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She gripped the perfect new subject and said, “You and Mason did such an amazing job with Christmas in July. I think it might have been one of the best ones yet.”
“It wasn’t bad, huh?” Jade beamed with pride. It helped that planning Christmas in July had brought Jade and her boyfriend Parker together. Now the town party would always have a special place in her friend’s heart. “I don’t know why I love planning stuff for this town, but it gives me so much joy. You should join.”
“I do participate,” Nora insisted. “I sponsor Beach DayandChristmas in July. Both with the ice cream parlorandThe Spaghetti Bowl.”
Jade chuckled. “I knowthat. I meant you should participate in the actual planning of an event. Something that’s down at the beach.”
Nora pointed a finger at her friend, her heart thumping wildly. “Jade, no! Don’t you dare get involved and try to matchmake me like your mother did for you and Parker.”
“I would never.” Jade gasped, but her smile spoke the truth.
She would. She so totally would!
Nora was in such a tizzy about Jade’s attempt at matchmaking that she almost forgot that today was Jack’s ice cream day, and he usually arrived between one o’clock and quarter past two.
It all depended on how many rentals he had out on the water.
Yikes. I know a little bit too much about a man I can barely say hi to. Probably need to see someone about that. Like a doctor, maybe, to cure me. Or a witch to make him fall in love with
me …
She shook her head at her own silliness. She read too much. Her parents … whom she loved dearly and who loved her too … always teased her for reading so much that it messed with her sense of reality.
But, hey. She was a shy little girl who had grown into a shy woman. That meant books were her saviors. Nora didn’t see anything wrong with thatmostof the time.
When her imagination ran away with itself? Not so much, though.
Then it happened. Nora realized it was just past two o’clock. And just like that, Jack walked into the ice cream shop like he owned the place. It wasn’t that he was arrogant by any stretch of the imagination. It was simply that Nora couldn’t breathe when he was around.
“Afternoon, Nora.”
She turned into an odd and water-downed version of herself … and she wasn’t exactly exuberant by nature, so she was kind of working at a deficit.
No air. Zero chill.
Absolutelynochance with Jack Hayes.
How would that work, anyway? She couldn’t even carry on a conversation with him. A date would be Jack looking hot as hell while she sat opposite of him with a bag to breathe into. Very sexy …not.
“Hi, Jack,” she squeaked. “Mango tornado?”
He scanned the other flavors with those bright blue eyes of his. A mere glance from Jack’s blue peepers and Nora melted faster than the ice cream she was selling. “You know what?” he clicked his tongue. “I think I want something new. Something I’ve never tried before.”
Her heart was in her throat. “Oh?” she tried to sound flirty, but it was more of a cough.
“Yeah. I think I wanna try vanilla.”
She balked. “What?”
“Nah,” he waved her off with a laugh. “That’s not much of a change. Still pretty basic. I think I’ll try some of that chocolate chip cookie dough.”
“I suggest a second scoop of chocolate fudge. The two flavors go really well together.” She spoke so fast, that she was completely out of breath by the time she was done making her suggestion.
“There’s an idea. I’ll take that, then. Thanks, Nora.”
Every little time Jack spoke her name, a thrill went up her spine.
Jack waved to Jade. “Hey.”
