“We’re all working harder to keep our girlish figures,” Joe teased.

Ivy laughed as she winked. “I have missed you, Joe Truitt.”

“Here’s hoping you’re here for more than a visit,” Joe said.

“I’m here for at least the next six weeks. Beyond that, no promises,” she said.

“Then we’ll have to change your mind,” he said.

She settled in a chair, her back to the wall, and set her purse in the chair beside her. Matthew followed with their two beers.

She drank greedily, savoring the cool, malty bitterness. “I could be back in high school.”

Matthew sat and sipped his beer. “I thought you’d appreciate coming here. Good memories for me too.”

She and Matthew had eaten enough meals here and sketched out plans on napkins that generally included his ideas for his own restaurant. He’d always figured her into his plans, but she’d been the sidekick. In those days, she hadn’t been good at voicing what she wanted because she hadn’t really known. Even her decision to leave had been spurred by a nameless rebellion fortified with no concrete plans. All she’d known was that she needed to prove she could be Ivy and not Ruth’s granddaughter or Matthew’s girlfriend.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have ditched you and our plans.”

“Water under the bridge.”

“It’s not,” she said. “I walked out on everybody.”

“I forgave you a long time ago. So it’s really okay with me. Dani might be a different story.”

“She seems fine.”

He chuckled. “That’s when you should be most afraid.”

“I don’t know what else I could do for her.”

“Not much you can. We can only move forward.”

“I suppose.”

“If you had a time machine and could go back, would you change it?”

Yes. Maybe. “No.”

“Neither would I. I have a great kid and decent restaurants. Life is what you make it.”

Ivy took a long sip, wishing it were that simple. “So you have an idea for a business,” she said.

He traced the rim of his iced mug. “Jumping right in?”

“Why not? What’s on your mind?” The corners of her mouth twitched.

He sat back in his chair, seeming to savor her attention, which for now he had. “It’ll be a fine-dining experience. I’ve picked a location in Duck across the street from Dani’s gallery.”

“Makes sense you’d want to be close to Bella.”

“It’s important I spend as much time with her as I can. Who knows, she might end up working for me one day.”

“If she’s not running the gallery.”

“Right,” he said carefully.

Ivy shifted directions back to business. Duck was a small town about twenty miles north of Nags Head. The town had exploded with development over the last decade, and the odds favored a good restaurant. “The bigger houses mean higher rental rates.”