Reg laughs.
“Buddy,” he says, “if that woman didn’t like you, she wouldn’t be this mad you walked away. Now, go get her, Tiger!”
I snarl.
He yelps.
Then I sigh.
Maybe he’s right.
Maybe Hadley does like me.
My Tiger purrs.
Okay, yeah.
Reg might actually be right.
And if Hadley thinks blocking my number, dodging my texts, and hiding behind a counter full of cookie dough waffle cones is enough to keep me away?
Well then, all I can say is my little Cookie is about to learn something important.
Tigers don’t quit the hunt.
Especially when Fate already picked the prey.
Chapter 9
Hadley
Moving from NYC to Maverick Point has been really good for me.
Like, surprisingly, really, really good.
I didn’t realize how much I needed a reset until I actually took one. Back in the city everything felt loud and crowded and heavy—like I was constantly bracing for something.
Here? The air is cleaner, the pace is slower, and people actually look at you when they talk instead of staring through you.
And the best part?
This place still feels like home.
I spent so many summers here with Aunt Agatha—running barefoot down the boardwalk, sneaking extra scoops from her shop when she wasn’t looking, falling asleep to the sound of the wind through open windows.
Coming back after years away?
It’s like slipping into a memory that somehow kept going without me.
Only now it’s mine.
Agatha’s Ice Cream.
My shop.
My life.
My fresh start.
