Beach Lane. Sherryl Woods

had this rock-solid ego, but you have no idea how people talked about your columns, especially in this town. Everyone here has always been so proud of you, especially those of us who know what you overcame to get there.”

      “You’re exaggerating,” Mack said.

      Will shook his head. “I’m not, am I, Jake?”

      “Absolutely not,” Jake agreed. “Which is why people noticed that you didn’t have a column about the Ravens in Saturday’s paper. Somebody else did. And somebody else also wrote about yesterday’s game. People have drawn their own conclusions. Speculation was running wild by the time I stopped by here for coffee this morning.”

      “I hate to tell you, but the news gets worse,” Will told him, his tone dire. “On Saturday I stopped by the bookstore to pick up a book and ran into Susie’s dad. Jeff was there checking on some plumbing repair, I guess. Anyway, he cornered me and asked point-blank if I knew what was going on. Said he’d heard some talk about you losing your job. What was I supposed to do, lie?”

      Mack sighed. “No, but you could have warned me on Saturday.”

      “Don’t you think I tried? I called your apartment and your cell phone. Not only didn’t you answer, but I couldn’t leave a message because both voice mailboxes were full.”

      “You should have come looking for me,” Mack said, knowing that the real fault wasn’t Will’s, but needing to blame someone. “Maybe there would have been time for me to get to Susie. I’m sure by now her dad’s filled her in.”

      “No question about it,” Will said. “He told me he intended to do it if you didn’t. He was pretty insistent about that.”

      “Call her now,” Jake said. “Better yet, stop by the management office. She’s probably there. You should tell her something like this face-to-face.”

      “I’m not sure I’d be able to take it if she starts pitying me or saying I told you so,” Mack said, though he wasn’t sure that was his real concern. He was more worried that she’d lose faith in him, walk away before they ever got the chance he wanted for the two of them.

      “Why would she say I told you so?” Will asked. “The woman’s crazy about you.”

      “I told you a while back that she’s been warning me that I ought to be planning ahead,” Mack said. “I guess she’s read all the stories about newspaper cutbacks.”

      “Well, I seriously doubt she’s going to throw that in your face,” Will said. “Susie’s not that kind of woman.”

      Mack thought about the way their discussion had veered off on a tangent about sex the week before, about the way she’d looked into his eyes when he’d tackled her on Thanksgiving, holding his gaze until it had required every last ounce of willpower he possessed to keep from kissing her.

      Then he thought about the fight they’d had on the beach when she realized he was keeping something from her. Now that she knew what it was, she was likely to be even more furious. He could even understand her point of view. He’d be livid—and hurt—if she kept a secret this huge from him.

      “I’m not sure I know what kind of woman she is lately,” he said despondently. “She seems to be changing.”

      “Well, she’s not mean,” Jake said. “We all know that. Talk to her, Mack, before this becomes some huge issue between you. If it gets blown all out of proportion, you’ll both wind up being miserable. Fix it now. That’s my advice.” He turned a sheepish look on Will. “Not that I’m the expert.”

      “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Will said. “Go. Fix.”

      Mack sighed when they left him on the street, just a few paces away from the Chesapeake Shores Real Estate Management Company. He had a hunch both of his friends were sitting in their respective vehicles watching to see if he took their advice or chickened out.

      Since he’d been humiliated enough lately, he sucked in a bracing breath and walked into the office, wishing he had even the first clue about what to expect or what to say to her. Susie might have a cheery, live-and-let-live demeanor most of the time, but facing her right now was no less intimidating than walking into a lion’s den. Something told him that whatever happened in the next few minutes would decide his future…and whether or not Susie was likely to be a part of it.

       5

      At the sound of the door opening, Susie glanced up from the contract she’d been reading for the past hour without one single word registering. An automatic smile had her lips curving up until she recognized Mack.

      “Oh, it’s you,” she said, her tone flat. To her chagrin, her pulse skipped several beats despite her mood. Apparently chemistry was slow to catch on to reality. Thankfully, Mack couldn’t possibly know all the conficting emotions churning inside her.

      Mack winced. “I gather you’ve heard the news.”

      “From my family,” she confirmed accusingly. “Why would you let me find out something that monumental from my family, Mack? How could you do that to me? You had to know how humiliating it would be.”

      “Sorry,” he said, looking genuinely contrite. “Really. The honest-to-goodness truth is that I just couldn’t work up the nerve to tell you. I’ve dealt with my share of humiliation since this happened.”

      On some level she understood his reluctance, the blow to his pride, but she couldn’t let it pass. Communication was the one thing they’d always had going for them. If they lost that now, she was afraid they were doomed.

      “Mack, we keep saying we’re friends, but it doesn’t seem like it to me right now. If you can’t even tell me that you lost your job, then what kind of friendship do we really have? Is it some superficial thing that’s good for a few laughs? Am I just some woman you hang out with to keep from being bored?”

      His expression pleaded for understanding. “Susie, this isn’t about you and me, what we are or aren’t to each other. I’m the one who lost a job that meant everything to me. Don’t try to make it about something else. I can’t fight that battle right now.”

      “I’m sorry,” she said. “I have to. This is like some huge turning point for us on so many levels. Can’t you see that?”

      He sat down on the chair beside her desk. Though he obviously still didn’t want to have this conversation, he settled in, apparently ready to have the talk they should have had days ago.

      “Okay, hear me out,” he said, a coaxing note in his voice. “This just happened a little over a week ago. I was trying to absorb the news, work through what it meant for the future.”

      “Thus the funk,” she said.

      “Exactly.” He regarded her earnestly. “I wanted to have a plan before you found out. I needed to feel as if I was in control of the situation.”

      “Mack, I adore you, but you don’t think that fast.” When he was about to protest the insulting comment, she added, “What I’m saying is that you ponder things, think them through from every angle. It’s a good trait in many ways, but it’s not a fast track to decision-making. You had to know the gossip mill in this town would beat you to the punch.” She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice when she repeated, “I should have heard this from you, not from my family, who heard it on the street.”

      “Okay, you’re right,” he said apologetically. “I knew I was taking a huge risk, but I didn’t want to see that look in your eyes, the one you have right now.”

      She couldn’t imagine what he meant. “What look is that?”

      “You feel sorry for me. No man wants a woman’s pity.”

      Susie rolled