I burst out laughing and throw my arms around her.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Chapter Two
Ares/TB
It’s early Friday morning and only a week until I get married to Ashlea Lynch. I still can’t believe I got so lucky. Boothbay Harbor is a picturesque town where fishing is the primary source of employment, but I was fortunate enough to be a wiz in the kitchen. So, after high school and then a brief stint at culinary college, I came home and opened Small Delights Café. I’m right near the dock where the boats come in, so my seafood is always fresh, and I only use local produce. It’s a way to give back to the community and keep others around me employed.
“Yo, boss!” yells Shannon, my best waitress.
Shannon is easily six feet tall with bright red hair, tattoos, and always dresses like a 1950s pin-up girl.
“What?” I yell back as I have orders to complete in the kitchen.
The door to the back bursts open, and Shannon looks more excited than I’ve seen her in a while.
“Guess who just pulled up in a bright red Audi Spyder?”
I groan. It has to be Kris, my best friend and superstar.
“Santa?”
“What? No! It’s Kris Livingston, and I think he has Sophia Thorne with him.”
Shannon is moving from foot to foot in excitement.
“Ahh, right. Don’t you have customers to serve?”
Shannon pokes her tongue at me. “He’s your best friend, right?”
“Yes, Shannon, we’ve been over this.”
“I know, I know… I just can’t believe that you know Kris Livingston.”
“Well, he wasn’t “Kris Livingston” when I knew him.” I make air quotes around his name. “He was just Kris, my best friend from grade school.”
“I still can’t believe he grew up here in this little town.” Shannon shakes her head as though being born here is a complete travesty.
Wiping my hands on my dishcloth, I walk out the front of my café and find Kris surrounded by people, signing autographs with Sophia Thorne, looking every inch the perfectly made-up celebrity doing the same.
Kris looks up at me and smiles. “Hey, TB!”
“Hey, Kris.” I give Sophia a nod and wish he hadn’t bought her. “You’re early.”
Kris nods as he poses for photographs. “Yeah, they’ve made some allowances in filming. I told Andy about your wedding, and he did some scouting around and found the Wiscasset Speedway, so they’re going to film some shots of me on the track there.”
“Andy?”
Kris smiles. “Andy Westin.”
The famous director, the one who gave Kris his big break in the movies.
I nod. “Cool. Well, when you’re done here, come on in. I’ve got a coffee and a sandwich with your name on it.”
“Gluten-free, I hope?” chirps Sophia.
“Sure, that, too,” I reply with fake happiness.
The woman rubs me the wrong way. Sophia Thorne is the original ice princess. She only smiles when there’s a camera pointed at her, and she uses Kris like her own personal trophy to flash at everyone. They do make a great-looking couple, both blonde with blue eyes and work in the same industry. I guess I hoped he’d find someone with more substance to them, someone like Athena. In high school, they were inseparable. I always hoped they’d find their way back to each other. Funny how things work out.
Chapter Three
Athena
I’m supposed to meet TB for coffee. It’s such a beautiful day that I’m walking from Mom and Dad’s house. I have my head down thinking about our conversation. Mom knew how much Kris hurt me. The first year he was gone, he came home every few months. It was always a surprise. The following year, in February, he was supposed to come home for my birthday, but he’d gotten his first big break in an Andy Westin film.
Kris never came home again.
Kris didn’t call.
If it weren’t for TB, I would have driven to Los Angeles to find him. But that’s what hurt the most, he told TB he wasn’t coming back, and he never bothered to tell me. TB kept telling me it wasn’t a serious relationship, that Kris and I were too young, that it was never going to work, and who knows maybe it wouldn’t have.
“Hey, pretty lady! Why so down?”
I look up to the happy, smiling face of Deputy Todd Roth.
“Hey, Todd, I’m not, just thinking about life, the universe, and everything.”
“Wow, that sounds super serious.” Todd is one of my closest friends. He’s tall, dark, and handsome with a body he works hard to keep in shape. The only problem is he’s gay. Not many people know, and it’s not my story to tell, but more than one girl in town has lusted after him.
“Nah. I’m going to Small Delights.”
Todd jumps in the air and claps his hands. “Oh, my God! You’re going to see Kris Livingston, too?”
“What? He’s here?”
Todd wraps an arm around my shoulders and begins walking me faster. “Yes, he’s in town, and he’s at your brother’s café. Just about the whole town is there. I’m on my way for crowd control.”
I lock my legs, Todd stumbles forward, turns, and looks at me.
“Nope, not going.”
“It’s been seven years, Athena. Time to see him. Personally, I can’t wait to see him,” says Todd with a waggle of his eyebrows.
“Fine, you go. Tell TB I’ll catch up with him later.”
Todd grabs my hand. “Don’t be a pussy.”
“Yep, that’s me. You go fawn all over him. I’m going home to wallow in self-pity and hope he’s grown a second head or warts or something.”
Todd grins. “Walk with me to the end of the street. If you don’t want to go any further, I promise I won’t make you.”
TB’s café is opposite the shoreline and a great spot for tourists. Mom and Dad live up the hill with an expansive view of the bay. My home is situated further up the road and around a bend. It’s tucked into the side of the largest outcrop in town. You can’t drive up to it, the garage is at the bottom of a path that leads up to the house. I love it. I rarely get visitors, apart from Todd and my family, and I have the best view of the bay,
“I have to go that way anyhow, but I’m not going in, okay?”
Todd holds out his arm, and I link mine through it.
“Chicken.”
“Todd,” I say with a warning in my voice.
“Okay, okay.”
We walk in silence. When we get to the end of the road, I look to my left. In the distance, I can make out Kris and what looks like the whole town surrounding him.
“Wow, he’s tall,” purrs Todd.
“Oh, stop it. You’re tall and good-looking.”
Todd kisses me on the cheek. “If only you were a guy.”
This makes me smile. “Sex change, I could do it.”
Todd bursts out laughing and kisses my cheek. “You’ve gotta be you, and I’ve gotta be me. Now, off with you while I go handle Kris Livingston.”
“Don’t you mean handle the crowd?”