Free A Sweet Possibility (Archer Cove Series Book 2) by Natalie Charles

spot.
    Meme's Pizza was located in an old chapel in the center of the downtown, and the owners had kept a lot of the original touches and architecture when they'd converted the space to a pizza restaurant. The windows were still stained glass, and a large brick oven sat in the spot where the altar used to be. The pizza itself was great, but the building's history was a large part of the draw. Since Jessie had started dating Quinn, the three of them had met there a few times.
    A piece of him was relieved she'd reached out first, because for the past two days, he'd been trying to come up with a plan to contact Jessie, just to check in on her, without being too obvious about it. He didn't want her to know that he knew about the breakup. He didn't want her to think they'd been talking about her. Much better that she should tell him herself.
    Jessie was already seated at Meme's Pizza when he arrived. She was sitting at a small round table covered in a white-and-red checked tablecloth, frowning with impressive concentration at a large laminated menu. Her blonde hair was down for a change, and she wore it in loose curls. She looked so pretty it hurt.
    He'd dressed up more than usual. Not that this was a date. Just two friends meeting for Tuesday-night pizza. They'd order a pitcher of beer and complain, and they'd leave feeling better, aside from the indigestion. But he'd changed into khakis and a light sweater, and he'd even put on some cologne. He stepped forward then, and she looked up when he was a few strides from the table. Jessie smiled brightly and said, "You look nice."
    His pulse kicked a few beats in response, but he pulled out his chair, the picture of calm. "You do, too."
    She picked up the end of a curl and flicked it behind her shoulder. "Thanks. Want to split an IPA? I'm feeling bitter."
    Uh oh. "Sure. Sounds good." He took a seat just as a waiter came over with a pitcher of beer and two pint glasses.
    "Great, because that's what I ordered." She poured a glass for each of them and raised hers. "Cheers."
    "What are we drinking to tonight?"
    "Shoot, I don't know. How about if we drink to the adoption of orphaned kittens?"
    "To kittens." He raised his glass.
    She took a generous gulp and set the glass down with a sigh. "So, I'm thinking about making a change. A big one."
    Nate was half-listening, half-scanning the appetizers. "You're going to drop this on me now? We haven't even ordered."
    She pulled the menu from his hands and set it to the side, on top of her own. "You already know what you're getting. You get the same thing every time. We're going to split a large pizza, half Hawaiian and half sausage and peppers. You'll say that my half is disgusting and that pineapple doesn't belong on pizza, but you'll eat it anyway after you've finished your half." She wrapped her fingers around the bottom of her glass and pouted her lower lip. "It's always the same. Every day. Everything here. It never changes."
    Nate sat back in his chair, feeling like he was under attack. "Is there somewhere else you want to be?"
    "No. Don't take it personally." She unfolded her napkin and a metal knife and fork clattered against the table. "I'm just saying...you know how it is. You grew up here too. Everyone knows everyone else. Their business. It's always the same."
    Something about that statement scratched at him. "You love the Archer Cove community."
    Damn, he didn't mean to sound so injured. But wasn't he one of those things that was always around, cluttering up her day with the familiar? He took a breath. "So where's Quinn? I take it he couldn't make it?"
    She picked up her beer, but then her face crumpled and she just sat there, holding her drink in midair and crying. Good lord.
    "I'm sorry." Nate kicked himself. What a jackass he was! He wrested the pint glass from her fist and set it carefully down on the table. "We'll talk about something else."
    "He..." Her face turned red, and the tears streamed freely. "We're taking a break."
    "No,