Back at the foundation booth, Jess spotted her uncle standing next to Connie, his gaze on her as she made a book sale and chatted with a customer. There was a warmth in his eyes that had been absent since the end of his second marriage.
“Look at him,” she said, nudging Will in the side. “He’s really taken with her, isn’t he?”
Will studied the duo, then smiled. “It’s nice to see. Connie deserves to have someone special in her life. She’s been on her own way too long.”
“My uncle doesn’t have the world’s best track record when it comes to women,” Jess fretted. “What if he hurts her?”
Will glanced down at her. “You’re worried about the two of them?”
“A little. I love Uncle Thomas, and Connie’s one of my best friends. I want to see them both happy, but with each other?” She shook her head. “I just don’t know. It’s a little scary.”
Will laughed. “You think all relationships are scary.”
“Don’t you?” she challenged.
“Okay, you have a point, but the only way to have love in your life is to take a leap of faith. Otherwise you’re just sitting on the sidelines while your life passes you by.”
“Don’t you owe it to yourself to at least improve the odds? Isn’t that what Lunch by the Bay is all about? Looking for compatibility is smart, right?”
“Think about it for a minute,” Will said. “Thomas and Connie have a lot of things in common. They’re not a couple of young kids rushing into this impulsively. I’m sure they’ve weighed the pros and cons.”
Jess gave him an incredulous look. “Have you weighed the pros and cons about me?”
He grinned. “Of course.”
She studied him with a narrowed gaze. “And how’d it turn out?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“So, more pros than cons?”
“Yes, Jess,” he said patiently, his eyes lit with amusement. “You only have one thing going against you—in my eyes, anyway.”
Curious despite her reservations about even having this conversation with him, she asked, “What’s that?”
“You don’t have half as much faith in yourself as I do.”
Surprisingly touched by his words, she looked away.
Will tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to face him. “You have a lot to offer a man, Jess. Any man. I hope it’s me, but if things don’t work out, please don’t forget that.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?” she said.
“I never say anything I don’t mean,” he assured her.
“But I’m such a terrible bet, Will,” she said. “Okay, I know this flies right in the face of what you were just saying, but I don’t stick with things. That’s the truth, and I might as well admit it. My dating history sucks.”
Will didn’t seem impressed by her warning. “Don’t you think I know that? They were just the wrong guys.”
“Abby’s told me the same thing, but what if you’re both wrong? What if it’s me?”
He leveled a look into her eyes that melted something inside she hadn’t even realized was frozen: her heart.
“It’s not you,” he said quietly. “I know that, Jess. I know it.”
He sounded so sure, so reassuring, that she was almost convinced that maybe the time had come to finally take that leap of faith.
But then Connor headed their way, and she was reminded that not even her big brother, her best friend, had that much faith in her. How could she possibly risk hurting Will when she knew deep in her heart that the odds of them making it were slim to none?
12
Will stood off to the side with Connor keeping an eye on little Mick, as the women handled the brisk business at their respective booths. Even Jess had been drafted into action, taking donations for her uncle’s foundation. He noticed Connor watching her, his expression filled with regret.
“Jess will be okay,” Will said, trying to reassure him.
“She wouldn’t even look at me when the two of you came back,” Connor said.
“She’s hurt that you thought for even a second that she’d lose track of little Mick, that’s all. She trusts you to be in her corner, and for a minute there, you were just like everyone else, jumping to the conclusion that she’d failed you.”
“I was scared for my son,” Connor said defensively.
“She knows that. It doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
“What do I do? I tried to apologize.”
“Give it time. You two have had spats before.”
Connor shook his head. “This one feels different. It’s as if I took something away from her, and she can’t forgive me for that.”
Will knew Connor was serious, but he nudged him in the ribs anyway. “No need to be dramatic. This will pass, Connor. I guarantee it.”
“I didn’t know you shrinks were in the business of giving out guarantees.”
“Well, it’s true that when we’re dealing with particularly stubborn, impossible, hard-to-reach clients, we don’t like to promise much, but since you O’Briens are all so reasonable, I think it’s safe,” he said, his expression wry.
“Bite me,” Connor responded cheerfully. “I’m serious, though. Should I apologize again? I hate it that when she looks my way at all, she stares right through me.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a sincere apology or a lot of groveling. If you feel so inclined, go for it. Just remember that you wounded her, no question about it. I’m just not sure Jess is in a forgiving mood quite yet.”
“Well, I have to do something. That blank look I get when she sees me is killing me,” Connor said. “Keep an eye on little Mick, okay?”
“Got it,” Will promised. “He may move fast, but my legs are longer. He won’t get away from me.”
He watched as Connor approached Jess, said something to catch her attention, then faltered when she gave him a look filled with accusation, pain and betrayal. He couldn’t hear what Connor was saying, but eventually, Jess’s
