She looked at the books before looking back at him. “Just browsing.”
The display consisted of popular romance books, several of them being by the same author, Lillian Taylor.
He tipped his head toward the display. “You a fan?”
She tilted her head. “I guess you could say that.”
“Do you read a lot?”
“You could say that.”
Ethan quirked an eyebrow in amusement. “Wow. You’re a brilliant conversationalist.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t realize we were friends.”
“We have to be friends to get to know each other?”
“Do you try to get to know all tourists who are browsing books in the Country Store?”
He shrugged. “Only ones I like.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
He winked. “Have a good evening.”
Ethan went up to the cashier and paid for his beer before walking back to his truck. He could still see Lily through the window of the store, and her eyes met his briefly before darting away. He chuckled to himself, pulled away from the curb, and drove the short distance to his house.
The next morning,Ethan was eager for his day to start. He showed up at the resort an hour earlier than scheduled andwalked into the office. Karen looked up from her computer in surprise.
“Oh, hey, honey. What are you doing here so early?”
He smiled brightly and picked up the enrollment sheet for the hike later that day. “Just wanted to get a start on my day.” He skimmed the sheet quickly before coming across Lily Ryan.
“What’s that look for?”
Ethan looked up. “Huh?”
“That look,” Karen said. “Like a kid in a candy store. See something exciting on that list?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Just happy to have a full group today. It’s going to be nice out.”
Her eyebrow raised. “Uh huh. I see.”
His eyebrow matched her own, and he leaned forward. “What, Mama?”
“Ethan, I know you’re my happy child and things just don’t get you down like they do the others, but you’re even happier than normal.” She gave him a meaningful look. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
He chuckled. “Nope.”
“Hmm… okay.” She turned back to the computer.
Ethan bounced his leg in place as he looked through all the events going on for the next few days. Lily’s name was on all of them. Excitement spiked through him. He wanted to get to know her. Something about her intrigued him.
Most people who came to Wintervale were on vacation and excitement radiated off them. They were there for an adventure and were looking forward to anything thrown their way. But Lily was the complete opposite. With a frown marring her face and from the conversation he overheard at the bar, she clearly wasn’t there just for fun.
A minute later, he could feel his mom’s eyes on him, and he looked up. “What?”
“Ethan, honey, I love you to death, but your leg bouncing is annoying me. Please leave.”
