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I went in for a handshake, but he scooped my hand into his palm and placed his lips upon my skin.
Gross.
I quickly pulled my hand away from him.
Just like that, his good looks got knocked down a few pegs. He was being so cocky about—well, everything. It was clear Lars knew he was good-looking, and he probably received a lot of attention from many females in Havenbarrow. For me, though, there was no bigger turn-off than a man who knew he was handsome and thought he could get away with things based solely on his looks.
Even though I hadn’t known Lars for more than two seconds, I was getting a lot of bad vibes coming from him.
He kept smirking, looking like a sly fox. “It’s nice to have someone new in town. It’s easy to get sick of seeing the same faces around all the time. Is it just you and your”—he glanced down at my ring finger, which was bare—“boyfriend…?”
I rubbed my hands together and shook my head. “No. Just me.”
“Single?” he asked, perking up.
I smiled, but in the pit of my stomach, I felt sick. I didn’t like where this was leading, and I would’ve loved for the conversation to shift directions, so that was exactly what I was going to make happen. What was it about that man that made me uneased? Something about him felt so familiar.
“Yes, I am. Well, let me get out of your hair. I just wanted to say hello. I won’t be a bother at all. If there is anything you need, I’ll be inside. As you know, this place actually belongs to my sister and brother-in-law, so most changes should probably be run past them, but I can get in touch with them quickly if needed.”
“Don’t feel as if you need to stay hidden in that house. If you want, you can always come out here and get down and dirty with me,” Lars said. Then he winked.
He winked, and I wanted to throw up right then and there.
Instead, I pushed out a Southern charm smile, nodded once, turned on my heels, and walked back toward the house. I was almost certain the guy was looking at my ass as I turned my back to him, and that thought alone gave me grossed-out chills.
I nearly jumped out of my skin and flinched when Lars unexpectedly touched my shoulder.
I shot around to face him with panic in my eyes.
He tossed his hands up in surrender. “Whoa, whoa. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you.”
My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest as I took a step back and wrapped my arms around my frame. “No, it’s okay. Sorry. Just easily jumpy.”
“I just wanted to say you look beautiful today,” Lars stated, allowing his eyes to roam all over me once more. The discomfort started to rise from the pit of my stomach and settled heavily within my throat.
“Thank you,” I said even though I wanted much more stern words about his inappropriate comments to leave my mouth. Instead, I turned back around to leave.
Before I walked up the steps to the house, I noticed Mr. Personality sitting on the front porch next door with Joy, sharing a cup of coffee. His eyes were zoomed in on me, and the intensity of his stare sent chills down my spine. I tilted my head in his direction as confusion washed over me. His eyes looked as if he was thinking something, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was he was expressing toward me. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the first time I’d be left perplexed by his distant, cold stares.
I had a strong feeling Mr. Personality and I would share many looks of bafflement with one another.
Maybe one day, I’d be able to look away faster, but for now, my eyes had a way of lingering on his. Something was different about him this time. Something was holding his stare on me. For the first time since I’d come to town, Mr. Personality didn’t quickly look away from me. He focused in, tilted his head, and—for a moment—his eyes looked concerned.
He turned away, and I went back inside to take a shower and wash off the discomfort Lars had created in me.
Before the afternoon was over, Lars made three more moves on me, leaving me feeling completely uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure how the next weeks were going to go with having him work on the property. I’d spent five years being uncomfortable in a loveless marriage. The last thing I wanted was to be uncomfortable with a complete stranger.
Not only was I dealing with Lars seemingly coming on to me, but I was also still having plenty of ‘friendly’ visits from various townspeople.
People were still showing up at my house to introduce themselves to me, and frankly it was getting exhausting. The more they came, the more invasive they were becoming—asking me questions about my dating life, curious if I was interested in a date with their cousin Bernie who hadn’t dated a girl ever in his life, wondering if I was interested in donating to the elementary school’s autumn performance ofMacbeth. That seemed a bit heavy for a kid’s show, but hey, who was I to say?
I somehow ended up writing a check for that one—those ladies were pushy.
If you thought the mothers of Havenbarrow were aggressive, wait till you hear about the daughters selling their Girl Scout cookies. Somehow I ended up ordering enough cookies to feed an army—or a sad self on a Friday night.
The worst of them all was still Louise and Kate, who found themselves more and more interested in knowing about who I was as a person and even more intrigued by digging up some kind of dirt from my past.
“Hey, sweetheart,” the two sang as they stood in front of my front door one Saturday afternoon. “We wanted to check in on you and see how you’re adjusting to little ole Havenbarrow. Lord knows it must be a big change from being a city girl like you were before.”
