Page 72 of The Lumberjack and the City Slicker

“Oh my God,” I breathe.

Willow beams. “Eat.”

I pick it up and take one bite.

And I actually moan.

Loudly.

In public.

I freeze mid-chew, eyes widening, but Willow just laughs like she’s delighted.

“Oh my God,” I say again around the mouthful. “This is amazing.”

Willow preens. “Thank you. Thatcher says food is my love language.”

I take another bite and feel my whole body unclench for the first time since the storm.

Warm food, safe space, a woman across from me who looks at me like I’m not being evaluated.

“Okay,” I say after I swallow. “How did you end up here? You don’t exactly give ‘accidentally wandered into rural Maine’ vibes.”

Willow’s grin softens. She leans back, fingers lacing over her belly.

“It really was by accident,” she says lightly.

Then she sighs, and the lightness shifts into something more honest.

“Really. I left a bad situation and found myself in Woodhaven kind of by mistake.”

My eyes narrow. “By mistake? Really?”

Willow nods.

“Yep. Wrong guy. Wrong turn. Bad weather. Long story. I didn’t know anything about this place. I didn’t even know it existed.”

She glances out the window, smile turning a little dreamy.

“But I swear… it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Something warm and painful stirs in my chest.

I grin back because I can’t help it.

“I get that,” I say quietly. “Sometimes the worst days lead you somewhere better.”

Willow studies me for a beat—too perceptive. Too kind.

“Okay,” she says slowly. “Now your turn. How did you end up on Greyson’s mountain in a thunderstorm, Clara Belle?”

My stomach flips at the sound of his name.

I take another bite like I can chew around the truth.

“Well,” I start carefully. “-I just left my apartment. Walked out on the wrong man?—”

“Wrong man?”