“Be yourself. If he likes you, he’ll like you for who you are.”

She rolled her eyes. “You sound like Mom.”

Maybe he wasn’t helping. But given his own love life, he wasn’t sure he was qualified to give advice. “What are his interests? People like to talk about themselves. Especially teenage boys.”

Her face brightened. “He likes the Red Sox, and I know he’s into sailing, so we can talk about that. What else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Duh. I mean, do you have any other advice?”

If only he could condense everything he’d learned about relationships and pass it like a baton. Unfortunately, life didn’t work that way. “Just don’t be afraid to let him know you like him. He asked you to play volleyball, so it sounds like he’s interested. Guys have a lot of pressure to initiate things. It’ll make it easier if he knows he’s not going to get rejected.”

“You think he’s nervous too?”

Lucas clasped his hands behind his head. “Trust me, the nerves go both ways.”

Jamie was gone by the time Kate returned. The back door fell closed with a smack, and she cornered him in the living room.

“What is the deal with your mom?” Her damp bangs clung to her forehead, and her ponytail swung like a pendulum.

Lucas folded the paper again and set it on the table. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she can’t talk to me for two minutes without getting in a dig. There’s all this subtext going on, and I think it’s more than that she missed our wedding. You want to fill me in?”

It was only fair. He should have already. “It’s not you. There’s some history you don’t know about.” Maybe her mom had told her the story, and she didn’t realize who Susan was. “Your mom was my mom’s best friend years ago. They went to high school together. Did your mom ever talk about that?”

Kate shook her head. “What happened?”

It was all ancient history, but to his mom it was the unpardonable sin. A woman scorned, and all that, he supposed. “When my mom and dad were engaged, your mom was supposed to be her maid of honor, only—” How to put it delicately?

“What?”

He sighed. “I guess your mom had a thing for my dad. Something happened the week before the wedding. I don’t know the details, but your mom slept with my dad. My mom cut her out of the wedding and refused to talk to her again.”

Kate’s eyes widened slowly, her jaw following suit. Then she pressed her lips together and jabbed her hands onto her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered.”