AllFreeNovel
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“Christopher Jacobs, the writer! Your last book was so riveting, I read it all in one day!”
He blushed and stood, holding one strong hand out to me. “Thanks for saying so. Nice to meet you Shannon.”
I looked over at the woman at his side who wore an affectionate grin and gasped. “You’re the inspector, right? From the book?”
“No,” she said with an insistent shake of her head.
“Yes,” Chris said along with the rest of the table, who laughed at Tara’s embarrassment.
“Let’s agree to disagree for now,” Eva said and finished introductions. “The pregnant blond is Joss and that’s her husband, Ben who is also the high school principal. At the grill is Liam, and here comes Olive, who you already know.” She came into the bakery often with her baby and we’d gotten to know each other a little over the past few weeks.
Olive waddled towards the table with a platter in her hand that Mara rushed to take from her. “I’m only taking this from you because I smell spicy sausages.”
I didn’t believe her, and it appeared Olive didn’t either. “Whatever you say, Mara, I’m just grateful to take a load off.”
“I tried to tell her to take it easy, but she’s stubborn as hell.” A handsome blond with wide shoulders and giant biceps stopped beside Olive and flashed a smile that was equal parts devil and boy-next-door. “Serves Liam right.”
Olive pushed the man away with an affectionate smile and turned to me. “Don’t mind Miles, he used to be a SEAL like my husband, and also thinks women can’t do anything when they’re pregnant.”
“Nonsense,” Miles said and wrapped an arm around her. “I think you can do plenty, but why should you when there’s all this beefcake around to assist you?”
Miles. He was hot and big and flirtatious. Just my type. “He does make an excellent point. You can sit back and enjoy the view.”
“You’ve done it now,” Mara said in a loud, sing-song voice, as she made her way towards the house. “I warned you!”
I didn’t know what she was talking about, I was entirely too aware of Miles, he’d appeared at my side with a devilish grin. “You enjoying the view then, Red?”
“Red?” I rolled my eyes. “Original. Blondie.” Miles was good looking and entirely too confident, which meant he was probably a player, and I’d had my fill of those. Really, I’d had my fill of most men. Not that I was here to find a man, I wasn’t. I was here for business. Just for business.
Instead of being offended, he tossed his head back and laughed and the sound was nice. Really nice. It was deep and rumbly, and it made me want to join in. “I’m only calling you Red because I don’t know your name.”
“Shannon. My name is Shannon.”
He stuck out his big hand and I took it, ignoring the frisson of awareness that shot through me as our palms touched. “It’s nice to meet you, Shannon. And not just because you’re beautiful.” He leaned in with a mischievous smirk. “I was starting to get a complex about being the only single person at this barbecue.”
“I noticed,” I whispered back, suddenly feeling less like a loser surrounded by the couples in love, moving forward with their lives. Like adults. “How do you know I’m single?”
“Because knowing who’s single in town is our business.” A curvy blonde appeared out of nowhere in a red dress and white cardigan, looking feminine and sweet. “Sophie Worthington, co-owner of Time for Love, the resident matchmaking service.”
“Shannon.”
“Shannon Brinkley and Miles Anderson. New to town. Both single.”
Olive groaned. “Give them a break today, please Soph.”
I glanced up at Miles who had visibly paled. “Is she for real?”
“Afraid so. Just follow my lead,” he whispered and took a step away from me. “This is my cousin, from,” his gaze bounced around the backyard as he searched for an answer. “Alabama. Shannon, the cousin, from Alabama.”
The men snickered, but Sophie only shook her head. “Nice try, Miles. You get today off, but just remember that I’ve already seen the sparks.” Without another word, Sophie turned in her ballet flats and rushed inside, muttering something about double chocolate fudge brownies.
“She’s pregnant and Mara’s brownies are her drug of choice.”
I looked up at Miles who was now close to me again, and smelling good. “You seem to know all the gossip for a newcomer.”
“I’ve been here for a few months and they still call me a newbie, though it might change now that you’re here.” Miles put a hand to my back and guided me towards the end of the table. “I’ll catch you up on all the town gossip while you tell me a little bit about yourself, Shannon.”
I took the seat he pulled out for me and smiled. Miles was a gentleman, and he knew how to flirt, which we did outrageously for the rest of the afternoon. By the time I left the barbecue, I had fallen in bit more in love with the town of Pilgrim. And with Miles around, things might not be quite so lonely after all.
