My shoulders sagged.“You’re a saint.”
“The Patron Saint of Soups on a Cold Day.”She grinned.
I snorted.Furgie sniffed the air as we walked to the counter.
It didn’t take long to place my order.A few minutes later, she handed me my coffee.I held it between my chilled fingers and breathed in the comforting smell.
She raised her voice to be heard with her back to me as she prepared my food.“So, what brings you to Grand Ridge?”
Moment of truth.At my past jobs, residents either loved hearing that I was there for nature conservation or resented me for it.
“There’s a wetland over on the northwest side, just outside of city limits, and I’m here to stop it from being developed.”
She paused and tilted her head.“Over by the Creger’s?”
“I’m not sure who lives over there, it’s an equestrian therapy place.”
Nodding, she went back to her work.“Yeah, I know exactly where it’s at.”
I couldn’t read her reaction, and I didn’t want the conversation to go south, so I changed the subject.“Is this your café?”
“It is.I opened it almost six years ago.”
“I’m in love with it.”
“Me too.”She beamed over her shoulder.“Your dog is so cute.What’s her name?”
“Furgie.”
“Like the toy from the early 2000s?”
“Those were Furby’s.”
“God, those were terrifying.”
“Horrifying.”I looked down at my dog, scratching.Again.
“Are you renting?”
I gestured vaguely in the direction of my place.“Yeah, it’s over that way.”
The expression grew distant.“Ol’ Terrance Miller’s place?”
Shrugging, I said, “My employer handled my lease.”
“It’s a duplex?Your neighbor is like ...reallyhandsome.”
“I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s a total smoke show, but I’ve only seen his shoulders from behind.And they were”—I held my arms ridiculously wide—“broad.”
“That’s doc-too-hottie.”
“Oh, he’s a doctor?”I lifted an eyebrow.
“Veterinarian.”
“Really?”My stomach flipped.I tried to recall the shape of his shoulders in my mind’s eye.The stretch of brown corduroy.The span of his shoulders had been ...toowide.There had to be plenty of rather large, hot veterinarians.Not just the one.It was just a thing that my brain did every once in a while—conjure up an unrealistic scenario that might put me face-to-face with my ex-husband.But the odds of him moving back to Michigan and living in the other half of my duplex were practically impossible.Scratch that, completely impossible.
Pulling myself out of a horrifying mental exercise was made easier by the ringing of the bell over the door.Furgie paused in her itching to look in the direction of the newcomer.It was instinct that drew my eyes to follow the sound, but it was the flirtatious smile on the beautiful man’s face that made me look away.This guy was a knockout—blue eyes so bright they were practically a light source, black hair, and dark scruff on his jaw.
