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Alesha smiled back. “That’s me.”

“Hi, I’m Joanne.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

When Alesha didn’t say anything else, Joanne added, “I also played Mrs. Claus in the Christmas parade.”

Oh.

Oh!

“And your father and I…”

“Are dating,” Alesha finished quickly, flushing. “Right. Hi. He told me about you.”

Joanne settled into a chair as if she planned to stay a while. “Your father’s really enjoyed having you here. I’d love for the four of us to have dinner sometime. Reece Barrett’s a wonderful man.”

Alesha smiled politely—until Joanne continued.

“A lot of women in town are disappointed that you’re the one he’s with.”

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“Reece is Harbortown’s most eligible bachelor,” Joanne said matter-of-factly. “Surely you knew that.”

“Um…no.”

“Oh, it’s true. I was just at the nail salon. Trust me, there’s plenty of chatter about it.”

“I didn’t even realize people knew we were dating…”

Joanne laughed. “Sweetie, this is a small town. Everyone knows everything. You were together at the parade, all the holiday events, the Festival of Lights, and you stayed at the resort afterwards.”

Groaning, she said, “Please tell me you heard that from my dad.”

“Afraid not. My friend Carol saw you at the parade, my cousin spotted you at the resort, and my hairdresser lives across from Reece. She sees you there all the time.”

Alesha covered her face. “Oh my God…”

“Don’t let it bother you,” Joanne said kindly. “It’s part of small-town life. And for what it’s worth, everyone thinks you’re lovely.”

“Except the ones who hate me for dating Reece.”

“Hate is a strong word…”

Before she could say more, Joanne’s phone rang. “Oh! Forgive me, but I need to take this. It was lovely meeting you, Alesha. We’ll plan that dinner!”

Alesha waited until she disappeared downstairs before letting out a long breath.

So this was small-town life.

And for the first time, she kind of hated it.

Later that night, after dinner and a movie, Alesha sat quietly beside Reece in his truck as they pulled into his driveway. The conversation with Joanne replayed over and over in her head.

She didn’t say anything until they were inside.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to spend the night.”