Everyone glanced around to identify the person who’d called out. People moved aside to let a small, noticeably pregnant woman in a sundress through to Roy, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the back of a very familiar head.
No, it couldn’t be.
I swallowed hard and tried to get a better look, but the crowd was still moving, and I lost sight of the person. I blinked. A full-body shudder rolled over me. There was no way my ex, Josh the Jerk, would be in Ravenstone for a beer festival of all things.
He hated small towns. He hated beer. He hated festivals.
I exhaled roughly and let the shock of my almost-Josh-sighting drop away. Yeah. He would never come here. It wassilly how much that’d startled me. What a ridiculous thing to imagine.
All the texts Josh had been sending me were obviously messing with my head. I thought about blocking him every day, except my name was on the apartment rental agreement, the insurance, and the car registration. Most of that had been changed over now, but there was still the apartment. Until that was resolved, I figured I was stuck with him on my phone.
That didn’t mean I had to read his texts when they turned flirty or whiny or cajoling. Man, I couldn’t wait for the day I could delete Josh and leave him in my past where he belonged. Soon. But for now, I was stuck.
Honestly, his texts were getting out of control. I’d stopped showing them to Gideon because they just pissed him off. At least I knew I’d never have to worry about things like that with Gideon. Just the idea of Josh’s assholery made him all growly and scowly.
“Hey, are you okay?” Gideon squeezed my hand. Because, of course, he’d noticed something was going on with me.
I nodded. “Of course.”
He studied me for a moment before pressing a kiss to my temple. “If you want to talk about anything, let me know.”
“I know.” My chest warmed at his concern, but I didn’t think confiding in how I’d imagined my ex here would be helpful to either of us.
While preoccupied with my past, the younger woman who’d called for Roy had made her way to him. He picked her up and swung her around as if he was a teenager instead of a man in his fifties. She giggled and held her sunhat to her head so it didn’t fall off. Her sundress fluttered around them.
“Did you see, darlin’? I won,” Roy said. “Me! I even beat Ivan. Can you believe it?”
“Of course you did,” she said. “I told you you had nothing to worry about.”
“I love you, Nadia,” Roy said, pressing a kiss to the woman’s glossy pink lips. “None of this would’ve been possible with you.”
She fluttered her eyelashes at him but didn’t deny it. She tapped him on the shoulder. “Now, put me down. I have someone you need to meet.”
“Uh… Roy? We need to talk, remember?” Mr. Average said, rubbing the back of his neck and shuffling his feet.
Roy glanced at the man as he lowered his girlfriend to the ground. She entwined her fingers with Roy’s and tugged him gently away from everyone. “I need to get back to the tent, love… Flash and I, we have to–”
“No.” She stomped her high-heeled foot. “Not now. Fletcher can wait. Today is our day.” She brushed her hand over her massive baby bump, and Roy’s eyes tracked the movement. His eyes went soft with obvious affection, and he nodded quickly.
“You’re right, babe,” Roy agreed.
“Besides, Caesar can handle things at the tent,” Nadia said. “That’s why we hired him, remember?” She didn’t acknowledge anyone else who was standing around them. “Now, come along. I met Siobhan Thomson from Kettlebrook while we were waiting in line for the loo, and she wants to meet you.”
Loo. What a strange word choice when the woman clearly wasn’t British. And who talked to someone when they were waiting to use the bathroom? Women were bizarre.
“She wants to talk? I didn’t think the rep wanted to meet until tomorrow…” Roy smoothed his shirt over his stomach and patted his thick hair, as if checking it was still where it should be. He shook out his first-prize ribbon, which had gotten creased in the few minutes since he’d received it.
“Roy… we really need to…” Fletcher–aka Flash, I guessed–tried to catch his friend’s attention, but Nadia had commandeered him already.
“She’s excited about your win, of course,” Nadia said, pointedly ignoring Roy’s friend. “Now, come along. We don’t have a lot of time to talk to her before your interview.”
“My interview?” He sounded bewildered.
Nadia rolled her eyes. “Of course. Don’t you remember your schedule for today?”
“Right. Of course.” Roy flushed. “My interview with that guy, right? For the video?”
As Nadia dragged Roy away, well-wishers shouted congratulations to him. With each handshake or bit of admiration he received, his gait loosened until he was strutting through everyone like a proud rooster. Nadia hung off his arm, giggling and gushing as if the praise was meant for her, not Roy. By the time they found the Kettlebrook rep, I’d bet it’d be like the confrontation with Beckett had never happened. Fletcher trailed after them, although with the way Nadia scowled at him over her shoulder, I didn’t think she’d tolerate his presence for long.
