Flowers on Main Read Online Free PDF Page B

coffee.”
    Joe nodded and left.
    “That man did not say two words to me when he took my order earlier,” Mick said. “You had him chattering like a magpie.”
    She laughed. “I come here a lot. Joe treats me like family.”
    “So even in a city the size of New York, you’ve created a small-town atmosphere for yourself,” he said.
    “I had to work at it,” she admitted. “At first I was too intimidated to talk to anyone except the people I worked with and then Abby once she moved here. Then I discovered that if you ask a few questions, show an interest in people, they behave exactly the way they would in Chesapeake Shores.”
    Joe returned and set another cup of coffee in front of Mick and gave her a tall glass of iced tea, then discreetly vanished with a wink, suggesting he’d have a lot of questions for her tomorrow about the man sitting across from her now. For years now, he’d clucked over her lack of a social life like a protective father.
    Because she wanted a few answers for herself and not just to be prepared for Joe’s interrogation, she looked Mick in the eye. “You never did tell me what you’re doing in New York. Do you have business here?”
    He shook his head, looking surprisingly uneasy for a man of his accomplishments and confidence. “I had business in Seattle last week, then in Minneapolis. I decided to take a little side trip on the way home.”
    “You never liked New York,” she said. It was one of the reasons she’d chosen it after the divorce. She’d wanted to be someplace where they’d shared no memories and where it was unlikely Mick would be popping up too frequently.
    “Still don’t,” he admitted. “But you’re here.”
    She swallowed hard at the glint in his eye. The simple comment held a world of meaning. “Mick, don’t.”
    His gaze held hers. “Don’t what? Don’t be honest with you?”
    “Don’t say things like that. You and me, we had our chance. It’s best to leave it like that.”
    His expression remained solemn. “I don’t think I can do that.”
    “Of course you can. We haven’t crossed paths in years, noteven when I came home to see the kids when they were younger. There’s no reason for that to change.”
    Again, he looked directly into her eyes, the gaze bold, disconcerting. “I think there is. The sparks are still there, Meggie. Just because I was a damn fool doesn’t mean they’ve gone away.”
    She reached for a packet of sweetener, not because she wanted it but because she needed something to do with her hands. When she started to tear it open, it flew from her grasp, spreading powdery sweetener everywhere. She would have cleaned it up, but Mick covered her hand.
    “Don’t,” he said. “Leave it.” Again, he beckoned for Joe, who was there in an instant with a damp cloth and a questioning look.
    She forced a smile for him. “Thanks. I’m all thumbs tonight.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Joe said. He glanced at another waiter heading their way. “Here come your meals. You’ll let me know if you need anything.”
    “Thanks,” Mick told him. When Joe and the other waiter had left, Mick pushed the plate aside and turned in her direction. “Does it really bother you, me being here?”
    She thought about the question, really thought about it. “It’s not that exactly. I mean, you’re on my turf, so it should be easy, but you keep saying things that throw me off kilter. I don’t know what you want.”
    “Another chance,” Mick said simply. Before she could even close her gaping mouth, much less respond, he added, “Not right this second, but soon. A little at a time, you know? Maybe dinner here, like this. Then another visit to Chesapeake Shores. Or maybe you’d like to come with me to Seattle. We can play it by ear, do what feels right.”
    “I don’t know, Mick,” she said, fighting temptation. “I’ve adapted to living on my own. I have a life here. Yours is…” She hesitated, then shrugged. “Yours is wherever you