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I let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of freedom. I don’t care how hot my tits look in that pushup bra; the feeling of taking it off will always outweigh the few hours of sexy cleavage and male attention. Pulling on a baggy t-shirt, I fill a glass of water in the kitchen before going to the living room to plop down on the couch. I debate turning on the television and rewatching The Office for the millionth time, but I’m not feeling it tonight. My eyes stray over to the pile of tools near the front door, and I remember Layna’s advice to sell them online.
“I wonder what you're worth,” I whisper.
On my phone, I do a quick search for the town’s buy/sell/trade site and find it quickly. Within a few minutes, I’ve created an account and I’m ready to post an ad. Easy enough. I snap a few well-lit photos of the tools and start typing.
"Cheating ex-boyfriend abandoned his tools and refuses to retrieve them. His loss is your gain. I'm sure they're in new condition, as he couldn't seem to keep a job for more than a week."
Smiling, I finish up and click the button to submit the ad for approval. Hopefully someone with a sense of humor and a need for tools sees the ad and jumps on it. I’m ready to be rid of Derek the cheater, once and for all.
Chapter 2
Linc
Ella’s already asleep when I get home from Peach Fuzz. I wave goodbye to the babysitter before making my way upstairs to check on her. Opening her door just far enough to make out her sleeping form, I smile at the sight of her. She looks so small in her too-big bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and more pillows than any kid should need. Seeing her like this almost makes me forget how loud and full of energy she can be when she’s awake. Silently, I close the door and make my way down the hall to my own room to change into a pair of gym shorts.
The house is too quiet with Ella sleeping and Cole not home. It’s one of those things I try not to pay attention to most of the time. But tonight, it’s impossible not to notice just how empty the house is. It’s also impossible not to admit to myself just how lonely I am. It’s why Cole made me go out tonight. He thinks I need to get out of the house more and interact with people.
Living in such a small town means that most of the time I can predict exactly who I’ll see when I go out on a Friday night. It’s usually the same people I see at the grocery store or the coffee shop. Meaning, it’s anyone from my graduating class who didn’t move away, get arrested or die already. Some people might find that kind of life boring or too predictable, but there’s something comforting about the familiarity. Though it’s much harder to meet someone new when everyone has known you since you were 10 years old. Not that I’m trying to meet anyone. That’s just what Cole wants.
He keeps encouraging me to make an online dating profile. Since Luke technically met his fiancé Piper on one of those sites, Cole thinks it could work for me. I keep telling him that I’m not looking for a serious relationship, but he’s convinced I’d be happier as part of a couple. I’m not sure when my perpetually single little brother decided to become such a romantic, but it’s downright weird.
“Ella needs a mom,” he'd told me yesterday morning after Ella had climbed on the bus for school.
I rolled my eyes. “Ella is doing just fine with me and you.”
“Yeah, she is,” he agreed. “But we both know that she deserves more than just the two of us. Especially as she gets older. We don’t know shit about being a girl, man.”
Sighing, I turned to face my brother. “Don’t you think I know that? I worry all the time that I’m not enough for her. That I’m not going to be able to give her everything she needs.”
Cole looked immediately shamed. “That’s not what I meant, Linc. You’re a great dad, and you know it.”
“I know you didn’t mean it that way,” I said. “And you’re not wrong. She deserves a mom. But if or when I decide to start dating it’s not going to be me shopping for a mom for Ella. That’s not fair to me, Ella or to whoever the woman is. Dating when you’re a parent is hard. And I haven’t figured out how it all works yet. That’s why I’m not looking for anything serious right now. I’m not saying never. I’m just saying not right now. I’m busy with Ella and trying to get the business up and running. It’s a lot to deal with.”
Cole looked like he wanted to argue the point some more, but he let it go. For the time being, at least. I know it’s just a matter of time before he brings it up again. It’s why I let him talk me into going out tonight. I’d hoped it would get him off my back for a while. I think back over the events of the evening as I make my way to the fridge for a beer.
Cole and I had arrived as the dinner rush was dying down, so the crowd wasn’t bad. Not that it matters when we go to Peach Fuzz. Cole being the owner means we never have to worry about good service or waiting for a table. We chose to sit at the bar though, to avoid taking a table and making even more work for the servers. It had taken me exactly 5 minutes to recognize a certain laugh from across the room. My gaze zeroed in on her immediately.
Harlow St. James.
Her hair was down, falling around her face in soft blonde waves shot through with pink streaks. I hid my smile behind my beer glass as I tried not to be obvious in my ogling. I’ve never thought much one way or the other about bright colors in a woman’s hair, but it seems to suit Harlow. There’s a certain whimsy about it that works for her. Her shirt dipped low in the front, teasing a hint of cleavage while keeping everything perfectly covered. I tried to tell myself I wasn’t disappointed by that. I watched her for a few seconds talking animatedly with her hands to Piper and Layna. They were about halfway into a pitcher of margaritas. It was hard to tell if it was the first pitcher of the night.
“Well, shit.” Cole’s words broke through my thoughts and pulled my attention away from Harlow. “Look who’s here.”
When I looked back to my brother, I could see that he was staring at the same table I’d just been looking at. And he was grinning.
“Did Luke say he was coming out tonight?” I asked him, thinking of Piper.
Cole just shrugged. “He didn’t mention it to me. Besides, you talk to him more than I do.”
It’s true. Luke and I have been best friends since freshman year of college when we’d been assigned to the same dorm room. Luke and Cole had become friends almost instantly upon meeting one another a few months later when I’d dragged him home with me for Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I met him first. Over the years, Cole and I kind of adopted Luke as another brother. And knowing what I know about his family, I think we were just what he needed at the time. Our friendship has evolved over the years, and now we think of Luke as family. Which means we welcomed Piper into the fold right away. Piper and Luke’s relationship had gotten off to a weird start, but any idiot can see that those two were made for one another.
“It looks like it’s girl’s night out,” Cole said.
I studied the table of women for a few more seconds while I nursed my beer. I only saw 3 glasses and no sign of any guys approaching Layna or Harlow. And no sign of my best friend.
“Let’s go say hi,” Cole said with a grin as he stood.
Part of me wanted to argue, but a larger part of me wanted to move closer. I didn’t give myself a chance to think about why. I shot off a quick text to Luke to see if he was coming out to join his fiancé and stood. As we moved across the room, I somehow took the lead with Cole following behind me. I had no idea what to say to her—to them, I corrected in my mind. I was just going to say hello to my best friend’s fiancé and her friends. That’s all. We would chat for a few minutes, then Cole and I would go back to our night. But that’s not what happened.
