I’d somehow forgotten that all these people knew Kate. They probably knew her well. Were they at their wedding? Were they at the hospital when Hannah was born? Are they thinking that I’m simply a weak standin for the girl Caleb lost?
I hesitate, my certainty that I should not pry conflicting with a strong desire to do exactly that. “Different?”
She glances around to make sure no one’s listening. “I can only speak to the last few years. I didn’t live here before…But, anyway, it was a pretty miserable situation for everyone, from what I saw.”
I bite my lip. “They must have been happy at some point. I mean, they dated for a while before she got pregnant.”
“I’ve always gotten the impression that it was more of a”—she flinches—“primal thing.”
I stiffen. “What do you mean?”
Audrey winces. “Kate was…Kate. You’d have to meet her to get it. She’s like this black hole, and she sucks men in. Ugh. Ignore me. Suffice it to say that whatever appeal she held, he’s much happier with you.”
My heart sinks anyway. If Kate does come back, how could I possibly compare to a sexual black hole? I can’t.
Caleb returns and moves beside me. Beneath the counter, his hands link with mine. Our eyes lock, and everything he feels is written so plainly on his face: that he likes me. That he wants this. I was ridiculous to worry before.
“For fuck’s sake,” Harrison growls. “I can tell you’re holding hands. Cut it out.”
“Leave him alone,” Liam chides. “Maybe he’s broken the curse.”
I glance between them. “Curse?”
The guys look uncomfortable while Audrey rolls her eyes. “They had this friend, Danny, who died at Harrison’s dad’s place under mysterious circumstances and now they all think they’re cursed.”
Harrison tenses beside her. “Danny didn’t die under mysterious circumstances. He jumped off a cliff.”
“Right,” she replies, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “No one has a clue why Danny jumped, but his fiancée was fooling around with Luke, this other guy on the trip who has no alibi whatsoever, and they found Luke’s surfboard smashed at the base of the cliff. Nothing mysterious there.”
“Luke had nothing to do with it,” hisses Harrison, and the two of them glare at each other while the rest of us look away awkwardly. It’s that ugly sort of public tension I remember in my own marriage, but I never expected to see it in Harrison’s.
The guys go back to discussing high school and football as if nothing was ever said, as if arguments between Harrison and Audrey are par for the course. And the feel of Caleb beside me, his hand brushing mine, his breath grazing my hair, has me forgetting too.
God, I wish we were alone right now. I’m already looking forward to our weekend alone the way a kid looks forward to Christmas. I’m not going to let him out of bed once.
Liam starts talking about some building he wants to turn into a hotel. Hidden from view, Caleb’s pinky links with mine.
“Tell me about the lingerie,” he says against my ear.
I bite my lip. “I think I’d rather show—”
A hand slams down beside me, cutting me off mid-sentence, and I jump in my seat.
Jeremy is there, eyes blazing. “May I speak to you for a moment?” he asks.
“No, you can’t, Jeremy,” growls Caleb. “Fuck off.”
Jeremy’s eye twitches. “No one’s talking to you, asshole.” He turns to me. “Are we gonna talk, or do I need to make a scene?”
Caleb is already pushing away from the bar, and anything he does will make the situation worse. I rest a hand on his arm. “It’ll just take a minute.”
“It’ll just take a minute if I deal with him too,” says Caleb between his teeth.
“Please.” My voice is quiet, but my fingers press into his skin. Jeremy’s incapable of backing down from a fight, and if he’s given a reason to feel jealous, he’ll only want the fight that much more.
Caleb’s jaw shifts with the desire to argue, but he finally gives me a tiny nod and I follow Jeremy to the other side of the bar.
He doesn’t appear to be here with anyone, as if he came here solely to talk to me. Which begs the question: how did he know I’d be here at all? Of the three times I’ve gone out, Jeremy’s known about all of them. I assumed I’d been seen by a mutual acquaintance…but three times is a little too coincidental.