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“Oh, I like you.” Her smile widened. “Are you staying long?”
“I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “Piper’s helping me with some research for my next book, but I’m pretty comfortable here. I might stay awhile.”
“Fantastic. Well, let me welcome you to town with your first drink on the house. What’ll it be?”
“Don’t argue,” Piper said quickly. “I saw the look on your face. You won’t win.”
I laughed, scratching my ear. “Okay, fine. That’s very kind of you. I’ll have a Budweiser.”
“Piper?”
“Pink gin and tonic,” she replied. “Not too strong, I have to handle the tourists tomorrow.”
“Ooh. Done. I’ll have one of the girls bring them over to you.”
“Thank you.” Piper smiled and pushed me toward the table.
“Aren’t you paying for yours?”
She shook her head. “Stick around long enough and you’ll learn that your first Friday night drink is always on Jasmine. I tried getting lemonade when I realized that and she laughed me out of the bar and stuck gin in it to teach me a lesson.” She shrugged. “She’s kind of like a surrogate mom to all of us. Tori’s mom is a deadbeat, Colton and Kinsley’s parents don’t live in White Peak anymore, neither do Saylor’s, she’s London’s aunt anyway, and Dylan and Oliver are English so they don’t have their parents here either. Oh, Seb’s parents are nearby, but they’re a bit snobbish,” she added.
“Wow. That’s a lot of people.”
“Yeah,” Piper said slowly. “Okay, I need to connect everyone up for you. It’s like a puzzle figuring out who’s who.”
I wasn’t looking forward to this.
“Start with me.” She put one finger on the table. “And Josh, he’s obviously my brother.”
I nodded.
“Josh is engaged to Kinsley. Kinsley’s brother is Colton who is dating Tori, and Tori is one of Saylor’s closest friends. Saylor is dating Dylan, and Oliver is one of Dylan’s friends from back in England and now they work together. Oliver is dating London who is Holley’s cousin, and Holley is dating Sebastian.” She paused. “There’s also Ivy and Kai, Holley’s sister, but they’re not here.”
I stared at her as our drinks were brought over.
“Is London coming?” She frowned. “Yeah, she is, because Chris is here.”
“Who the fuck is Chris?”
“Leo’s dad.”
“Who’s Leo?”
“Oh.” She stifled a laugh. “Sorry, Leo is London’s son. Chris is her ex, he moved back here not long ago and he’s making up for some lost time when he lived in Florida.”
“Right.” I licked my lips. “And Chris won’t be here?”
“Nah, he’s not really a part of the group, but we all get along with him.”
“Right.”
“You look perturbed.”
“I feel like I’m in the middle of a fucking Hallmark movie. All I need is some snow.”
She sipped her drink. “Stay long enough and you’ll get it. You are a city boy in a small town looking to fulfil your dreams, after all. You’re halfway there.”
I didn’t want to laugh. I really fucking didn’t, but I couldn’t help it. “What makes you say I’m a city boy?”
“You know nothing about small town life. You’re amazed that everyone is so close, like just now when I told you how everyone is linked. You have no idea how fast news travels, even mundane things like someone’s car has broken down. The sense of community seems to fly right over your head half the time, like just now when Jasmine welcomed you without batting an eyelid, and you’re in a constant state of… I don’t know…” Piper tapped her chin. “Almost… wonder.”
Shit.
She had me.
Down to a tee.
“You might have been to a lot of small towns, but you’ve never really stayed in one, have you?” She gave me a half smile, and her eyes sparkled as she said it.
I pulled out my wallet and held out two fifties.
Piper looked at them, frowning. “What are you doing?”
“For the therapy session you just gave me.”
She stared at the bills for a long moment, then looked up at me and burst out laughing. She was still laughing when a group of guys I didn’t recognize except for Josh approached the table, and all but him gave me a friendly smile.
I got it.
I had a sister, too, after all. Even if she was ten years older than me.
“Hey!” Piper finally got herself under control. “Guys, this is Maverick. Maverick, this is Dylan, Oli, Colton, Seb, and obviously you’ve already met Josh.”
“Hey,” I said, raising my hand in acknowledgement.
“Hey,” came the echo from everyone.
The guy she’d pointed to as Seb frowned at me. “We’ve met, right? In the bookstore? You had a meeting with Holley.”
“Oh, yeah, I think so.” I nodded.
He looked familiar, though. More familiar than someone I’d seen in passing.
Where did I know him?
“Where is everyone?” Piper asked, looking around. “Did you all come alone?”
Dylan shook his head. “No, Ebony Winters is outside with her baby.”
Her face brightened. “She had her baby! I have to see her!” She escaped from the table and ran out of the bar toward the door, drawing the attention of everyone in her path.
