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"It's all right," I sighed. "How are you meant to change the subject? Cole basically is this town. That's the whole point. That's why there won't be anything between us. I'm desperate to get away from this town. Except for you, obviously. But you’re almost certainly going to move to New York City one day when your bookstore becomes so successful you have no choice but to open an even bigger one there.”
Lily screwed up her nose. “If my bookstore becomes that successful, I won’t be changing venues. I’ll stick with the winning formula!”
“We’ll see,” I said with a knowing smile. “Anyway, the point of what I’m trying to say is that I will never, ever, in a million years, ever, date Cole McCoy.”
Suddenly, Lily’s eyes widened. Then her cheeks reddened and her face started to contort into a grimace.
“What’s up, Lils? Are you choking? Are you having a fit?”
At that moment, the bell above the door jingled, and I turned around to see the cause of Lily’s funny turn. She had been trying to warn me of something. Someone.
Cole McCoy.
I nearly choked on my iced coffee.
"Hey, Lily," he greeted, approaching the counter. "Two large coffees to go, please. One black, one white."
While Lily prepared his order, Cole glanced my way, an unreadable expression flitting across his face. "Elara. Getting ready for the big meeting?"
"Right. Getting caffeinated!"
Getting caffeinated? That was the best I could manage? That was me acting casual?
"Say, Cole, can I tempt you with a romance novel while you're here?" Lily asked innocently, glancing at me before turning back to him.
"Romance?" Cole scoffed, looking completely uninterested. "Not my scene."
Undeterred, Lily pressed a book into his hands. "Give it a chance! I think you'd like this one."
With a raised eyebrow, Cole took the book. “Small Town Sweethearts,” he said, reading the title. He flipped the gook around. "'Happy ever after guaranteed.' Yeah, right. Sounds more like a comedy than a romance."
"It's actually quite good," Lily insisted as she poured the coffee. "An age-gap love story—older man, younger woman. It's so hot I'm surprised you haven't singed your fingers touching it."
Cole's jaw tightened. "Like I said, not interested, thanks." He handed the book back to her and turned to me. "See you at the bar in a few, Elara?"
"Okey-dokey," I said, aiming for breezy and missing by a mile.
The moment Cole left, Lily pounced. "Did you see the way he looked at you?"
"Yes, like a normal person looking at another normal person, with zero sexual tension whatsoever."
Lily shook her head, chuckling. "You're about as perceptive as a turnip, El."
"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, I need to go meet them at the store."
Lily pulled me in for a quick hug. "Go get 'em, tiger. And try not to say ‘okey-dokey’ too many times, dork!"
I rolled my eyes good-naturedly and headed out, iced coffee in hand.
The morning sun lit up Bluehaven's quaint main street, already dotted with tourists. As I approached Dad's old bar, I spotted Patrick and Cole waiting outside.
Patrick was like a white-haired, slighter version of Cole. He had the same deep brown eyes and tan skin. But where Cole perpetually scowled, Paddy's face was etched with laugh lines.
They both looked up as I approached and for a split second, I could've sworn I saw a flicker of . . . something in Cole's gaze. But it vanished so quickly that I chalked it up to my overactive imagination.
"Elara, sweetheart!" Paddy engulfed me in a bear hug. "Don't you look stunning? How are you holding up?"
I returned his embrace. "I'm all right, considering. It's strange being back, but not all bad."
