Even her father looked up again.
Because everybody in this family remembered Blaze.
The boy who practically lived at their house growing up. The teenager who fixed things without being asked. The young man who carried groceries for her mother and sat on the porch talking football, cars, and future plans with her father for hours.
Blaze hadn’t simply been Johanna’s boyfriend once. He’d been part of their lives.
Losing him hurt everybody.
Her father folded the newspaper carefully. “That boy sure did love you.”
Johanna’s throat tightened unexpectedly.
“He still does,” Paige said quietly.
Johanna looked at her sharply. “How would you know?”
The twenty-two-year-old gave her an unimpressed look. “Please. That man hasn't dated anybody in the four months since he came back to Sheraton Beach. Trust me, my friends tried and got rejected. Blaze is emotionally unavailable to every woman in town except you.”
Their mother nodded once in agreement.
Wonderful.
Apparently the entire town knew Blaze still loved her except her.
Johanna reached for the maple syrup. “It doesn’t matter.”
Her mother lifted one eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t it?”
“Because history doesn’t magically disappear because somebody kisses you under moonlight.”
Paige clutched her chest dramatically. “Under moonlight?”
Johanna groaned loudly.
Their father laughed into his coffee while her mother reached across the table and squeezed Johanna’s hand gently.
“Honey,” she said softly, “sometimes fear keeps people lonely longer than heartbreak ever could.”
And that… that was exactly what Johanna had been wrestling with since last night.
Comfort versus loneliness.
Safety versus love.
Before she could respond, her phone buzzed on the table.
The entire family looked down at it simultaneously.
Johanna narrowed her eyes suspiciously before picking it up.
Blaze.
Her pulse instantly misbehaved.
Paige saw his name and lost every ounce of self-control.
“Oh my God, answer it!”
