Page 32 of Prime Time Romance

Josh raises an eyebrow, amused. “I didn’t realize Sloan had such a dark side.”

I shake my head. “Yeah, that wasn’t Sloan. Sloan would have ignored them, then angsted over it later with Poppy. That move was pure Brynn. Am I still bleeding?”

I remove the napkin. Josh cups my face gently in his hands and tilts it upward to get a better look.

“You might end up with a shiner tomorrow, but I think you can pull it off. But please give me a heads-up next time you feel the urge to maim someone.”

“That was my first and last attempt,” I promise, crumpling the bloodstained tissue into my fist.

By the time we exit the swan, Spencer and Luce have set up a small picnic on the other side of the rock jetty. There’s a big blue blanket covered with baguettes, artisan cheeses, and what look like homemade jams.

The paddling and the adrenaline from the crash have left me famished, so I settle next to Josh, who tears one of the baguettes into two and hands me half, which I smother in what I think is goat cheese and strawberry jam.

“Oh my gosh.” I moan involuntarily as I bite. “This is incredible. It tastes like summer.”

“Thank you.” Luce bows her head, her cheeks pinkening. “It’s my third year doing the jam, but the cheese thing is new. I’m still finding my groove.”

“You made this?” I ask, still not fully understanding.

“She’s a woman of many talents,” Spencer answers, smiling at Luce in a way that makes the goat cheese in my stomach curdle.

“Yeah.” Luce shrugs off the compliment. “There’s a weird little corner of the web called CheeseTok. It’s amazing what you can learn online these days.”

Beautiful. Cool. Cheesemonger. How do I even compete?

“So.” I attempt to change the subject. “It’s been so long since we’ve all been together like this, right?”

I’ve managed to time my question while Spencer and Luce are mid-bite. They both make mouth-full motions with their hands and look at Josh, as if assigning him the duty of answering.

“Yup,” he deadpans. “I can’t remember the last time I saw either of you—in person, at least.”

I shoot him a warning look, which he shrugs off with an expression that seems to say, Well, what else did you expect?

Luce, now finished chewing, turns to me. “So I heard you sold your business. Everyone in town was talking about it. You made sundresses, right?”

I guess so. Sheldon mentioned some sort of business in Boston. Sloan wore many sundresses and dreamed of being a designer, so I guess it all makes sense. “Yeah, I sold it to, umm, Anthropologie,” I lie. “I don’t like to go into the details too much. It’s all very hush-hush.”

“Lots of espionage in the sundress industry,” Josh pipes up. “You can never be too careful.”

“Well, I think it’s great that you went out and did it,” Luce continues. “I kind of pegged you for two kids and a golden retriever by now. It’s a surprise.”

I don’t know what Luce is doing. Whether intentional or not, she’s said the worst possible thing. I have to grit my teeth and make another jam baguette to keep my chin from going wobbly.

I’m over Matt. It took thirteen months and signed divorce papers for me to stop wanting him back.

The part I’ve never gotten over, however, is the dream.

I had plans.

We had plans.

And when the imaginary kids and the imaginary golden retriever suddenly didn’t exist anymore, I grieved them like a death, and you never completely get over a death.

“So, Luce.” Josh hands me another hunk of cheese and bread as he speaks. “When was the last time you left the island, and how exactly did you do it?”

I shoot Josh a glare. He’s being way too obvious. But Luce doesn’t seem bothered by his blunt question.

“To be honest,” she says, “I can’t remember the last time. I’m a farmer now, and since it’s just me out on my farm, it’s really tough to get away.”