Page 16 of Crossing the Line
It was Taylor who spoke. "I didn't think you were a sci-fi fan."
The answer was simple. She wasn't.
"Bixby and I went to Vegas for a long weekend and ended up staying for a week. Bixby is a huge Trek fan so he was the one that wanted to go. I went along to see my big hunk of a guy turn into an utter fanboy." Janice felt the warmth in her chest at the memory. Bixby had been like a little kid at times, enjoying the aptly namedStar Trek Experience. And she'd been swept up in the excitement.
"Big hunk, huh?" Caroline leaned in, grabbing a mozzarella stick between her fingers. "You know, I moved here when youtwo were already divorced. If you don't mind," she swept the stick through the marinara sauce in the little cup on the plate, "what's the story?"
Janice hesitated, unsure of what she should say. She saw the worry that raised Taylor's brow and the hesitation that brought out a furrow between Caroline's.
"You... you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Caroline took a bite of the mozzarella stick and busied herself chewing.
Janice felt horrible that Caroline felt uncomfortable, but she didn't know what to say exactly.
She opened her mouth planning to say something... funny or offbeat, but before she could say anything, the side door of the pub opened up, letting in a flood of daylight. Late in the afternoon like this, the sun was in the perfect position to bathe Saint Raphael in sunlight into the early evening.
Three people walked in but only one of them was instantly identifiable to her.
Bixby.
The man was looking good.
Okay, he always looked good.
That was one of the things she'd always loved about him.
He was fit and it wasn't the kind of fit that just came with genetics. He was a healthy guy because of the way he lived. He used to run all over Saint Raphael when he'd first moved there. Then as they opened the market together and started to work their long hours, the man never kept idle.
"Uh oh..."
Janice turned her head and saw Caroline and Taylor staring at her intently. "What?"
"Looks like Bixby has your complete attention."
Taylor nodded. "That 'big hunk' comment makes more sense now."
Janice was busy trying to get her brain to catch up to the conversation. "It's a hold over. I used to call him that when we were still in the honeymoon phase."
"Ah... The honeymoon phase." Caroline swooned a little. "I hope Lucas and I won't lose that feeling for a long... long time."
Taylor snorted a laugh and then sagged back against her chair. "I hate to say this... but Vance and I... I feel like," she lifted her hands to her face, touching her palms to her cheeks, "we're still in the honeymoon phase and we've been married for a few years."
Caroline took a sip of her margarita and sighed. "I'm going to have to make sure we keep things... going, too."
Janice watched as Bixby led his friends to a table that had opened up closer to the bar.
The honeymoon phase.
When had they lost it?
She watched him pull out a chair and sink into it with a smile. Sitting with him were two long-time Saint Raphael residents, August Clement, whose family ran the biggest Christmas Tree farm in the area, and Hank Ford, who ran the largest construction company outside of Sacramento.
They'd always been good friends, even though they weren't all the same age, but looking at her own group of friends, she understood it well. It didn't matter how old someone was if your heart connected with theirs.
She watched the three men talk and laugh, putting in their orders with the waitress that came by their table.
"Looks like we lost her again."
Lost who?
