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People watching. Right. Of course.

Get your mind out of the gutter, girl.

Just two blocks from the visitor’s center and the tiny town square that played host to vendors on the weekend, the Stone Haven Inn was one of the oldest hotels in town. Guests like Thomas Edison and Buffalo Bill had stayed there. Its wrought iron balconies always reminded her of the French Quarter, likely because they were designed by a man who’d hailed from New Orleans.

It was a beautiful hotel, but it was a hotel . . .

“Sounds good to me,” she heard herself saying. And it did. They would sit. They would drink. They would talk. But they most certainly wouldn’t do anything else. Even if he asked nicely.

Nodding, he headed toward the stairs, and she remembered how to use her feet just in time to follow him. They ascended to the second floor in silence, and by the time Lawrence slipped his key card into the door, Toni had changed her mind.

She didn’t want to people watch.

She didn’t want to listen to the voice in her head that said this was much too soon after Tyler.

She wanted Lawrence to open that door and pull her inside. She wanted him to tear off every article of clothing on her body, and then allow her to do the same to him.

Instead, he strolled over to a small counter area just above a minifridge, opened his liquor store purchase, and pulled two tumblers toward him. She couldn’t peel her eyes away, especially when he tugged out the cork as if it were nothing more than a small nuisance.

Leave it to the vampire to remove a wine cork with his bare hands.

He poured two glasses of wine—Pinot Noir, her favorite—and handed one to her.

She took it and followed him outside, onto the balcony.

Get a grip, Toni.

Sitting next to him, she looked down at the street. Though it was only Thursday, summer was still prime tourist season in Stone Haven, second only to the Apple Festival in October, when the leaves changed colors and vendors from all over came to pitch their wares.

“Cheers,” Lawrence said, raising his glass. “To better days ahead.”

She lifted up her glass, peering over the edge at her companion. She’d never say it aloud, but he sometimes reminded her of Kenton. Both were natural leaders, even though Lawrence seemed a reluctant one. And yet they both fit this sleepy Pennsylvania town. It was as if they could be at home everywhere.

“I’ll drink to that,” she said finally.

She didn’t know how long they sat there, drinking in companionable silence. All she knew was it felt comfortable. It felt right. In fact, Toni found herself truly relaxing for the first time since the horrific events of the previous weekend.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He had been watching her.

Toni shrugged, not knowing how to answer. Part of her wanted to forget Tyler ever existed, but the other part wondered how she could have been so blinded by him. So willing to overlook what everyone else had seen.

“I just feel like a fool,” she found herself saying. “I mean, no one liked him really.”

Lawrence didn’t dispute that.

“Not my friends, or my aunt and uncle. Yet—”

“He was a part of your life.”

“Yes.” She took a sip. “We met at Murphy’s. We’d only gone out a few times before my parents . . .”

“I understand. You don’t have to finish.”

She smiled, grateful for the out. “He came to the funeral. Helped my aunt prepare the house for out-of-town guests—”

“He was there for you during the most difficult time of your life.”