Page 36 of Had to Be You

"Knox Savage."

He looked up and recognized a woman who had been at the wedding, but he hadn’t met her. Her style was what he’d noticed about her on his first day in town, and it was what stood out to him now. She reminded him of a modern version of a '50s pinup girl. She had on high-waisted shorts with a white and black polka dot button-down top tied in the center. Her dark-lined eyes, bright red lips, and red bandana in her hair completed the nostalgic look.

"Hi," he smiled. "Sorry, I don’t know—"

"Jessa, but my friends call me Jess. I’ve been wondering when I’d run into you."

Knox could tell that this woman was interested in him, but he didn’t think it was in the way that most women were. His flirt-o-meter was pretty finely tuned, and this interaction was reading a 0.00 on the flirt scale. When he noticed the huge rock on her finger, he figured that was the reason. Not that every woman had to be interested in him, but most were.

"So, you’re renting the place from Laura, huh?"

"I am."

"I saw you two dancing at the wedding."

Knox waited to see if that was a standalone statement or if there was going to be a follow-up question.

"And I heard you were kind enough to escort her to and from a date last week."

Knox wondered if Laura had told her that. And if she had, what she’d said about it.

"It’s a small town," Jessa answered his unspoken question. "And I own the only beauty salon, so..."

"Ahh." Knox nodded.

"How long are you planning on staying in town?"

"Just the summer."

"Hmm." Jessa’s non-committal sound combined with the smirk of amusement she was wearing made Knox feel like he was missing something.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and waved as she continued down the street. "I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around."

That interaction had been strange, but he was starting to get used to it. Most people in town seemed to be familiar with him. He wasn’t sure if that was because his brother and cousin lived there.

Knox continued down the steps, and when he entered the shop, he saw a young woman behind the counter typing on her phone.

She looked up, and he couldn’t help but notice that she had the same eyes as Laura. She had to be one of Laura’s nieces. His eyes scanned down to her nametag, and he saw that her name was Marissa. If Knox’s memory served she was Laura’s eldest niece.

"Hi," she smiled warmly and set down her phone. "What can I get you?"

"A cookie." Knox pointed to the oversized chocolate chips in the center of the display.

He rarely ate sweets, but he had to admit that, just like the woman herself, he hadn’t been able to get her cookies out of his mind either. And that wasn’t a euphemism. The sweet snack was soft, chewy, and not too sweet. It had the perfect dough-to-chip ratio.

"Is Laura around?" he asked as he handed the teen a five and told her to keep the change.

"She’s running errands." Marissa opened the cash register, made the change, and then dumped it in the tip jar.

The bell dinged as another customer walked in. Knox saw that it was the woman who Laura had attended the wedding with. He remembered her name as Kennedy. She had earbuds in her ears and was clearly on a call.

"Great. I will present that offer to my clients. Talk soon."

When she ended the call, she smiled at both Marissa and Knox but directed her question to Marissa.

"Is she in the back?"

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