Briar shook her head as more tears fled down her cheeks. “Cut that out, Olivia.”
“What?”
“I’m not interested in your matchmaking,” Briar said bitterly. “All it’s ever done is bring Adrian more disappointment. How do you expect it to work out any better for me?”
“You’ve had your guard up ever since Paris. I would never set you up for a fall like that again.”
“Please. I need you to just stop playing games with me and Cole. He’s not interested.”
“Yes, he is. It’s so obvious!”
“I said stop! I don’t need anyone in my life. Especially not some stranger who’s here for a couple of weeks and then gone. If I get one more stone thrown at me, I don’t think I’ll be able to stand alone again.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Olivia assured her. “I just want to help, Briar.”
Another wave of anger geysered up, fast and blistering hot. “Well, help yourself. You haven’t had a decent relationship any more than I have. Spend your time finding someone you don’t have to drive away after a month or less.”
Olivia’s eyes darkened, her jaw firming. For a moment, she only glared. Then she jerked her chin in a resolute nod and sucked in a breath. “You’ve made your point. I’ll leave you alone.”
Briar closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess and I’m taking it out on you. I didn’t mean that, Liv.”
“Yes, you did,” Olivia said. “I know you, Briar. You mean everything you say.”
Briar sank to the closed lid of the toilet seat and rocked herself. “Maybe. But your love life isn’t the issue. I shouldn’t have dragged it into this.”
Olivia shrugged as a tense silence carried over them. “Yeah, it was a cheap shot.” She leaned against the sink, watching Briar’s pained face. “Listen, if you really don’t want me around the inn anymore, I’ll give you some space.”
She shook her head. “You’re all I’ve got left.”
Olivia slung an arm around Briar’s shoulders. “That’s ridiculous. You’ve got Adrian and Kyle, too. We’re family, the four of us. And I mean it when I say I’m here for you, cuz.”
Briar sighed. “I know.”
Olivia patted her cheek. “Are we better now?”
Briar sniffled, nodded. “I think so.”
“Then fix your makeup because we’ve got a bunch of thirsty people to charm before the night’s done.”
“Right.” Briar squared her shoulders and locked composure into place, a practice she’d mastered long ago. “Back to work.” Work would save her, even if nothing else could.
* * *
“SO WE’VE ESTABLISHED that you were a detective,” Adrian said as she dipped her fries in ketchup.
“Yeah, in Narcotics, mostly,” Cole admitted and instantly felt a tightening in his belly. Adrian’s tour so far had revolved around Fairhope and the everyday lives of the people who lived here. She had shown him the downtown area, the parks and the most notable restaurants, insisting they stop at one—Fly Creek Café. Since the sun had set and a nice, cool breeze was blowing off the bay into the harbor where the restaurant was cozily nestled, they’d chosen a picnic table on the sand outside. There was a live band playing and the atmosphere was almost serene.
If he’d been able to relax, he would have really enjoyed it. All night long, though, he felt that he’d had to step carefully around Adrian. She was sharp. He had a good sense the cunning wisdom he saw in her eyes had been gained from experience. Their conversation hadn’t ventured that far into the past, and he was thankful for it. It had been a long time since he’d had dinner with anyone new, but he did know that if she opened up about her past, he would be forced to open up about his.
And that was a whole can of worms he wasn’t ready to open.
“I can see you in Narcotics,” she said with a nod. “You’ve got this determined look about you.”
He took a bite from his shrimp po’boy to cover the fact that his mouth had fallen open at the observation. He’d been so careful. Had she been reading him the whole time? Swallowing, he raised a brow and said, “Which means?”
“I don’t know,” she said, tilting her head as she studied his face. It was akin to being under the lens of a high-powered microscope. “It’s just this vibe I’ve been getting. Like a ‘wary hunter’ sort of thing.”
“Weary hunter is more like it,” he muttered, picking up the last of the po’boy and washing it down with the beer in front of him. “How’d you get into the flower business?”
She pursed her lips, knowing he was evading. She took a moment to wipe her hands on her napkin before deciding to answer the inquiry. “My parents own a plant nursery. Since I was little, they made me work there. Taught me how to grow, nurture, care for plants of all varieties. When I got older, I was in charge of the greenhouses with the annual flowers. I grudgingly started to like it. Eventually, I realized I wanted to branch out and make arranging flowers my business. About five years back, I finally saved enough for a start-up. Briar’s mother gave me a good deal on the shop space, and the floral business has been keeping me busy ever since. Mom and Dad deliver peace lilies and ferns for me to display and sell.”
“So it’s a family enterprise?” he ventured to guess.
Her eyes narrowed. “I like to think of the shop as a solitary effort, but they knew all the best suppliers. I probably would’ve never gotten Flora off the ground if it hadn’t been for them. I admit, it helps having parents who know people who know people in the industry.”
She didn’t like the implication that Flora’s success was due to anyone but her, though, Cole noted. “Well, congratulations. You seem to be doing very well.”
“Thanks,” she said, dipping her head. “Now you again.”
“Oh, boy,” he said and took another sip of beer.
“Why’d you get out of Narcotics?”
The frown came instantly. He couldn’t fight it or the dread that sank into him. He hated to remember how everything had gone downhill. From the divorce to his profession... It was all one big messy blur. But he knew the exact moment things in Narcotics had gone sour. Rarely did he let himself dwell on it.
He took a deep breath, spinning the beer bottle on the tabletop. “You’re better off not knowing.”
“Did something go wrong?” she asked.
He scanned her face and saw what she was waiting for. “They didn’t take my badge, if that’s what you’re asking.”
She nodded and a small relieved light flashed in her eyes. “That’s a relief.”
“I left for personal reasons,” he said. “When you’re around cops long enough, you hear a lot about something called ‘burnout.’”
“You burned out,” she surmised.
“Not completely,” he told her. “I could’ve kept going. But things were unraveling around me. There’s a numbness that you have when you’re exposed to enough bloodshed. It doesn’t completely protect you, but it’s usually enough to get you through.”
“You stopped feeling numb?”
He paused for a long moment. Was he really going to relive this again? “Something broke through.” Clearing his throat, he shifted on the hard picnic table seat. “My partner and I had been tracking a meth lab into the woods outside the city. We secured a warrant, but we were a day too late. There was an explosion, and everyone in the house was killed.”