Free Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg Page A

puddle near the edge of the pool, stepping to the side, but knocked into a sprawling lawn chair. Oh no. Her shoes slid over the wet cement, tangling with the chair and then . . . Going down.
    She crashed into the chair with a screech, purse flying up behind her, and it was post “I don’t love him!” all over again. The silence. The stares. The complete and utter humiliation slogging through her.
    Until, finally, laughter . . . from the kid on the diving board. And then from a little girl with floats circling her arms. And the man still waiting for his son to jump.

    Well, the hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant on Main wasn’t the most romantic locale for a reunion. But it’d do.
    Seth grinned as he dropped into the same corner booth as always, maroon vinyl creaking underneath and the Mandarin’s usual sweet-and-spicy aroma teasing his taste buds.
    Maddie paused at the edge of the booth before sitting. She pushed long waves of black hair over her shoulder, smoky eyes trained on his and pooled with reluctance. It was one of the things that’d first drawn him to her—the way she had of holding eye contact. That and her million-watt smile. And her confidence.
    And the fact that she’d taken a chance on him while he’d still been aimless. He’d wondered a hundred times more than once why she’d stuck with him. Not only that, once he’d finally landed on a dream, she’d supported it.
    “Chinese at two thirty in the afternoon? What about the coffee shop . . . ?”
    “Nah, Saturday afternoons that place draws every teenager in town.” Plus, he’d just been there with Ava. “I thought you loved this place.” They’d come here all the time back when Seth first relocated to Maple Valley.
    She finally slid into the booth, smoothing one hand over her sensible white button-down. “Weird time of day to eat lunch is all.”
    He’d gotten used to eating meals on odd hours. During regular mealtimes he was usually at the restaurant.
    “We could’ve stayed at The Red Door,” Maddie added.
    “No, I gave Ava my word I’d stay away for the day. And both Shan and Raegan heard me make the promise. They even have a betgoing—” He broke off at the confusion that flitted across her face. “Shan’s the chef. I’m sure I’ve talked about her before in one email or phone call or another.”
    “And Ava is your old college friend.”
    He grinned. “Well, she wasn’t my friend back then, but now, yes. We are. Friends, I mean. A.J. and I.” He closed his mouth.
    “She goes by A.J.?”
    “Sometimes.” But never to him. So why he’d reverted to the nickname, he had no idea.
    Maddie lifted one eyebrow, but whatever question flitted across her face didn’t come out. Instead she reached for her purse. “I’m going to use the restroom real quick. I’ll be back.”
    He watched as she walked away from him, the unease that had begun tangling through him ever since he saw Maddie getting out of her car now tightening into knots. Long distance had added an awkward angle to their relationship. That first year, when they’d both lived in Chicago, the relationship had worked.
    But then he’d made the decision to move back to Maple Valley, open the diner. He’d prayed so hard about it, and Maddie had encouraged it all—applauded his dream and listened to him talk about how much he loved his hometown and his family. . . .
    He’d just assumed that sooner or later she’d join him and become a permanent part of that dream, but now he couldn’t help wondering if saying yes to the dream had meant a long, slow no to the only real relationship he’d ever been in.
    But no, she was there, wasn’t she? And the first thing she’d done when he’d crossed the street and ducked under her umbrella was throw her free arm around him and apologize about twenty times for missing his grand opening. “I don’t know what happened. Or I guess I do, a deadline happened, but that’s no excuse. I’m so sorry, Seth. So, so