Page 23 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO
I approach the counter, scanning the handwritten chalkboard menu, even though I already know what I want when a voice cuts through the air.
“Hazel? Hazel McKee!”
That jolted me, and I looked up to see Gretel - tall, strawberry blonde, and still sporting that chirpy energy she had in school. “Wow, it really is you,” she said, beaming as if I had stepped straight out of a time capsule.
“Hey, Gretel,” I say with a smile. “Long time, huh?”
"Too long!" She leans forward, elbows on the counter, grinning. "Oh my, oh my, what are you doing back in Autumn Cove? Didn’t think you’d ever come back."
“For work,” I reply curtly, hoping that is enough. I shift my focus to the menu.
“You look great!
“Thanks… so do you.” I place my order and wait as she fixes it.
“Oh, when did you move back? Have you seen your friends yet? Where did you move to? Oh! Have you seen…?”
“Gretel,” I interrupt with a saccharine smile. “How are your parents?”
Thrown off, she blinks. “Oh, um, they’re good. Mom’s out back, and Dad’s out sick. That’s why I am helping out today. I could call her for you.”
“Oh, is your dad okay?”
“Yeah, just a cold.”
“Glad to hear,” I say, grabbing my order as she hands it over. “And please, no, don’t disturb your mom…, I can see her some other time. Anyway, let’s catch up later, okay? I’m famished.”
Gretel’s face fell briefly but then brightened. “No biggie! It’s so great to see you, Hazel!”
Sliding into a corner table near the window, I let out a breath. The café was busier than I remembered. The older regulars and a few young people, mostly teens and college students, filled the room, their curious glances making my skin prickle. A few of the regulars, like Mrs. Amberline, Mr. Goldman, who looked like he aged backward, and Mrs. Karen, one of the town’s gossips, all stopped to say hi, expressing their surprise about my arrival in town and left with a promise of me visiting them sometime before I go back to the city.
I recognize some of the young people there, some, I would rather forget. I try to enjoy my club sandwich, which I must confess tastes just as delicious if not more delicious than I remember. I try to shake off the stares. It is not like I’m a celebrity, but apparently, returning to Avalanche Cove after five years warrants gawking. I focus on my club sandwich, savoring each bite, grateful for the quiet - until it is not so quiet anymore.
I was halfway through sipping my caramel macchiato when the people two tables behind me decided it would be best to have a loud conversation - about me.
"Yes, it’s her," a woman hissed, her voice unmistakably giddy and nasally. "Hazel McKee. You know, Liam’s ex-girlfriend. The gold-digger."
“And the orphan,” another chimed in with the kind of tone people use when they think they are being clever. “I never liked her anyway. Too stuck-up for this town. I was glad when she left.”
“Well, she left a beautiful, yet plain Jane, but came back a sexy grown woman one guy chimed in.
“You can’t think of anything else aside from looks?” The nasal voice lady asks in an irritated tone.
They continued yapping and yapping about why I left town, my relationship with Liam, what his sister said – apparently one of Liam’s sisters, is friends with the nasal voice girl – where I went to, why I came back, for Liam, maybe because I got kicked out of where I went to, as stupid as it is, one suggested I might be pregnant, yada, yada, yada.
I tightened my grip on the warm mug in my hands, willing myself to stay calm.Do not engage. They are not worth it.
Too late.
I stand, grabbing my drink, and walk over to their table with slow, deliberate steps. The conversation halts as they notice me, their wide-eyed expressions betraying their surprise.
“Hi there,” I say sweetly with a smile that could have given them cavities, my tone all sugar and steel. “I could not help overhearing. It’s hard not to, really, with all the whispering and laughing.”
The woman - the loudest one - flushes but tries to recover. “We weren’t talking about you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you weren’t.” I tilt my head, letting the sarcasm drip. “It’s just that, since my name came up - and my personal life - it feels only right to say a few things.”
She stiffens. I lean in slightly, lowering my voice just enough to make it pointed.
