“Are you visiting Sage again?” I asked, my hand still on her cart.
“Something like that,” she replied, looking at my hand pointedly. I removed it, grateful that she didn’t immediately take off.
“Well, how long are you in town for? Maybe we could meet up for some drinks. Get reacquainted again before you leave.”
“I’m not. Leaving, I mean. I just moved here,” Nellie told me, her brow furrowing. “And I don’t think drinks are a good idea.”
I tried not to acknowledge the disappointment of her subtle rejection, and instead focused on the first part of what she said. “Hell, you moved to Hartwood Creek?! That’s awesome! What brings you here?”
Nellie winced, like my question struck her. “Guess I needed a change of pace. Anyway, I need to go. See you around, Noah.”
With that, she pushed her cart past me and walked like fire was nipping at her heels.
It was Friday night, and I was sitting at our regular booth at The Quarter Lounge with Parker and Nix Hutchinson, Auston Robertson, and Donavan Ashe. We were on our second pitcher of beer, catching up on all the random stuff that had happened.
Our regular get-togethers had slowly tapered off from weekly hangouts at the bar to biweekly, to almost once a month now that most of the guys had families and serious girlfriends. Donavon and I were the last two standing bachelors, and I was pretty sure he had a regular sneaky link that he’d been closed-mouth about.
“So, how’s living with Sage officially?” Donavon asked Nix, pouring himself another beer. We’d been trying to get him to fess up on who the mysterious woman was he’d been spending a lot of time with lately, but Donavon wasn’t biting—ergo the swift change of subject.
“It’s amazing!” Nix grinned. He was so stupidly in love with Sage, I almost felt bad for him. And envious.
That was a new feeling, the envious bit. I hadn’t much cared for monogamous relationships in the past. Give me a one-night stand or casual fling any time, but a serious girlfriend meant more effort than I had to give. Already, I was busy as hell with the resort and family demands. Adding another person to the list of things and people that relied and depended on me seemed like too much of a burden.
But then, October had happened. I’d spent one night with a girl dressed up as a sexy Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and suddenly I found myself longing for more. Odd that a monster costume had affected me like that, but stranger things had happened in the town of Hartwood Creek.
Maybe it had more to do with the fact that Nellie had snuck out on me before I’d even woken up, and I’d never had the chance to get her number or ask her for a repeat. Usually, it was me sneaking out in the morning.
“As if he wasn’t basically living with her before,” Parker joked. Parker was probably one of my oldest best friends. I’d rented the apartment above his garage for a spell, while my cabin was being built. We’d always been tight, but I didn’t get to see him as regularly as before, now that he was busy with his custom furniture and wood milling business, and raising a family with my cousin, Tabitha.
“I mean, you’re not wrong. This makes it official. One step closer to forever, you know? It feels good,” Nix said, a dreamy look in his eyes. “I plan on asking her to marry me once we finish building.”
Nix was referring to the house he was building for them. He’d purchased the land years ago but had only recently broke ground. He’d drawn up blueprints and then amended them once things got serious with Sage, so that she could have some input on their forever home.
It made sense, and it was pretty romantic, but that was Nix. He’d always been thoughtful and romantic. I wasn’t quite either of those things. Even my mother called me self-centred and unserious, and she wasn’t wrong.
My attention span has always been short. The longest running commitment I had to date was to the resort, and that’s because it was in my blood. I was serious about it in a way I’d never been serious about any woman.
For some unknown reason, Nellie’s face flashed in my mind. I shook the thought of her away, unwilling to dwell on her. But before I could truly focus on something else, her name was coming up in conversation with the guys.
“Now that Nellie’s moved into the bachelor apartment—” Parker was saying.
“Wait, Nellie as in Sage’s friend Nellie?” I interrupted.
Parker and Nix shared a knowing look.
“The one and the same,” Nix said carefully.
“I ran into her at the grocery store the other night,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual. “She’s looking good.”
“I’m surprised you remembered who she was,” Nix remarked. “You two were pretty drunk that night.”
“Hard to forget a body like hers,” I smirked, leaning back in the booth, and crossing my legs at the ankles. My encounter with Nellie had stuck with me, mostly because of how that gorgeous body had responded to me, and how I’d responded to it. It was one of the most explosive, toe-curling romps I’ve ever had.
Nix frowned, as if my nonchalant response disappointed him. “Yeah, well. Anyway, she’s moved to Hartwood Creek. I know she’s looking for work, so if anyone knows of anything through the grapevine…” he was directing his question more at the others, but I fixated on it.
“Tell her to shoot her resume to us. We need a new office administrator at the resort.”
“You sure that’s a good idea, Noah?” Parker asked, exchanging another look with Nix.
