The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club by Lexi Eddings Page B

she and Shannon favored was sleek and trendy, all chrome and polished wood. The tables in the Coldwater Cove bars were probably covered with red-checked cloths. The walls would most likely be bristling with dead heads, antlers, and large-mouth bass. But Lacy decided it wouldn’t be polite to share her citified opinions about rustic décor. Jake might take offense. After all, the Green Apple Grill would never make the pages of Architectural Digest either.
    â€œThen maybe after drinks,” she went on, “my friend and I would go clubbing or take in a movie.”
    â€œThe Regal’s still in business here.”
    â€œI noticed,” she said. “They’re playing a movie I saw six months ago.”
    He shrugged. “We’re a little slow out of the gate, but the movie hasn’t changed because we wait for it a bit. And I’ll put the Regal’s popcorn up against anyone’s.”
    â€œGranted. But I’m willing to bet any amount of money that Coldwater doesn’t have a club scene,” she said.
    â€œYou’ve got me there. The best we can do is the local big band. If you like to dance, it’s playing over at the Opera House tonight.”
    â€œAre you asking me to go dancing?” Then she remembered his leg and felt all the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. “Oh, Jake, I . . . I didn’t mean . . . I forgot.”
    He shook his head. “It’s OK. I haven’t tried to dance since the injury, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. I’m glad you forgot about my leg for a bit. It helps me forget about it, too.”
    She reached across the table and patted his forearm. Its musculature was rock hard. “Thanks. I shouldn’t bore you by whining about Boston. I don’t mean to be a pain.”
    â€œYou aren’t. I asked, remember.”
    â€œWell, then if it’s any consolation, the next thing Shannon and I would probably do is wonder where all the good men are.”
    He grinned at that. Lacy had to admit that any town that could boast guys like Jake and Daniel was blessed in the man department.
    â€œSo you’re saying your love life in New England was not what you were used to?” Something about his expression said he’d be more than a little glad if he was right about that.
    Unfortunately, he was.
    â€œNot even close.” Bradford constantly nagged her to tone down her accent. And her opinions. But he’d dazzled her by dangling the promise of his grandmother’s five-carat Harry Winston. The thought that she might marry into an old-money family and have her rustic roots covered by the thick coat of Endicott sophistication was seductive stuff.
    Not anymore.
    She’d left Coldwater to stand on her own. It was probably a good thing she and Bradford never tied the knot. She’d have been assimilated into the Endicott fold and lost her uniqueness just as thoroughly as if she’d stayed in Coldwater.
    â€œGuess the Baystate boys didn’t appreciate my brand of Ozark snark,” she admitted.
    â€œGo figure.”
    â€œBut at least I had the career I was born for and the excitement of the city.” She glanced at Effie. The cat had claimed the stuffed chair, where she could make blinky eyes at Jake from across the room. With her front paws tucked under her, she looked like a furry loaf of bread with a cat head. “Now at the end of the day, all I have to look forward to is a bad-tempered cat.”
    Jake’s mouth opened and shut as if he’d considered saying something and then thought better of it. “You still need to finish arranging your new place. Want some help with that?”
    â€œNo, that’s OK. I’m kind of particular about where things go.” Besides, she needed something to keep her busy while she figured out what to do next. “My folks volunteered to help me move in, but I nixed that