“Um, can I just get some coffee?” Liv glanced up from the menu and did a double take of the server. It wasn’t the perky waitress that had greeted her. This woman had long blonde hair and a model perfect face that she recognized.
“Chrissy?” Liv asked before she glanced down at her nametag and saw that it read Chrissy.
Chrissy Dixon was the only real friend that Liv had ever made during her summers in Whisper Lake because, unlike most of the kids her age who were down at the lake, Liv had spent her time in the library and that is where Chrissy had been also.
But the girls had been there for two very different reasons. Liv had gone because of her love of reading. It had always been her escape. Chrissy had been there because she was studying and doing homework for the summer school classes she took.
Liv remembered the first summer she’d met Chrissy, they had to be about nine, and Chrissy told her that she was going to go to Harvard Law School and be an attorney. Liv remembered being impressed by her even at such a young age. Over the years that followed, Chrissy’s determination to follow her dreams didn’t wane, they intensified.
Seeing her in a Drawbridge Diner uniform was surprising.
Chrissy stared down at her with a blank expression before recognition dawned on her perfect cheek-boned face.
“Olive?”
“Yes!” Liv stood up and pulled Chrissy into a hug.
It had been eighteen years since she’d seen her last.
“What are you doing here?” Chrissy asked as she pulled out of the hug.
“I’m here for a wedding.”
“Oh, who’s getting married?”
“My cousin. Bridgette.”
Chrissy smiled. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“Not really. It was actually supposed to be my wedding. But when my fiancé called it off six months ago, Bridgette booked the venue, DJ, photographer and even bought my dress.”
Hearing herself say it out loud really did put it into perspective just how crazy her cousin’s behavior was.
Chrissy’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly shut it.
Feeling a little silly for just info-dumping on someone she hadn’t seen in almost two decades, Liv let out a small chuckle as she said, “Sooo that’s what’s going on with me. What’s going on with you?”
“I have four kids, and my husband left me for a twenty-one-year-old social media influencer who is only seven years older than our oldest daughter and moved to another country.”
“Wow. We have a lot to catch up on.” Liv couldn’t believe how easily they’d fallen back into their friendship. It was as if no time had passed at all.
A gentleman at a table across the restaurant lifted his hand to get Chrissy’s attention. “Excuse me.”
“What are you doing tonight?” Chrissy asked as she motioned to the table that she’d be right there. “My kids are all at sleepovers, so I have an extremely rare free night.”
“I have to go to the rehearsal dinner at Lanterns.”
“I can meet you there for a drink at six.”
“Perfect!”
As Chrissy left to take care of the other table, Liv lowered back down onto the seat. She felt so much better now that she was going to have Chrissy at her side tonight. As much as she loved her Uncle Gene and Aunt Faye, facing Bridgette alone was always difficult. And facing her when she was, as Rasha put it, Single-White-Femaling Liv’s wedding added an extra layer of challenge.
At least now she’d have a friend with her.
As she sat in the back booth, she noticed a Whisper Lake PD SUV pull up to the stop sign next to her window. Her heart rate sped as she leaned forward to get a better view of the driver. But it slowed back down as soon as she saw that it wasn’t Officer Not A Stripper.
She shook her head and sank back into the seat as disappointment swamped her. Last night, he’d dropped her off at the B&B and walked her to her door. He’d hesitated and she’d thought, for a moment, that he was going to ask her out or at least give her his number. But instead, he apologized for the inconvenience and reminded her to lock her door.
Maybe the attraction she’d felt toward him was alcohol induced, but she doubted it. There was one way to find out. If she ran into him stone cold sober she’d have her answer.
The bell rung over the entrance, and she turned her head half-expecting him to walk into the diner. If this was a book she was writing, that’s exactly what would have happened. But it wasn’t Hot Cop, it was a family of four.
Life isn’t a romance novel, she reminded herself. If anyone knew that, it should be her.