Secrets Whispered from the Sea - Emma St. Clair Page 0,8
harder for this,” I said. Before she could reach in her purse for the flask I had seen her pull out on more than one occasion, I told her about losing my job after bombing my big presentation and Chuck breaking up with me.
“And now, Nana’s gone,” I said, fighting back the tears that I couldn’t believe still existed in my body. “I’ve got to get the house ready and deal with Ann—”
Vivi’s eyes narrowed a bit at that. “Now, don’t you start in on your sister. Don’t you think it’s time you two got over yourselves and got along?”
“She’s the one who—”
Holding up a hand, Vivi shook her head, cutting off my next words. “Bad relationships go both ways. Plus, you don’t know all that she’s been through. Without sitting down to honest conversations, we never really know what’s happening behind the screen door.”
She was right. Of course, she was right. But that didn’t take away any of the automatic resentment I had long carried for my older sister. The perfect older sister who kept herself shut off from me, who looked down on my life and choices from my sixth-grade fashion faux pas to my degree in digital arts and media. Maybe it sounded juvenile, but she started it.
What had she been through? And why did Vivi seem to know so much? Maybe I didn’t know what went on behind her screen door, as Vivi put it. But Ann had never asked what was going on behind mine, either.
“The highway runs in both directions,” Vivi said, sipping her coffee, giving me a pointed look.
She’d always had an uncanny ability to know what I was thinking. Sometimes before I even did. “How do you do that?”
“It’s a gift,” she said, pointing up.
I just humphed, not sure how much I believed in the God she and Nana had always seemed so sure of.
“Speaking of gifts,” Vivi said, getting to her feet faster than I would have thought possible for a woman with so many replacement parts inside her body. “Jackson, how good of you to come.”
Oh no. I sank down into my chair a bit, suddenly needing to finish that latte, stat. I could guess where this was going. While Nana largely stayed silent on the fact that I had passed thirty and was still unmarried, Vivi played the matchmaker like she was getting paid by millionaire clients to do so.
“Clementine? I’d like to introduce you to Jackson. This is Jackson Wells. From Bohn’s.”
Maybe she was getting paid millions. Because from what I knew of Jackson Wells, he owned half of Sandover. Even if his family’s grocery store had gone out of business, he was probably in the billionaire category.
I stood, holding out my hand and trying not to make eye contact. Just in case this was a setup. But I noticed almost immediately that he wore a wedding ring. No way Vivi would set me up with a married man. I relaxed slightly and met his warm brown eyes.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Clementine,” he said.
I dropped his hand after an appropriate amount of firm shaking and gave Vivi the side-eye. “I bet you have.”
“All of it good,” Jackson said. “Other than the passing of JoAnn. I’m so sorry to hear that. She was a wonderful firecracker of a woman.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that description. “That she was.”
We stood there awkwardly for a moment until Vivi gestured to our small table. What was she up to? Jackson dragged a chair over and sat down, placing his phone on the table.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but my wife has me on call because of the baby.”
Vivi’s smile brightened, and for a moment or two, the two of them talked about his wife and three-year-old daughter and the new baby who would arrive any moment.
I sipped my latte and pretended not to be uncomfortable at the talk of babies. I didn’t want to have kids. At least, I was about ninety-eight percent sure that I didn’t. But talk of kids often led to talk about my lack of them, and then questions about my relationship status.
“Clementine,” Vivi said, finally bringing me back into the conversation. “I spoke with Jackson about Jo’s place. Clearly, you have a lot to do. We all tried to talk to Jo about her ‘collections,’ but you can see where that got us. He’s a developer and he might have some great advice for you on your next steps.”