“’Bout two hours?” Derek replied between mouthfuls. “Jenna is taking care of Munchkin today, so you can relax and have a good time, Josie.”
“I do have a good time. I don’t need Jenna to take Matilda. I can stay here with her and we can go to the park and feed the ducks…”
“Nope! Not happening.” Mia declared.
“But…”
“Nope. No buts. Jenna is looking forward to spending time with the troublemaker here and you, my dear sister, are going to sit back and relax and have a good time.” There was no way I was going to get Mia to change her mind. She was stubborn like that. She didn’t understand my reluctance to go, and that was my fault. I hadn’t told her. Now, I was paying the price of keeping my secrets. You’d think I’d have learnt by now that there wasn’t anything I couldn’t say to Mia. Turns out, I was dumber than that.
“Fine!” I huffed as I poured myself another coffee. If I was going to have to go through with this, I’d need the extra caffeine to fortify myself.
***
I shook my towel and laid it on the grass, watching for ant nests before I did. I’d found a shady spot along the bank of the winding river where I could still see everything, but I wouldn’t melt under the sun’s scorching heat. After applying a thick layer of sticky sunscreen to my face, I laid back and closed my eyes. Mia was right. I needed a break. As much as I loved my daughter, and as much as I appreciated everything Mia and Derek did to help me, being a single mum was tough. It’s one thing they didn’t tell me in the prenatal classes. Or maybe they did and I arrogantly thought I’d be the one who was different. The exception to the rule. I wasn’t.
I heard shuffling about next to me and didn’t move a muscle. It was just Zoe and Mia fussing. From the moment we’d come to a halt in the dirt parking lot, we’d all jumped from Derek’s truck and carried our stuff down. And if I thought for a moment hauling a toddler’s crap back and forth was a pain in the ass, then Mia was in a class all on her own. That girl had brought everything but the kitchen sink. The sun was beaming down on us, even in the shade of the old gum tree. I could feel the sweat beading on my skin and trickling down between my boobs, yet for some reason, Mia brought everyone jeans and a jumper. Just in case it turned cold. Hell, right now I was praying for a snow storm.
“Josie!” I heard my name called and couldn’t hide the groan. If they wanted me to come out and relax, well, couldn’t they just leave me alone and let me be? At least for five minutes.
Forcing myself to sit up, I pushed my sunglasses up onto the top of my head and looked around. “Yeah.” It came out uninterested and unenthusiastic.
“Did you grab the cooler from the truck?”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed heavily. Seriously. Could they not see it leaning against the tree? “Yep! It’s over there.” I pointed out where it was and rolled my shoulders. I don’t know why they were aching, but there was a stiffness there I couldn’t shake. I needed a massage and I needed one bad. Too bad in this tiny town that was one thing they were missing. A decent day spa.
“Oh, okay. I think it would be better over here by the table,” Mia fussed.
Ignoring her, I slipped my sunglasses back on and settled back on my towel, grabbing my E-reader from the bag. For twenty minutes I was lost in another world and it was perfect. Everything I needed. Quiet, peaceful, and I was left in peace.
“Holy shit! Where’d all the man candy come from?” Zoe squeaked.
I shouldn’t have. I hated myself for it. I couldn’t help it. I looked up.
Sure enough there was enough man candy on display to give even a diabetic a toothache.
There were eight sweaty guys, well, I guessed it was sweat the way their perfectly sculptured bodies glistened in the sunlight, manoeuvring the boat into the river. All wore board shorts, baseball caps, and sunglasses. And all looked delicious. I felt my already heated body burn. Damn, I hated being like this. Horny and lonely were not a good combination. Especially when there was no hope on the horizon of the itch being scratched. And there was only so much a battery operated boyfriend could do.
“Hey Josie?” Mia called out, forcing my gaze from the bronzed bodies in front of me.
“Yeah?”
Something came flying through the air at me and I reached up and barely caught it. A white cloth napkin. “You need to wipe your mouth. You’re drooling.”
Zoe and Mia fell about in a fit of laughter. Bitches! If they weren’t right, I would have forced myself to come up with some snarky comment, but instead I wiped my face and sucked in a deep breath, willing my pounding heart to slow down.
Unable to stop myself, I took another glace. Well, it was supposed to be a glance, but once my eyes landed on a tanned back with some kind of dark inked tattoo across the wide expanse of shoulders, my gaze seemed stuck. I had no idea who he was or where he’d come from, but damn, he was yummy. My mouth watered at the sight and I no longer cared that Mia and Zoe were sitting right there judging me. Judge away. It wasn’t like I was ever going to do anything about it. But fuck me, I could look even if I couldn’t touch.
“Who’s the new guy?” an annoyingly high pitched voice I didn’t recognise asked, dragging my attention from the deliciousness in the water.
Turning around, I saw we’d been joined by two other women. One looked like Barbie. Her almost white blonde hair looked like it wouldn’t move if gale force winds decided to make an appearance. She had more makeup caked on her face than I owned, and the pink floral sundress she wore barely covered her ass. Her friend was more normal looking in a pair of knee length cargo shorts and tank top, with her red mane pulled back in a high ponytail. At least she looked like she knew where she was going.
“Josie, Zoe, have you met Julia and Payton?”
“No,” I answered, and it came out as a grumble. I wasn’t trying to be rude, it just happened. I hated new people. They were so…so…new.
“Payton is relatively new to town. She’s only been here about six months and owns the bakery. She is a genius when it comes to custard tarts!”
“And you know not to get between Mia and a custard tart!” Payton added.
