She audibly groans over the line. “I really wasn’t planning on staying very long, Noey, only until I found a new gig to take.”
I smile at the childhood nickname she gave me. “Then you can stay with your parents until you do. It’s either that, or you work at the inn and stay with me. Your choice.”
I can hear the wheels spinning in her head as she considers my offer. Since the beginning of forever, Eve has been trying to getoutof Evergreen. She always said her wings were too big for this town and she wanted to land somewhere moreexoticthan here. I never saw the appeal of leaving. Evergreen is it for me.
“Fine,” she finally says, conceding to my deal. “I’ll stay with you to avoid my parents and will work at your beloved inn. But as soon as something else comes along,I’m gone.”
I fist pump the open air and spin around, shaking my hips and doing a little dance as I go. I’ve finally managed to make my way out of the coffee shop after pushing past the line that is now out the door. Hearing her agree to work at the inn as our new head chef is one less thing I have to worry about which is enough to make me happy.
“Ahh! Thank you, Eve. Thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much you’re saving me,” I gush.
“Yeah, yeah. When I get there, we’re going to have a serious conversation about your lack of a sex life, though. It’s a little embarrassing if I’m honest.”
I stop dead in the center of the sidewalk and scowl at the ground. “Listen here, missy. I do not need to talk to you about my sex life. I’m doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
This has her laughing on the other end. “Sure, sure. Just so you know, Noey, your toys don’t count. See you in a few days,roomie.”
“Excuse me, but you are not allowed to stay with me if you’re going to give me a hard time about my toys. Those and my sex life are none of your business,” I whisper-yell over the phone but she’s already gone. My cheeks are hot as I shove my phone into my back pocket and turn around to head back for the inn. When I do, though, I run smack into another body that has a good five inches on me and smells like pencil shavings and aftershave. I run into the stranger so hard I drop my coffee and it splashes all over my feet. Looking up to apologize, I realize they’re no stranger at all. In fact, their dark hair and square jaw are almost unchanged from when he broke my heart at the end of the summer before we parted ways and went to college. Even the dimples in his cheeks are unchanged, only showing when he has his signature smile on his face which is what he’s flashing me now as I look up at him.
He takes a step closer to me and lowers his head, speaking to me under his breath with the same cocky grin I fell in love with on his face and I feel like I’m about to throw up.
“What about me, sugar, can I know about your toys and your sex life?”
CHAPTER 5
Nick
Her cheeks flare with so much color that they rival the artificial leaves the decorating committee has wrapped around the light posts in town. When I started up the sidewalk to get myself a cup of coffee before sitting down to sketch for the day, I knew exactly who I was coming up behind. I didn’t even need to see her face to know it was her. She’s always had this energy about her that I recognize any time she’s close. Our grandmothers liked to say we were soulmates before I was a complete ass and broke her heart. Still to this day it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.
“What do you say, sugar? Care to share all your dirty little secrets with me?” I tease, trying to be funny. Calling her the nickname I gave her so many years ago the first time was a slip. The second time, though, is completely intentional.
Her brain seems to catch up with her mouth which she snaps shut before distorting her face into a scowl.
“I’d say you’re no longer privy to that sort of information anymore,” she bites. I’ve got a handful of inches on her so she has to tip her chin up to look at me. While I understand why she’s mad, I can’t help but notice how cute she looks with her arms crossed in front of her as she glares at me.
She takes a step back to bend over and pick up the coffee cup she dropped and kicks some of the spilt coffee off of her shoes.
“Here, let me buy you another one,” I offer, trying to sound sincere. She pulls her arm away before I can touch her.
“I’m good, thanks.” She slips off one of her shoes that got the brunt of her coffee dumped on it and wipes the top of her off with her hand. I stifle a laugh when I see that under her shoes, she’s wearing Halloween–themed socks with smiling pumpkins on them. Wiping her hands on the back of her pants, she sighs heavily before putting her shoe back on.
“One problem solved just for another to arise. Perfect, justfuckingperfect,” she mutters with a shake of her head.
My eyebrows stitch together. “Problem? What problem? Are you in some sort of trouble?”
She brings her eyes back to me and my mind almost gets lost in them. Blue like the lake we used to swim in over the summer, they remind me of all the moments we shared when we were younger.
“Again, that information is none of your concern. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go home and change sincesomeonecaused me to wear my drink instead of enjoy it.”
She wipes her hands on her pants once more for good measure before storming off down the sidewalk. Before she’s out of reach, I turn and grab her carefully by the arm to stop her. She spins around and looks at me, surprise written all over her face.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I’m doing here?” I say, needing to know how she feels about seeing me for the first time in more than ten years.
Again, she pulls her arm away from me as if I have just branded her. “No, Nick, I’m not. I don’t care why you’re here.Honestly, I only care about how soon you’ll be leaving. You were the one who said Evergreen could ‘be mine,’ remember?”
With that, she starts to storm away again.
“I’m home for the holidays,” I call out in her direction. I see her pause in the middle of the street but she doesn’t turn around. After a moment, she keeps walking and I watch her figure move further and further away until I can’t make out her shape anymore.
