“I read romance too, but I’d call love in this town more forced proximity.”
I cracked up at her disgusted cringe.
“Ah, those are good too. Especially when there’s only one bed.” I hopped onto one of the stools. “I’m feeling Italian today. This chilly November air has me craving soup from Dino’s.” My phone buzzed when I set it on the counter.
Julie:Check your email.
I opened my mail app and let out a loud gasp.
“What is it?” Cece rushed over.
“I think we may have a final logo. Let me run to the office a minute.” I fished my credit card out of my wallet and handed it to Cece. “Please order me a large minestrone soup and get whatever you want. I want to see how it looks on the laptop before I tell her it’s final.” I jogged to my office, the heels on my booties making loud clicks on the floor all the way down the hall.
I’d met Julie back when she was a creative director at an advertising agency we’d hired at my former company to do branding. Even though I hadn’t even been in the marketing department, I’d become the one reviewing and approving all the concepts since the higher-ups were too busy and tried to bullshit me that I had a “better eye” for it. Julie and I had spoken so much that we’d become friends after the work ended and kept in touch when she’d stepped back from agency life to freelancing from home.
“Hey, girl,” Julie said when her face filled the screen. “I’m glad you called so I can see your honest reaction.”
“I didn’t open the image yet. Sorry I’ve been such a pain in the ass. I’ve never had to logo myself before.”
“It’s fine. And among all the clients I have right now, you don’t even rank in the top fifty for pain in the ass.”
I smiled at Julie’s Bronx accent.
“Okay, I have the rainbow ball of death, but it’s loading and… Oh shit, it’s perfect.”
My hand flew to my chest. “The Pour House” was in a flowing script with wine and beer glasses underneath. “Kelly Lakes” was rounded across the top. It looked swanky, yet like a neighborhood bar.
“It’s kind of sexy, but definitely has a small-town vibe. It’s you, only country.”
“It is. Holy shit,” I said, falling back in my chair. “Wow, I own a bar.”
“Yes, you do. And Landon and I can’t wait to visit and see the fall foliage and all those little shops you always talk about. I already scoped out a B&B not too far from Kelly Lakes, so you tell us when you have a free weekend.”
“I’d love for you guys to come up. Now that all the leaves have changed over, it’s gorgeous up here. How about you resize the file to the specs for the neon sign, and you can come here when I unveil it. The vendor told me about ten business days from when I hand off the file.”
Her brown eyes grew wide on-screen. “So, it’s approved?”
“Approved and final.”
And permanent.
“Thanks for your patience, girl. I appreciate it.”
“It was my pleasure. And you look amazing. Small-town life looks good on you.”
“Thanks. Feels good too.”
I tilted my head back in my chair and stretched my arms over my head. Small-town life was so good because of a small-town cop. Guilt wormed its way into my gut again as I picked up my phone to text Jude.
Me:I love you, and I’m sorry.
I closed my laptop and made my way out of my office, still mooning over the logo on my phone screen and not watching where I was going after I opened my door.
“Oops, I’m so sorry,” I said, popping my head up to see who I’d run into, finding out I’d hit a wall of said small-town cop.
“What’s wrong? What are you doing here? Is George okay?”
I clutched his shoulders, but he didn’t move as he hooked his thumbs into his belt and glared down at me.
