Lindsay frowned at her phone and considered ending the recording and fleeing before this conversation got too personal.
“Uh, any other pearls of wisdom?” she asked instead.
He nodded. “Well, I don’t know if I have much in the way of wisdom, but I’ll add that a job like this is really fun for me, and I hope it’s fun for the customers. And Paige would be very sad if I didn’t urge you to include the café’s hours in your article. I’ll emphasize also that my current menu includes staples like muffins and several kinds of bread. I make grab-and-go sandwiches for the lunch rush. So, like, you can get a blueberry muffin or a ham-and-cheese sandwich. But a lot of the menu is seasonal, so it may vary by week or even by day, depending on what’s available.”
Lindsay wrote a few more notes and closed her notebook. “Okay,” she said, turning off the recording. “I think I’ve got what I need.”
“Really? That’s it?”
“I told you I wanted to stick to food.”
“And cats.”
“Yeah, and cats. I think I’ve got that part covered. Lauren’s going to talk you into adopting that orange one.”
“She’s already started trying. I’m too wily for her.”
Lindsay shook her head. “She’ll get you eventually. This is how I ended up with a cat.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Little tuxedo named Fred. As in Astaire. He’s handsome.”
Brad laughed. “Yeah, that checks out.”
It bothered Lindsay that Brad knew her as well as she knew him. So he’d know that she liked old movies and associated tuxedos with Old Hollywood. She hooked a thumb toward the door, ready to get out of there. “Well, I guess I’ll just be—”
“So you’re not going to talk to me about anything personal at all. You’re just going to come in here and do your job and leave.”
“Yes. I told you that’s what would happen.”
“Is that all I am to you now? A stranger for an interview?”
Lindsay really did not want to have this conversation. Why couldn’t she just have lived the rest of her life without running into him again?
“That’s all youcanmean to me.”
“I’m not a bad guy.”
But Lindsay shook her head, needing to put a stop to this. “I can’t let you break my heart again.”
***
Brad knew few things for certain. He had about a dozen recipes rattling around in his head that he could make at the drop of a hat. He knew the science behind why different kinds of flour worked better in different baked goods. He knew the New York City subway system like the back of his hand. And he knew part of him was still and always would be in love with Lindsay Somers.
He stared at her now, surprised she was willing to admit that much. He knew she’d been hurt. He knew that what she’d walked into on the day they broke up had not been great. But he’d been hurt, too, and he’d missed her every day since she left.
“Come on, Linds,” he said. “Youknowme. Or you did once. I’m not your enemy.”
“What happened with us happened five years ago,” she said, though he saw her nostrils flare and knew he had her attention.
“Just tell me one thing. Why didn’t you give me a second chance?”
Lindsay grunted, stood, and shouldered her bag. She snatched her phone off the table and pocketed it. She looked around, probably noting that it was just them and the cats in the room. “Because Phoebe Drake had her tongue in your throat.”
“She came on to me.”
“You still kissed her.”
