I sure hope so.
Sixteen
SMALL-TOWN GUY
Luke
Iwanted to kiss her. If she weren’t a guest—no, if I weren’t a coward—I would have. I would have shown her how much I wanted to feel her against me, to taste her on my lips.
Regardless of what I want, reality settles in.Cut the shit, man. You’ve been here before. You don’t want to do this again, and you know it.
No matter what, I’m here, and she’s going back to the city in just over a week. Liv has a life and her dream career, neither of which is here in Maple Cove.
I run my hands through my hair again and stop to look back. Just one more glance up at the woman who’s slowly tilting my world on its axis. The light from the house bathes her in a golden glow as she walks toward the doors. I’m about to turn and leave again when she stops, one hand on the door handle, and her face turns to mine.
Our eyes lock—a magnetic connection I can’t explain—and she smiles. It’s small and shy, and so fucking beautiful.
Maybe I can allow myself this, just once.
“There’s nothing here for me, Luke.”
“Then I’ll move to the city,” I say, realizing how desperate I must sound. The future I imagined for us is disappearing before my eyes, creating a fissure splitting my heart.
“You’re not a city guy,” Samantha says, running her nails through my hair. “You’re a small-town guy, Luke, and my dreams are bigger than small-town life.”
“I—”
“Look, I’m going to be honest. You don’t fit into the life I want to build for myself anymore. I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.” Samantha kisses my cheek, then climbs into her car.
I watch as she drives away, taking my heart with her as she leaves Maple Cove behind.
No.
I need to keep myself under control. If not for the bed-and-breakfast, then at least for the pieces left of my heart.
Because there’s something about this woman that lights me on fire, and I’m not sure I can handle another burn.
Seventeen
THIS IS WHY I’VE SWORN OFF MEN
Liv
Ican’t remember the last time I slept late.
Likereallyslept.
I roll over and check the time. It’s almost 8:00 a.m.
“Wake up, sleepy-head.”The memory of my mom sitting on my bed, the sunlight streaming in around her, whispers in my mind. “It’s eight in the morning, Sunshine. You must have been sleepy.”
I can almost feel her pushing the hair out of my face. I press my eyes closed against the memory, shoving it back into the corner of my heart where I’ve tucked away those moments. With a shake of my head, I flip the covers off and sit up, looking for Sunny.
He’s sitting by the door, looking up as if watching it will make it magically open. Tail swishing, he looks over at me and then lets out a small meow before turning his gaze back to the door.Well, that’s new.If I didn’t know better, I’d think he wanted to leave the room.
“What are you trying to do here, cat?” I ask because talking to your pets as if they’ll answer is a normal thing to do.
He meows again, tail still swishing. I grab my glasses, pull on a hoodie, and slip on my flip-flops. I need coffee.
