Seaside Avenue (Cedar Cove #7)(45)

It felt satisfying to show Will Jefferson that she was completely over him, and had been for a long time. Unintentionally, he’d taught her some valuable lessons about herself. Painful lessons. Furthermore, she wasn’t going to risk her marriage over him, and the sooner he realized that, the better.

“Nice to see you again, Will,” she said casually. “I hope you’ll make good use of the library.”

“I plan to do exactly that,” he told her in a low voice. He stood there as if he had more to say.

Unwilling to listen, Grace turned away from the front desk and hurried back to her office. She discovered that her hands were trembling from the encounter. To make matters worse, Cliff still didn’t know that Will had moved to Cedar Cove. She hadn’t meant to keep it a secret; it was just that the subject of Will Jefferson was such an uncomfortable one between them.

That evening, Grace met Olivia for their weekly aerobics class. Afterward, her friend, who knew her so well, almost immediately asked what was wrong.

“Why do you think something’s wrong?” Grace didn’t look at her as she changed out of her workout clothes. They stood beside each other in the locker room, ignoring the other women around them. Grace bent down to untie her shoe.

“For starters, you didn’t complain once during class.”

“I never complain,” Grace said righteously.

“You’re joking, aren’t you? From the second we get here, you tell me there’s got to be a better way to stay in shape. And when we’re out on the floor, you huff and puff as if you’re about to keel over.”

Grace straightened, hands on her hips. “I most certainly do not!”

“Do, too.”

Grace couldn’t keep from smiling. “We sound like we’re in junior high.”

“Do not.”

They both laughed and headed toward the parking lot. “Cliff wants me to retire,” Grace said as they walked.

“Retire,” Olivia echoed. “You’re far too young for that.”

“It isn’t about age.”

Olivia stopped beside her car and gave her a questioning glance.

“Cliff would like to travel and he wants me to join him,” Grace went on.

Olivia nodded, opened her door and tossed in her gym bag. “Isn’t this kind of sudden?”

“Not really.”

Olivia paused. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Will, does it?”

“Funny you should mention your brother,” Grace said, unlocking her own vehicle. “He stopped by the library this morning.”

Olivia’s mouth instantly tightened. “And what did he want?”

“A library card. Or so he said.” Grace leaned against the side of her vehicle. “Apparently he needed my help, because he asked to talk to me personally.”

Olivia folded her arms. “I’ll bet he did.”

“Then he invited me to lunch—supposedly to talk over what happened between us. I declined. I pointed out that I’m married now.”

“He already knows,” Olivia muttered.

“I said in no uncertain terms that I don’t have any interest in renewing our relationship.” Grace enjoyed telling her this part.

“Good.” Olivia nodded encouragingly.

Grace felt pleased by her response, but she was still worried about Will and what he might do. “I don’t think my being married concerns him.”

“Why should it?” Olivia said in disgust. “His own marriage vows apparently didn’t mean very much. According to Georgia, my brother routinely had affairs. I don’t get why she put up with it for as long as she did.”

Knowing she’d nearly been one of those affairs distressed Grace and embarrassed her. What a fool she’d been. How easily she’d overlooked behavior she’d known to be wrong. She’d so badly wanted to believe Will that she’d ignored every principle she’d been raised to uphold.

“He informed me that he plans to be a frequent visitor to the library,” Grace continued.

“He didn’t!” Olivia sputtered.

“I said that if he needed anything to let me know,” Grace added, enjoying the look of confusion that crossed her friend’s face.

“You didn’t!”

“I did,” Grace said, “and then I told him I’d be happy to have someone else see to it.”

A slow smile came to Olivia. “I’m ready for some pie and coffee now.”

“Me, too.”

They met five minutes later at the PancakePalace. Goldie saw them pull into the parking lot and by the time they entered the restaurant she had their coffee poured.

“Coconut cream?” she asked when Grace and Olivia walked in and sat down at their favorite booth.

They both nodded.

“What’s it gonna to take to convince you to try something other than coconut?” She didn’t wait for a response and, shaking her bleached-blond head, returned to the kitchen.

“I notice you sidestepped my question,” Olivia said, dropping her car keys in the side pocket of her purse. “Is this talk of retirement connected to my brother’s visit?”

Grace mulled over the question, a little startled by Olivia’s suggestion.

“You mentioned retiring and then, in practically the same breath, you said that Will was at the library.”