Lucy was still talking to her friends. The dark-haired alpha had a casual arm slung around Olive’s shoulder, making my insides burn with white-hot jealousy—not because I wanted the lighthouse keeper, but because I wanted that easy intimacy she shared with her mate.
I stayed at the window until Lucy’s friends left. She lingered outside her shop, an unreadable expression on her face, before disappearing inside.
In another life, I’d bring her coffee. Wrap her in my arms.
But that wasn’t my life.
I took a bitter sip of coffee and returned to the firehouse.
26
Lucy
HoroscopePisces
Pisces, the universe wants you to know that stealing golf carts is strictly prohibited by town ordinance 72.3, subsection V, under the vehicular code of Starlight Grove, which carries a sentence of up to three hundred hours of community service. The stars are watching.
The tassels of my silverdress brushed against my thighs and my sequined cowboy boots clicked against the sidewalk as I crossed the dark parking lot to the post office, or rather, to the secret karaoke bar in the post office basement.
Our mailman, Salvatore, had proposed starting this karaoke bar several months ago at a town meeting. Stanley had immediately shut down the idea, saying that a karaoke bar violated no fewer than thirty-seven town ordinances. To no one’s surprise, the karaoke bar had still opened, in full defiance of our human mayor. The real twist was which townsperson had secretly pushed through the appropriate paperwork: Harry O’Sullivan, Stanley’s husband. Not only that, according to Summer, Harry had even given Sal the seed money he needed to open the bar.
Right now, the bar only opened a couple times a month. A few days before karaoke night, we would all get a pink flyer advertising a gutter maintenance service, and the date and time of the next karaoke night was revealed in Gutter George’s phone number. The subterfuge made it all the more thrilling, and for the first time, we didn’t have to drive to Briar’s Landing or Maple Grove for late-night entertainment.
It was usually a highlight of my week—a time to let loose and hang out with my friends—but tonight, I was dreading it. And not because Easton had insisted tonight’s theme should beA Good Old-Fashioned Country Throw Down, but because my friends had been trying to pin me down and make me spill everything that had happened the past few days. When I’d turned down their offer to meet for lunch today with the excuse that I was behind on custom orders, there were many threats of kidnapping if I didn’t tell them everything at karaoke.
I wanted to talk to them, to get their thoughts on everything, but I’d held back because I was embarrassed. I’d been rejected by two alphas back-to-back, and while Leo hadn’t rejected me, part of me was scared I’d jinx our relationship if I said out loud how happy I was.
I pushed the basement door open, revealing a large space with an eclectic blend of vintage armchairs, couches, and coffee tables facing the small stage at the front. Dozens of disco balls hung from the ceiling, casting a glittering glow on the room, and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” blasted from the speakers.
I turned toward the bar but stopped with a startled shriek. Olive and Felix blocked my way with matching stern expressions.
“Hello,” I said brightly. “You two look cute.” They were wearing matching cowboy hats, and Felix wore a belt with a large western buckle around his waist.
Olive wagged her finger. “Don’t even try to distract me.”
I scratched Felix under his chin and grinned. “I might be convinced to tell you everything if I get a drink or three in my system.”
“That can definitely be arranged.”
Olive adjusted her hold on Felix and linked arms with me. James was leaning against the bar, which meant Ivy must be close by. He waved when he saw us, but his smile transformed into a frown when he spotted Felix.
“Have you two been feeding him people food?” the vet asked, crossing his arms.
Images of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I’d given him for lunch cha-cha’d through my mind.
Olive and I shook our heads.
“We would never do that,” she said.
“We were at the presentation,” I added. “The cat food versus people food one.”
James narrowed his eyes, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. He made anI’m watching yougesture before grabbing the drinks Salvatore set down on the bar.
Once James was out of sight, I crouched down slightly to look Felix in the eye. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Who are you in trouble with?”
I spun around to see Ivy leaning against the bar where her man had just been.
