Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [58]
Matt took her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. “Don’t let him tick you off. He’s not worth it. Or if it would make you feel better, how about if later I lure him to the parking lot and you can give him a fat lip?”
Kate smiled in spite of herself. “I just might take you up on that.”
He laughed. “I guess I should consider my audience when I’m joking around.”
“I promise I won’t hold you to your offer,” she said. But she did hold his hand almost all the way back to the Depot booth, where she moved on to finish up her merchandise fluffing. And just in time, too.
Kate could time down to the second when cocktail hour was starting in Royal Oak’s bars by the flood of private tasting guests into Farmers’ Market. She saw plenty of familiar faces in the crowd. Back when she’d been at Detroit Monthly, she’d always gone out with coworkers for cocktails. Richard had worked late every Friday. Or so he’d claimed.
As people streamed by, she exchanged waves and greetings with casual friends. It felt good to see them, and that scared emptiness she’d been anticipating never materialized. She was no ghost; she was a new and improved version of Kate.
She looked past the guys checking out the Depot baseball caps and locomotive bottle openers and on to Matt, who was giving one awesome beer spiel. He was smart and funny, and his crowd was eating it up. Except one person. The guy was busy playing with his BlackBerry in exactly the same way that had made her insane from the day he’d bought the thing.
Richard.
Her ex’s black hair was absurdly long, but his perpetual slight frown, English tweed jacket, khakis, and ever-so-retro loafers were just the same.
Kate felt trapped. Fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, and flight didn’t look to be a viable option. Running out of the building wouldn’t be very subtle, and she’d have to slip past him unnoticed to pull it off, anyway. Maybe Richard would drift off without seeing her.
She automatically made change for a guy who’d decided to buy ten bottle openers to give as family Christmas gifts. Somehow she didn’t think Grandma was going to plotz with gratitude, but Kate wasn’t about to stop the dude. After he was gone, she ducked under the table to grab more stock. She briefly considered hiding, except the space was a little tight and dark for her taste. And no doubt Matt would come looking for her. She’d rather not explain the whole ex thing to him.
Kate rose, and Richard spotted her. She wished she’d gone for full makeup instead of her usual mascara and lip gloss. It never hurt to look fabulous when seeing the ex for the first time since moving out of the marital home. But what she lacked in cosmetics, she could make up for in attitude. If Matt could talk nicely to Chet, she could do it with Richard.
Maybe.
Kate rounded the merchandise table and extended her hand. “Richard.”
“Kate.” His handshake was on the limp side, but at least he’d given it a shot.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said. “You’re not a beer drinker.”
“This is a charity function that a client supports. I have to make a showing. But I’ll say, you can’t be nearly as surprised as I am. I’d heard you’d lost your job and had to move in with your parents.”
“I have a job,” she said.
“So I see. And Larry and Barb are well?”
“They’re fine, I’m sure. They’re at the Naples house until May, and I’m staying at The Nutshell.”
“Really? The Nutshell? That must be interesting.”
To anyone else, his comment would have sounded positive and sincere. Kate, however, knew how much he’d disliked both The Nutshell and Keene’s Harbor. And she felt very protective of both.
Kate smiled. “It’s wonderful.”
“Really? Living in your parents’ cottage and working in a brewery?” He glanced at his phone. “That’s a far cry from what you used to do.”
Kate wondered if Shayla was texting him, just as she had when Kate had been his wife. Water under the bridge, Kate thought. Shayla could text him all she wanted