“Perfect.” Liv leaned her back against the counter and smiled softly. “I’m glad you’re here. You’re going to love it.”
Dancing around the room, Fern opened the windows on both walls, letting a warm cross breeze through the screens. “I hope so. It seems like my speed, more than the city. But Liv, there’s no pizza place.”
“I know, but Beauchamp’s has it, and we all cook. Pizzalessness aside, it’s great here. It’s blissful.” Liv’s soft brown hands cupped her still-flat stomach as she smiled down at her unborn child.
“I’ll take a little of that bliss, please.” She grinned until Olivia eventually looked up and met her smile with a dazed one of her own. “What do Iactuallyneed to know, Liv? I know the shop downstairs will feed me—no free books, right?”
“No free books. You’ll have to buy those.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I know the salon’s next door. I know you work right there.” Pointing out the windows by the living area, she identified the schoolhouse where Liv taught all twelve of the town’s kids. “But what else should I know? Who do I need to meet? Where should I go?”
Liv grinned. “You know what you need to. There are two hundred and fifty people here, that’s it. It’s not a huge place. You’ll learn your wayaround. You’ve met Able, Fitz, and Noa, our closest friends. You’ve met Anita and Dave, your landlords, they’ll take care of you. You’ll meet Ros and Bruce tomorrow—at least Ros—at the salon. You’re going to be just fine.”
“Okay. If the good people will find me, who and what do I need to avoid?”
“Nothing, just enjoy the town. I’m sureeveryoneknows you’re here by this point. They’ll all want to meet the newcomer."
Fern checked the time. “I’ve been here less than three hours.”
“Oh, they definitely know you’re here. You can expect a lot of haircuts this week, probably an inordinate number of blowouts for those who don’t need a trim.”
Chuckling, she shoved her pants into an unhoused drawer, then slotted the drawer into her dresser—a pain in the ass, and she should’ve done it the opposite way around.
They chatted a while longer about mundane shit, like how to get to the grocery store, before Ben swung back to pick up Liv, and Fern was left alone in her new home for the first time. The sounds of the late-July night wafted in: crickets and other noisy insects, a distant howl—coyotes probably—and children’s laughter from somewhere far off. There were no car horns, no squealing brakes, no swearing pedestrians, justpeace, tranquility, and slow living.
Her mom would hate it here. But if Fernwasabout to bring in as many customers as Liv expected, Mom would have to swallow her judgment of Fern for “moving away from opportunity.”
Thank god she’d met Ren and Liv during her year and a half in college. Without their friendship over the past decade, her mom surely would’ve driven her to move a lot farther than six hours away.
She and Olivia were roommates freshman year, with Ren right across the hall. Both Liv and Ren majored in education and went on to become teachers. Fern started as an accounting major, switched to business, hated itall, and dropped out to pursue her cosmetology license. She’d hidden the dropping out from her mom for a solid year and a half, but got caught the summer after what should’ve been her junior year.
Then ten years ticked by, full of quiet, sometimes not so quiet, judgment from Mom, judgment from salon owners from whom she rented chairs, judgment from more successful friends, from partners who thought her work was less-than because it didn’t involve business casual and a veneered desk. Her last role at A Cut Above came with one too many sexist comments from the male owner. When she was denied the opportunity to add mani/pedi work to her repertoire, Fern knew it was time to move on.
Olivia and Renataneverjudged her for her choices—or if they did, they didn’t tell her. Since Ren was staying in the city with her soon-to-be husband, when Fern needed to refresh her life, she figured she’d go where Liv had already tested the waters and found them perfect for diving in.
So, here she was. Sure, she’d stubbed her toe the minute she leapt… but it wasn’t too painful, just strange. Elliott was standoffish, but he wasn’t that bad, just a sharp pebble, not a big stone. Maybe she could give him another shot, like Liv suggested.
On second thought, maybe she wouldn’t give him another chance. She didn’t need her feelings hurt any more.
Sighing, Fern reminded herself that it didn’t matter either way. Hewasn’tgoing to put a damper on her move.
She was here to focus on herself, on finding a pacesheliked to live at in a place where she wanted to settle. This was her time—not time to give to some stranger who growled at her—even if he did check to make sure she made it to her new home safely.
With a huff and a shake of her head, she put him firmly out of her thoughts and set off on a mission to find her books within the boxes. Organizing them always cleared her mind.
4
Elliott runs an errand.
OnSaturday,Elliottwokeand stretched with a double roar: his bear’s was frustrated, emanating from deep in his chest; his was the sleepy sort, the groan of a man who wanted to head back to dreaming where he’d been having thebesttime.
His creative mind was impressive, tossing him multiple alternative scenarios for how meeting Fern could have gone better. In one, he invited her in for dinner, made a delightful bolognaise, then fucked her on the dining room table.
Twitching, his cock made itself known, and he grabbed for it.
In another dream, he’d demanded she get out of the car and give him a hug for a proper first meeting. Even sleep-him wanted to override Adam’s scent clinging to her suntanned ivory skin. A hug with dream-Fern turned into a kiss, which turned into him clawing off her little shorts and tossing her on the roof of her car to devour her right there at the end of his driveway.
Groaning, Elliott tightened his grip, twisting and squeezing the head of his cock as he imagined his thoughts were reality.
