’s going to be hard to decide.” Mason looked up from the menu and smiled at her.

  “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  Once again she thought about how much he looked like his father. Same warm brown eyes. Same strong cheekbones. Same brown hair—though no hints of gray in Mason’s hair like his father had. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a long-sleeved button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A bit overdressed for the weather here, but the restaurant had an awning covering the tables, and a nice breeze blew off the harbor.

  She’d gone out with Mason a few times when he’d first come to the island. Well, not really gone out-gone out. Just hung out a few times. She’d shown him around the island and they’d had dinner a few times. She enjoyed his company, and he really didn’t know anyone else on the island, so it was the friendly thing to do.

  “So how are the wedding plans coming along?” Mason asked. “Dad seemed a bit overwhelmed but happy when I talked to him. So I decided to come in early and surprise him. I’ll stay until after the wedding. Maybe I can help out some?”

  “Everything seems to be going fine. Lillian has everything planned. It’s just putting the final touches on things and then making sure everything goes smoothly on the wedding day. Charlotte and I are doing that. Sara is her maid of honor—well, matron of honor I guess since she just married Noah.”

  “Dad said he’s debating between a suit and just a coat and tie. I brought both.” He grinned.

  “Lillian told him a jacket and slacks would be fine, or even just a dress shirt and slacks, but he seems to want to wear a suit. Either way, he’s going to be very warm.” She shook her head.

  “I hope he opts for shirt and slacks.” Mason’s warm brown eyes sparkled. “I’m not big on being overly warm at weddings.”

  They ordered their meals and sat sipping on sweet tea while they waited for their food.

  “So, what are you doing on the mainland? I thought islanders rarely left the island. Some kind of code or something.” His mouth curved with a teasing smile.

  “Well, it has to be an emergency,” she said gravely.

  “Oh, and the emergency?”

  “I needed a dress for the wedding.” She grinned. “But, unfortunately, I’m going to have to repeat the emergency trip again because I didn’t find anything. I just couldn’t make up my mind.”

  “So, a traitor to the island twice.” He winked.

  “It appears so.” She’d forgotten how effortless it was to talk to Mason and his easy, teasing conversations.

  They ate their lunch while chatting away about all things wedding.

  “I finally feel caught up on wedding news.” Mason’s quick smile accentuated his one dimple. “I’m hoping Dad has time to work with me some on GJ Industries business.”

  “Has he decided whether he’s coming back as the CEO?”

  “I can’t get him to give me a decision. I figure with the wedding and everything I’ll give him time. But I could really use him back at work.” Mason frowned. “Unfortunately, he not only fell in love with Lillian, he fell in love with your island.”

  “There’s lots to love. And I don’t think it’s unfortunate he fell in love with Lillian or the island.”

  “I didn’t mean…” Mason sighed. “I’m happy for him. I am. But I can’t stall the Board of Directors forever. They want a permanent CEO.”

  “And if he went back to being the CEO, he’d have to be in Seattle all the time, wouldn’t he?”

  “Not all the time, but quite a bit.”

  “I’m not sure that will make Gary or Lillian happy.”

  “Probably not.” He glanced at his watch. “I should get to the island.”

  She stood. “I should head back, too. Got to get to the inn.”

  He walked her out to her car. “So, would you like to grab dinner while I’m on the island?”

  She paused. But what could it hurt? “Sure.”

  “Tomorrow?” He cocked his head to one side with an impish grin.

  “How about Wednesday?”

  “I’ll take whatever night you’ll give me. You’re my only friend on the island.”

  “I should introduce you to more people. Looks like you’ll be here more often if your dad is here so much.”

  “I could get used to being on the island more.” He winked again. “Come on, you island traitor, let’s get you back home before they send out a search party, hoping you didn’t defect to the mainland for good.”

  Jay slipped onto a stool at the Lucky Duck beside his friends Delbert, Noah, and Ben. He nodded to Willie, the owner, who quickly brought him his favorite beer. After taking a long swig, he turned to his friends. “Long day.”

  “It’s always a long day for you.” Noah shook his head. “Sara says you’re never going to let that assistant cook take over and give you a break.”

  “Lillian counts on me.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m letting Dana close up tonight. See?”

  Ben glanced at his watch. “No, you waited until the last customer left. So she got to what? Put food away and make sure the dishes were run.”

  “No, I put the food away.”

  Noah laughed. “Right. That’s giving her a lot of responsibility.”

  “How about we talk about something else?” Jay scowled at his friends.

  “Can we not talk about weddings though? That’s all I hear about these days.” Noah shook his head. “Between Sara’s and mine, and then Lil’s and Gary’s, it’s just all wedding all the time.” Noah turned to Ben. “And I guess you and Charlotte will have one soon.”

  “We haven’t set a date. Not yet. Honestly, I’m still getting adjusted to being engaged.” Ben turned to Jay. “So you’ll be the last bachelor standing. You should ask Robin out.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that we’re just friends?”

  “You can tell me as many times as you want. But I’ve seen the way you look at her. How she looks at you. You should get over yourself and ask her out.” Ben took a sip of his beer. “Like tomorrow. Quit procrastinating. You’re driving us all crazy.”

  Noah laughed. “You really should, you know. It’s inevitable.”

  Jay turned to Delbert. “Don’t you want to gang up on me, too?”

  Delbert’s lips twitched in a smile. “I have to say, I agree with both of them. I have seen the way you look at her.”

  “I don’t look at her any differently than I look at anyone else.”

  “False.” Noah shook his head.

  Jay knew they were wrong. Robin and he were just friends. Good friends, but friends. Co-workers even, since Robin had started working for Lillian, too. And that would just complicate matters if they went out, right? And what if they went out and it all went wrong and then they weren’t even friends anymore? How awkward would that be at work?

  He shook his head. “So, let’s talk about something else.”

  “Wow, everyone sure is choosy about subjects tonight,” Ben teased.

  Lillian sat knitting late that night. Her mind was going a million miles an hour with thoughts of the wedding and things that needed to be done. Usually, knitting would calm her down, but tonight nothing seemed to be working. She set it aside, wondering if she should go to bed and read some more of the journal Gary had found when he was rehabbing Magnolia House for a guesthouse for the inn.

  She felt guilty that she’d stalled in her search for the journal’s owner, but she didn’t
think she could concentrate on that either.

  The Nest was quiet tonight. Very quiet. She’d gotten used to having Sara with her again, and it was quite the change when she’d moved out with Noah.

  She got up and made herself a cup of chamomile tea. That familiar routine soothed her as she heated the water and got out one of her favorite teacups. When the tea was ready, she walked out to the deck and sat under the stars.

  She didn’t know why she felt so uneasy tonight. Some kind of instinct of hers was on high alert, but she didn’t know why. There was a feeling of something in the air. A feeling of uncertainty, or even impending danger. Which was silly. She must just be imagining things.

  It was probably just so many changes, so quickly. She felt sure she was making the right decision marrying Gary. She was. She just wasn’t certain how much of an adjustment it would be having Gary living here with her. She was set in her ways.

  Gary had assured her they’d work things out. He’d adapt. She knew she’d adapt, too.

  But it was just a lot of change…

  She sipped her tea and stared out at the night. She and Gary had talked about him resuming his duties as CEO of GJ Industries, but he hadn’t decided what he wanted to do about that.

  Maybe it would even be easier to adjust if he were gone to Seattle part of the time. She immediately felt guilty at the thought. And she would miss him. She saw him every day now and loved it. His welcoming smile and his teasing eyes when he joked with her. She loved every single thing about the man.

  Yes, it was just a lot of changes all at once. That was all. She got up to go inside to bed. Busy day tomorrow with inn business and wedding things to do. It was just wedding jitters. That must be all it was.

  But she couldn’t fight off the strange feeling that something was wrong. Or would be wrong soon.

  Chapter 3

  Jay got to the inn early the next morning. It was quiche day at Charming Inn, and he had crusts to make. He looked around the kitchen and saw that Dana had put everything carefully away back in its place when he’d let her close up the kitchen last night. He didn’t know whether that pleased him or irritated him.

  He pulled out the ingredients and started making the crusts for the quiche. Dana breezed into the kitchen. “Morning, Jay. Want me to make those crusts for you?”

  She was in early considering how late she must have been here closing up last night. And he couldn’t decide if that pleased or irritated him either. “No, I’ve got the crusts.”

  “Okay, what would you like me to start with?”

  “Chop up the chicken for the chicken broccoli quiche and chop the tomatoes for the spinach quiche.”

  “Will do.” Dana headed across the kitchen to begin, which suited him fine. He liked his space when he worked.

  He methodically made crust after crust all the time thinking about what his friends had said last night. Ask Robin out? He scowled. No, they were just friends, right? Why mess up a good thing? Besides, would she really want to go out with him? They came from different worlds. Hers was normal. His… wasn’t. And if she ever found out about his past—well, women like her didn’t date people like him.

  But maybe he could ask her to do… something. Not a date really. Not like going out to dinner, but something.

  There was the outside theatre in the park. They played classic movies on Wednesday nights. It might be fun to go to that. He didn’t go to current movies, but he did enjoy a classic. Wonder what was playing this week? That seemed like something Robin might like to do, too. Didn’t it? And not too date-y.

  “You’re lost in thought.”

  He dropped the rolling pin and whirled around to see Robin standing inches from him. “Hey. Don’t startle me.”

  “Sorry.” She looked surprised at his short words with her.

  “I’m busy, what do you want?” He turned back to the crust-making, avoiding her. Or avoiding asking her to the movie…

  “Someone’s in a mood today.”

  “Sorry.” He knew his tone didn’t sound sorry. This is why he shouldn’t even think about asking her to do something with him. He got… crazy.

  But then, it would be nice to go see the movie with her. As friends, of course. And if he did it, it might get Ben and Noah off his case. That would be a plus. He watched her as she carefully selected a mug and poured in the strong coffee but didn’t add any cream or sugar. She liked her coffee black. He knew that much about her. She came back over to lean against the counter.

  He gathered his courage. Now or never. “So, Wednesday is usually not very busy here at the inn.”

  “I know. Which is good because I have plans. I’m not going to be here Wednesday night.”

  “You aren’t?” He set the rolling pin down and turned to her. “Going out with Sara and Charlotte? You guys haven’t had a girls’ night out since Sara got married.” It figured it would be the same night he wanted to see if she wanted to go to the movie. Just his luck.

  “Uh… no.” She stared into her coffee cup as if something about it fascinated her. “I… uh…” She looked back up at him. “I’m just meeting Mason for dinner. You know, Gary’s son. He’s in town and doesn’t know anyone and… well… it seemed like the nice thing to do.”

  “Sure. A nice thing to do.” He shrugged. No big deal. Just having dinner with another man. It didn’t really matter to him. “Well, Wednesday’s a good night to do it.”

  “Why did you mention Wednesdays being slow nights?” She looked at him.

  He searched for an excuse. “Oh, I was thinking I might let Dana have a bit more responsibility on Wednesdays.”

  “Well, good for you.” She gave him a wide smile. “That’s great.” She started to walk away, then turned to look back at him. “Now we’ll see if it really happens.”

  She walked away, and he watched her every step, keenly aware of the feelings surging through him.

  What was he feeling?

  He was jealous.

  Jealous.

  That was ridiculous. She could see whoever she wanted.

  But there was no way he was going to leave things up to Dana on Wednesday because now he wanted to stay busy. Super busy. So he wouldn’t think about Robin out with that Mason guy. He’d heard Mason was the CEO of some big corporation. He could never compete with that. Robin deserved someone like this Mason guy. Came from money. Probably even wore suits. He glanced down at his t-shirt dusted with flour and his very, very worn jeans.

  He slammed another chunk of pie dough onto the counter and grabbed the rolling pin, rolling the dough until it was too thin. He sighed and mounded the dough up again to start over. This is what he got for even thinking about her in any way except as a friend. No more. The ridiculous thoughts were over.

  They were friends. Period. Nothing else. Nothing else at all.

  And he was perfectly fine with that. Perfectly.

  Robin couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with Jay this morning. He’d been so jumpy and then looked… strange… when she’d told him she was meeting Mason for dinner.

  Not that Jay cared who she ate dinner with, of course. They were just friends. They’d been friends for five years or so, ever since he’d come to the island and started working for Lillian. They’d become even closer this year now that they worked together at the inn.

  But still, just friends.

  She walked over to the reception desk and checked on things, then poked her head into Lillian’s office. “Everything okay here? Need me for anything?”

  Lillian looked up from her desk. “No… everything’s fine.” She frowned. “I think.”

  She walked into the room and sat on the chair across from the desk. “What do you mean, you think?”

  “I’m not sure… I just have this… feeling. I don’t know what else to call it. And I can’t shake it.” Lillian’s forehead creased. “I know it’s kind of silly… but something is off. Almost a premonition or something.”

  “Wedding jitters?” Robin sugges
ted.

  Lillian gave a small smile. “You’re probably right. Just nerves.”

  “You’ve had a lot of changes in a short time. Sara getting married and moving out. You getting married.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.” Lillian’s eyes didn’t look like she was totally convinced.

  “Well, I’ll go get to work. Let me know if I can do anything inn-wise or wedding-wise.”

  “I will.”

  Robin left the office and went to go check the event calendar. They had dozens of events scheduled for the coming months, and she wanted to make sure she had everything in order for them. She kept a big notebook with a section for each event complete with checklists and phone numbers she might need. And when it got closer to the event time, she always looked at the weather forecast since so many events were held outside and sometimes they put up a large tent to protect people from the elements. Florida weather was always so unpredictable.

  She opened the notebook to Lillian’s wedding. Two weeks. She punched in the weather on her computer and saw, as of now, the weather would be perfect. Not that a two week out forecast was very accurate, but she hoped Lillian had wonderful weather for her special day.

  Chapter 4

  Robin stood in her bungalow, balancing on one foot, trying to tug on her other flat. She swore it was a size too small.

  Charlotte sat on the bed, hugging a throw pillow and eyeing her. “That’s the third pair of shoes you’ve tried on.”

  “None of them feel comfortable and I’m not sure if I like this outfit.”

  Charlotte climbed off the bed, tossing the pillow behind her. “I’m not sure why you’re so edgy about this date. But here. Let me help.”

  Charlotte reached into her closet. “Change into this dress. You love it. It’s simple and loose and flowy. And wear the red flats.”

  She looked at Charlotte gratefully and went to slip on the dress Charlotte had picked out for her. The doorbell rang, and she looked at her watch. Six o’clock. Exactly. “Char, can you get that?”