“Have you even met him?”
“Does it matter?”
“Maybe.” Kinley took one last lingering look at the mountain view then spun around. “Sure it has nothing to do with a certain fake boyfriend who might not be so fake at all?”
The memory of Brayden in the kitchen this morning, saving her from her own tears and a complete meltdown as he nearly kissed her—a second time—weakened her defenses. The topic was too dangerous. Ava didn’t trust her own words. She cleared her throat. “It’s fake, Kinley.”
“It would be okay if it wasn’t.”
“Don’t go there.”
“You never gave him a second chance. Maybe you should. Arealone, not a fake one. See if it goes anywhere. If you insist on waiting until after your mothers both leave town, then fine. But think about it, Ava, please. You deserve someone, too.”
“We good here? I’m frozen like a popsicle.” Ava bounced heavier on her feet to emphasize her point and hopefully steer the conversation away from Brayden. She couldn’t think about any of that right now. She had a display to set up in her store, flyers to print, and businesses to visit. Until her store was saved from foreclosure, she couldn’t think about anything else. The butterflies would have to stand down. “I really need to get back to the store.”
“Yes, we’re done. Thank you for coming out here with me even though it’s twelve degrees.”
“Nine.”
Kinley looked over her shoulder at the view one last time, such happiness in those eyes when she turned them back to Ava. “I can’t believe I’m gettingmarried. To Ryder Grant, of all people.”
Ava looped her arm through Kinley’s and pulled them down the snow-packed path. The sooner they got to her car, the sooner her fingers could thaw. Heat. She craved heat. “You two are perfect for each other,” Ava said, and meant it. “It was pretty cool that you were in the Army and all, but I’m so glad you live here now.”
“Almost like the old trio is back together again, huh?”
Biting down on her lip, Ava focused on the path beneath her feet. She wasn’t ready to talk about Laurel. She might not ever be ready to discuss the best friend who went behind her back in such a big way. “Do you have to work this afternoon?”
“You’ll have to see her, Ava. She’s a bridesmaid.”
“I could use some help with flyers if you’re free.”
“Ava.”
“I’m not ready to think about that yet. She married my brother in secret, then dumped him.” Ava sucked in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Her life was chaotic enough without bringing Laurel into the mix. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to see her until the actual wedding. Her former best friend couldn’t even be bothered to set aside her crazy life to make it to Kinley’s engagement party, and those two spoke all the time. “Can we just—” When Kinley yanked to her to a halt, she nearly tumbled forward. “What the jingle bells, Kin!”
“Moose.”
“What?”
Kinley kept them shuffling backward as Ava regained her footing and her gaze landed on Ed. Standing in the middle of the path between them and the car, chewing on a branch. His ears perked when their eyes locked. She wondered if he remembered their encounter yesterday morning. Did moose have sharp memories? She’d have to look it up.
“I’m too cold for this,” Ava said, teeth starting to chatter. Most December days the temperature stayed in the double digits in Sunset Ridge. But a cold spell had hit overnight and dropped their tolerable thirty to single digits. “Ed, why are you determined to make me late everywhere I go?”
The moose turned his massive body in the path, pointing at them. He tilted his head, almost as if he were trying to understand the question. But Ava knew it was ridiculous. Ed was many things, but he wasn’t some magical being who could understand English.
“It’s your scarf,” Kinley said.
Looking down at the holiday scarf she’d purchased from her own store, she groaned. The red ballsdidlook a little like berries. “I really like this scarf,” she said, unwrapping it. “But I’m too cold for this crap.” She wadded it up and tossed it on the ground between them and the moose, hoping Ed would take her peace offering and let them go.
The bull moose snorted hard enough to form a cloud.
“I don’t think it worked,” Kinley said. “Any other tricks up your sleeve?”
Ava tightened her grip on Kinley’s arm. The path led only to the landing where Kinley planned to marry Ryder. There was nowhere to run, unless they were prepared to jump over a steep, rocky cliff. “Ed doesn’t evenlikeme.”
“Maybe I should call Ryder.” Kinley’s words stuttered with her shivering. Ed took a deliberate step forward, stared at Ava, then dropped his attention to the scarf. “Wait, maybe he’s taking the bait.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Ava muttered. She had three dozen baskets to arrange, and right now, she felt certain they were piled up in a cornernotselling themselves. Why couldn’t she have an epic Ed story like everyone else in town? But no, Ed had never saved her from a black bear or appeared at her kitchen window in search of blueberry handouts. “He’ll be extra irritable when he realizes he’s been duped again.”
