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I sigh, glancing around the bar as I wait. It’s fairly empty. A few couples, some locals, and a handful of people I don’t recognize—tourists I suspect. The bar’s usually full of them but locals willing to brave the crowds of them are welcomed with great food and special discounts for residents. And the rustic interior and cozy atmosphere makes for a good place to relax for a while.
But for some reason, I can’t relax. Adrenaline surges through my veins as anxiety rises. Heart palpitations. Rapid breathing. Clammy hands. What’s going on with me?
I grab hold of the bar stool next to me, gripping it as I try to calm my nerves.
“Are you alright?” Erik asks me, but his voice sounds strange. Like I’m underwater, drowning. I might as well be.
I glance at him, making a raspy plea for water before turning my head, wiping my brow, and then rubbing my eyes. When my vision focuses again, I see the cause of my affliction. And the cure.
She enters the room like a soft summer breeze, washing over me and soothing every ailment in my body.
Stunning. Gorgeous. Like no woman I’ve ever seen. So radiant that I think I’ve been graced by the presence of an angel. I refuse to blink lest this miracle disappear as swiftly as she entered.
My breath is shallow. I swallow hard. I damn near turn the back of the bar stool into splinters as I watch this miracle sit down at the other end of the bar.
“Fuuuuck,” I croak as something else surges inside me. Possessiveness like I’ve never felt before. A primal urge. An indescribable feeling that is quickly taking over me.
I have to blink. I need to blink. I finally blink and when I open my eyes again, she’s still there but men are already circling.
Fuck that. She’s mine.
Chapter 2
Mia
My skin prickles the moment I enter the bar. I blame it on the cold air covering my flushed skin. It’s unseasonably warm for April in Whispering Winds. I think. The weather’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the small town I left over a decade ago.
That would be Wyatt Hartwell.
I slide into a chair in front of the bar and exhale harshly. My palms soak in the coolness of the polished wood as my heartbeat ramps up. Goosebumps flare as a spark of something races down my back.
Just thinking his name sends my body into overdrive and my mind racing, dusting off old memories. Memories I should keep buried. Memories of the only man I ever pined for, and the one I could never have for far too many reasons.
“Evening, Mia. What can I get you?” Erik asks, his melodic voice jerking me from my reverie.
With a handlebar mustache, trendy apron, tattoos galore, and thick glasses, Erik reminds me less of a small-town bartender and more like the kind of person who’d refer to themselves as a mixologist.
“Water, please.” My tongue scrapes against my mouth like sandpaper.
“You’ve got it,” he says, wiping a glass with a white rag.
My lips flutter as I exhale a deep breath. I thought I’d addressed my childhood crush by crushing it. Pulverizing it and spreading the dusty ashes around my subconscious. I hadn’t thought of Wyatt for years. Hadn’t seen him for longer than that. But as soon as I crossed Whispering Winds’ city limits, I blinked and I saw him in my mind’s eye. I felt him. I’ve been here nearly a week and the feeling has never been stronger.
Erik returns with my water, and I can’t drink it fast enough.
He snorts, arms akimbo as he watches me. “Another?”
“Please,” I say, sliding the glass toward him.
He grabs it, filling it up as I glance around the bar. It’s not large, but it feels huge because the ceiling is expansive. Large timbers span across the length of the room and large gunmetal fans swirl, moving much needed cool air in my direction.
“Anything other than water?”
I take another long sip and then shake my head. “No, thanks.”
I’m not much of a drinker. I learned early on that I’m a lightweight, and the hangover was never worth it, so I’ve never been one for the bar scene. I’d much rather stay home and work on new baking recipes, which hasn’t exactly been great for my love life. But that’s okay. I love what I do, and I’m in awe that I get paid for it.
Well, until the restaurant closed down and I had to move back here because rent was astronomical. The part-time job at the Inn is great for now, but I need something more.
