“What? Really? Everyone else is on board. What’s his problem?”
“He’s your BFF, you’re going to have to do the digging.”
“He’s not my BFF. You’re my BFF.”
“C’mon, Summer. You guys were insta-besties. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
And she’s not wrong. I can’t believe it only happened a few weeks ago, but the second I saw Eli in the bar and asked him if he’d seen my friend who hadn’t called me back after getting into car trouble just outside Lit Creek, he went into emergency responder mode. Which, in hindsight makes sense, with him being a firefighter and all. That gesture, and the rest of the evening bonded us tightly. I hung out all night with him and his friends as if we’d known each other forever. He could look at me and I’d know what he was thinking. We had multiple inside jokes before the night was over. Including one about him hunting Big Foot.
Since then, I’ve seen him or spoken to him every day. I hadn’t planned to stay in Lit Creek this long. Originally I had just come to check on Piper, but when I saw how cute the town was I decided not to head home yet. It was fun hanging out with Piper in a new place.
“Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up because for some reason I think you’ve got blinders on for this calendar thing.”
“I wouldn’t call them blinders. I just wanna do something for this town. Make friends. Help out with the whole Hockey Academy fundraising they’re all doing.”
“I know.” She places a hand on mine. “You’re amazing like that. Everyone needs a friend like you.”
“I wouldn’t go that far—”
“You should.”
“You’re the best, Piper.”
She flips her hair over her shoulder and winks at me. “I know. It’s why we’re besties.” Her eyes settle from her playfulness when she asks, “Does this have anything to do with you wanting to stay in Lit Creek long term?”
“Yes, of course. I just want everyone to like me. If I can do a really good job of this calendar it’ll show them that I’m committed to the town.”
“They’ll love you regardless.”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely. So are you gonna talk to him?”
“Ya. I’ll talk to him.”
“How are you gonna convince him?” She winks. “Offer benefits? Swap favors?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Seriously? When are you going to make a move?”
“I’m not. Ever.”
“What?” The slap of her hand on the small table combined with her screech draws a lot of attention. To which I give a tight smile.
Through gritted teeth, I say, “It’s not like that.”
“But he’s so hot.”
“Aren’t you with Hunter?”
“Happily. But didn’tyoujust take that shirtless picture of Eli on the beach recently?”
I nibble on my bottom lip. I did do that. And I did just spend the morning ogling that very picture. It’s imprinted on my brain. Broad shoulders, corded biceps. Rippling muscles. Gah! He’s a specimen I’d love to shoot. And I’m still not sure why I did take that unsolicited shot on the beach. I’m also not sure why I keep finding myself ogling it. Daily. I mean, of course I’m analyzing it for its amazing composition. The framing. The lighting. And all that.
“It was practice. For the calendar.”
“Sure. Well, maybe you can use it as blackmail. Apparently he’s super modest.”
