The description was the opposite of the man Suzy had gotten to know, but she kept that information to herself.
“If someone he knows and trusts would soften him up,” Chrissy continued. “Maybe he’d be more receptive to meeting me. Maybe having dinner or something. Then I’ll head back home and leave him alone for good.”
Crumbles of doubt peppered in with the pity she hated feeling for this woman. She hated to think Chrissy would tell such exaggerated lies, but the story she told made Duke look like a complete stranger.
But then again, how well did she really know him? They’d chatted, flirted a little here and there, but he never talked about himself. Never shared personal details about who he was before arriving in Hillmore. Hell, even Lane admitted he had no idea why Duke had left the rodeo circuit and showed up on his doorstep.
No one knew what Duke was running from, but Chrissy had planted a seed of doubt about whether he was the victim or the villain.
“Oh my God, I’m starving!”Heather pressed her hands to her stomach to as she walked beside him on the sidewalk.
He checked his watch as he bypassed a duo of workers hauling lumber to the grassy patch in the middle of the town square. “Yeah, I’ve heard you complain about it all morning.”
“Well, come on. Who doesn’t at least have cereal in the house?”
“I did have cereal. It just wasn’t the kind you like.” He couldn’t control the hard bite in his words. Sleep had come in small bursts the night before. Closing his eyes either brought back anger at the fire, irritation at knowing Chrissy was nearby, or longing to have Suzy next to him.
“You had crap, old man stuff, and the milk in your fridge was spoiled. Now stop being so grumpy.”
Only Heather would wake up cheerful after dealing with such a shitshow the day before. He’d rather stew, stay in the ick for a little bit longer.
He smiled at the thought. Suzy had a way of making him look at life that he liked. She made him happy, and damn it, he was tired of pretending he didn’t want more than friendship with her. Besides, they were two adults. Lane shouldn’t be too bent out of shape if he asked Suzy out. It’s not like he was some asshole trying to find a quick lay. He wanted to settle down, see what could grow between the two of them.
“See,” Heather said. “A smile goes a long way. And you’re so much more handsome when you don’t scowl.”
Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the metal handle for the Cozy Crumb. Warm air rushed out to greet him, and he hurried to step in behind Heather.
Heather clasped her hands together and anchored them under her chin. “This place is adorable. What’s good?”
“I’ve never had anything that wasn’t delicious. Order whatever you want, and maybe I’ll grab some extras to take into work.” There might not be chocolate covered peanuts here, but anything else dipped in sugar would be a hit. Suzy’s sweet tooth was a secret to no one.
A flash of dark hair caught his attention at a table in the corner, and his stomach muscles tightened. Man, he must have it bad. Now everyone he saw reminded him of the one woman he couldn’t get off his mind.
The woman leaned to the side and revealed Chrissy sitting across from her. He worked his jaw back and forth as her eyes connected with his moments before the woman at her table turned his way.
Suzy.
What the actual hell?
“Is that….” Heather’s voice trailed off as she lifted a finger toward the table.
Suzy’s eyes went wide, and she shot to her feet. She waved, an expression he couldn’t quite read pinching her face.
Storming over, his cowboy boots beat against the wood floor. Ignoring Chrissy and her Cheshire cat grin, he kept his attention fixed squarely on the only woman who mattered to him. “What’s going on?”
Red colored Suzy’s cheeks. “I stopped in to grab food on my way to work and Chrissy overheard me talking to Millie about you.”
He arched one brow, curious as to why his name came up in conversation with the bakery owner, but that wasn’t important right now. “So you sat down and ate doughnuts with her?”
She winced, scrunching her nose in the most adorable way possible. “She asked to speak with me.”
“Hello,” Chrissy said, drawing the word into four syllables and waving her hand through the air. “What’s the problem, Duke? You won’t talk to me so no one else in this town’s allowed either?”
Heather hooked an arm through the crook of Duke’s elbow and rested a palm on his bicep. “Chrissy, what are you doing? Even you have to admit this is a little strange. To show up out of nowhere and now you’re talking to Duke’s co-worker?”
Shoving to her feet, Chrissy anchored her fists on her hips. “So what? Now you think I’m up to no good, too? No matter where things stood between me and Duke, you and I were alwayson good terms. It’s not fair that I have to lose both of you. And Suzy was just being nice to someone who was upset and needed a friend. No big conspiracy going on here.”
In his peripheral vision, Suzy dropped her gaze to the floor and his heart sunk. Something was off, some kind of damage done that had her energy in a weird place. He’d get to the bottom of it, but first he needed to deal with Chrissy.
