21
Once again Liz tried really hard to beat the usual crowd to Sally’s on the morning after her dinner with Aidan. She knew perfectly well that Susie would have spread the sighting of her sipping wine on Aidan’s balcony far and wide.
Sally gave her a knowing look. “You’re entirely too predictable. You know that, don’t you?”
Liz regarded her with surprise. “How so?”
“You’re only in here at the crack of dawn when you don’t want your friends in your business.”
Liz winced. “It’s obvious?”
“Hon, I’ve had this place a long time. You’re not the first to think if you can get out of here without a cross-examination by an O’Brien, you’ll be home free. I’m here to tell you, it never works. They’ll hunt you down.”
Liz laughed. “Maybe so, but I’ll have caffeine by then, and a head start.”
Sally handed over her coffee in an extra-large to-go cup along with a raspberry croissant. “Good luck with that,” she said as she took Liz’s money.
Before Liz could turn and make her escape, the door of the café opened and Bree came in.
“Sneaking off?” Bree asked, amusement glinting in her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Good morning,” Liz said with forced cheer. “I have a big shipment coming in today. I need to get started early.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” Bree said, nodding sagely. “I’m sure you wouldn’t skip out on your friends just to avoid a few questions.”
“Absolutely not,” Liz said. “I have nothing to hide. My life’s an open book.”
Bree grinned and tucked her arm through Liz’s. “Great, then let’s sit down and read a few pages of that book together.”
Liz laughed. What else was she supposed to do? Just last night she’d acknowledged that this fascination with other people’s lives was part of the Chesapeake Shores and O’Brien charm. Of course, she’d also said she wasn’t crazy about it, but right this second it seemed she didn’t have a choice, not without offending a friend. She noticed that Sally gave her a commiserating look.
“Ten minutes,” she conceded, following Bree to a booth. “That’s all you get.”
“Then I guess you’ll need to talk fast. How’d you wind up at Aidan’s last night? Are you two finally...?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“We are not,” Liz said emphatically, then probably ruined the flat denial by adding, “And I wouldn’t tell you that if we were.”
“Which means I can’t actually trust a word you say on the subject,” Bree said thoughtfully. “That’s quite a quandary. What to do? What to do?”
“We can take turns spying,” Susie suggested, arriving just in time to pick up on the gist of the conversation.
Bree looked almost as indignant as Liz. “We do not spy on our friends,” Bree scolded.
“Okay, we ply them with wine till they spill the details,” Susie suggested. “That works for me, too. Let’s go to the pub after work tonight. We haven’t had book club or a real girls’ night in a while now.”
Bree studied Liz with a serious expression. “How about it? You up for a girls’ night?”
“Sure,” Liz said at once, then grinned. “But I’ll be drinking diet soda. Now, I really do need to get to the store.” She stood up. “Feel free to continue your plotting. I’ve got your number. I intend to have my guard up.”
Bree and Susie exchanged a look, then burst out laughing.
“Oh, you sweet innocent,” Bree said. “We have tactics you’ve never even dreamed of. The military could probably use them.”
“I’ll look forward to watching you try,” Liz said lightly.
Only after she was in her own shop, with the door securely locked behind her, did she draw in a deep breath. For a woman intent on keeping a huge chunk of her life private, she had a hunch she was in knee-deep trouble.
* * *
After ending the unofficial practice with the team, Aidan changed into his running clothes and headed back out, hoping to get in a good workout before it got too hot. Unfortunately as he followed a route along the bay up to The Inn at Eagle Point, he realized the only things saving him from the surprising late-morning heat were the old shade trees and a faint breeze off the water.
Making a last-minute decision, he turned off the road and decided to throw himself on Jess’s mercy at the inn and beg for water. She’d been friendly enough when he stayed there and she was an O’Brien, after all. They had a reputation to uphold for being kind to strays.
He tapped on the side door into the kitchen and waited for Jess’s chef to answer. Gail took one look at him and shook her head.
“You look like something the cat dragged in, then spent some time chewing on,” she said, grinning. “I wonder what all the girls who’ve been swooning over you would say if they could see you now?”
Aidan tried for his most appealing smile. “I hope at least one of them would be sweet enough to offer me a bottled water.”
“Ah, so that’s what brought you to the kitchen door, rather than traipsing through the lobby. You think I’m a soft touch.”
“I hope so.”
Jess walked in just then and shook her head at the sight of him. “Don’t you know no good comes of trying to run on a hot summer day around here?”
“It’s great exercise,” Aidan said, defending himself. “And I thought I’d be back home before the temperature skyrocketed.”
Both women exchanged one of those female what-do-you-expect looks that drove men nuts. Sadly, right this second, he deserved it.
Gail retrieved two bottles of water, one from a case in the pantry, one from the massive refrigerator. “This one now,” she said, handing him the lukewarm water.
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned to Jess. “Does she boss you around, too?”
Jess laughed. “Only in here. At most other times, she wisely remembers that I write the checks. Now, come on outside and sit on the porch with me. There’s a nice breeze. You can cool down a bit before you head back into town.” She gave
