A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,28

haven’t met with them in months. I meant to go last month, but something came up.”

“I think you should do it,” Sam said. “You need to take some time for yourself.” That was one of the things that had become evident on the cruise ship. Being away from everyone she knew had given her a lot of time to think.

The stairs on the exterior of the garage, coming down from Meg’s apartment above, creaked loudly and the side door opened.

“Sam!” Meg ran over to her, gave her a hug, then slugged her lightly in the arm. “You had all of us worried. I can’t believe you were having fun on a Caribbean cruise this whole time.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a vacation, but yeah.” Sam grinned at her. “I had a good time.”

While Meg was distracted, Debbie turned away from them and ran her hand over her eyes. Although their conversation had been interrupted, Sam hoped her mother had taken her advice to heart. She was obviously hurting, and it would do her good to do something for herself for once.

Meg glanced at the food stacked on the freezer. “Do you need any help carrying this in?”

Debbie smiled at her, seemingly recovered. “Unless we want a jar of pickles dropped on the floor, we could definitely use some help.”

Meg shuddered. “Yeah, no. My whole apartment upstairs would stink of brine.” She carefully scooped up a jar of pickles and a bag of bread. Debbie and Sam grabbed the remaining items and they carried it all into the house.

Libby had everything arranged on the table when they arrived. “The burgers will be done in about ten minutes.” She narrowed her eyes at Samantha. “Which gives me just enough time to grill you about going off the grid these last few weeks.”

Sam squirmed under her big sister’s scrutiny. “I wasn’t off the grid. Brant knew where I was.”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t tell us.” Meg took an olive off the crudités platter and popped it into her mouth. “It was like he was avoiding everyone in the family.”

A pit formed in Sam’s stomach. It was probably because he was avoiding all of them. Her decision to dissolve their engagement had been a shock to him, and although he understood her reasons, he hadn’t been happy about it.

“I’m sure he wasn’t avoiding you guys.” Her gaze roamed over the room, hoping for an excuse to change the subject.

Unfortunately, her sisters and mom weren’t going to give up that easily.

“So how are wedding plans going?” Libby asked, pushing a plate about an inch closer to the center of the table to bring it in line with the others. “I bet you really missed him while you were gone.”

Sam stared at the errant plate. “They’re going.” Straight out the window, she thought.

“Have you decided on a location yet?” Debbie asked. “We just catered a wedding at the Inn at Willa Bay, and it was gorgeous. Meg and Zoe have done a wonderful job there.”

Meg blushed. “Aw, thanks, Mom.”

“So?” Libby pressed. “Do you have a date? I want to get it on the books before our catering calendar fills up.”

They weren’t going to let go of this. Maybe it was better to rip off the bandage before she had to tell them any more lies.

She took a deep breath and said quickly, “Brant and I broke up.”

Her mother’s face filled with shock. “What?”

“You broke up with him?” Meg whispered. “Why?”

Libby eyed Sam with disbelief. “But you were like the perfect couple.”

Sam took a step back to process their reactions. Libby thought they were perfect? That was ironic, because her oldest sister was the one with the perfect life. After a moment, she shrugged. “We’ve grown apart over the last year, and it didn’t feel right anymore.”

“Did something happen?” Meg asked. “If he cheated on you, I’ll kill him.”

From the look on Meg’s face, Sam didn’t doubt it. She eked out a small smile. “No need for a lynch mob. Nothing happened.” She bit her lip. “I’d been unhappy for a while and I realized that we’re just better as friends.”

She briefly shut her eyes. Brant was a great guy, but she wanted something more. Maybe the burning passion that the movies portrayed wasn’t realistic, but she wanted to find that out on her own.

When she looked up at her family, they were still staring at her like she’d sprouted wings.

“That’s it? You’re just giving up on your relationship?” Libby asked.

“No, that’s not it.” Sam tapped her fingers on