Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

“Hey, Audrey. We keep running into each other.” He turned to Sandra. “Hi. Colin Greaves.”

“Sandra O’Neal.”

“I didn’t think I’d see you here, of all places,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

He glanced around. “I come down here once in a while. Nice to have a change of scenery. I can’t go anywhere in Pinecrest these days without being recognized. Sometimes I just want to have a drink in peace, not give out a bunch of free legal advice to the locals.”

I gave him as friendly a smile as I could manage. “I’m sure that gets old after a while. Enjoy your drink.”

He grinned, like I’d said something amusing. “I see what you’re doing, but you can’t get rid of me that easily, sweetheart. We still need to catch up. Sandra, you don’t mind if I join you.” He was already circling behind her to sit in one of the empty chairs. “How’s your mom?”

I felt like I had to answer. After all, he’d known my parents for years. “It’s been a tough couple of years, but she’s okay.”

“Glad to hear that. I’ve seen her around town. She’s certainly stayed active in the community. I’m sure that’s good for her.”

“She does like to keep busy. How are your parents?”

He leaned back in his chair. “The old man is – well, he’s still my old man. He made the mistake of retiring and now he just stays home and drives my mom crazy.”

Colin’s parents had always seemed like decent enough people, although I’d never gotten the impression that they’d liked me all that much.

I shifted in my chair, finding it impossible to get comfortable. I hoped he’d decide to get up but the silence was a few seconds away from getting awkward and he wasn’t moving, so I rushed to fill it. “And how’s Lorelei? Is she still working at the library?”

“No.” His eyes narrowed for a second. “She’s a medical assistant now, which I guess makes her happy. She works a lot of hours, anyway.”

His tone was flippant, almost irritated, and I wondered if my mom’s gossip about Colin and Lorelei had been true.

“Good for her.”

He shrugged, as if his wife and her profession didn’t particularly matter. He angled his face toward Sandra and put on a smile. “I’m sorry, Sandra, I don’t mean to exclude you from the conversation. How do you know Audrey?”

The skepticism in Sandra’s eyes almost made me laugh. She was clearly not impressed with Colin’s attempt to act interested in her. “We work together. And how do you know her, exactly?”

Colin met my eyes and smiled. “We’re old friends from high school.”

“Old friends?” Sandra asked.

“Well,” Colin said, turning his palms up. “We were more than friends. In fact, we almost got married.”

That took me aback and I sat up straighter. “We didn’t almost get married.”

“Of course we did.”

“We were never engaged. I think you need to at least be engaged to be able to say you almost got married.”

“Most of us thought it was a foregone conclusion that we would get married.”

Sandra raised her eyebrows at me, as if to say,what are you going to do about this guy?

I wanted to stand up and make a scene. To tell him that I didn’t care what everyone else had thought. They’d been wrong. He’d been wrong if he ever thought I’d marry him and he should go home to his wife.

But I couldn’t make a scene. I squirmed in my seat. What would all the people in here think? I just wanted to get out of there.

Without thinking about what I was doing, I pushed my chair back. “I’m sorry Sandra, but I should probably get home.”

“Audrey, sweetheart.” Colin’s tone was placating, like he was talking to an upset child. “Don’t do that.”