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“Yes, ma’am. Five generations of Wilsons all born and raised right here in this town. And my son’s girlfriend is pregnant, so make that six generations!”
“Congratulations. That’s very exciting.”
“It sure is.” She scribbled my name on a nametag and held it out to me. “Here you go. I even put Green Mountain Resort beneath, so people don’t keep asking you.”
I didn’t ask why they would, but I assumed it was because people were curious by nature. Maybe being a small town, most people knew each other.
“You can help yourself to some coffee over there. Kenneth and Michael brought it straight from their coffee shop. The best coffee you’ll ever have. I can guarantee it.”
“Thank you. I’ll definitely grab a cup.” I offered a smile and smacked my nametag to my shirt.
“What are you doing here?” a voice boomed out, stopping me from my retreat. I spun on my toe and came face to chest with Laurent.
“H-Hey.” It had been a week since I woke up with memories of my almost striptease in front of Laurent. Since then, I’d been avoiding him, only sending and answering texts about the engagement party.
“You two know each other?” Odette asked, waving a finger between us. Her head tilted as if she was waiting for some juicy tidbit of gossip to spread around the town. I might have only been here for a short time and stayed mainly at the resort, but I was well aware how small towns worked. I’d worked in many thanks to Green Mountain Resorts and their ability to build in the quaintest of locations.
“Yes.”
“No.”
My head snapped at Laurent’s blatant lie. Was this because I stripped to my underwear in front of him? Or because nine hundred years ago I fucked and ducked?
Before the annoyance could rise inside me, a ridiculously charming smile quirked his sexy lips upward. “I was kidding. Phoebe and I went to the same college.”
Okay, well, it was a little more than that, but I guess the whole town didn’t need to know our history.
Odette clapped her hands. “What a small world!”
She had no idea.
“This is like one of those Hallmark movies where time separates the two leads, but they come back together in a small town and fall in love.”
“Yeah, definitely not,” Laurent said, tugging at his collar.
I have no idea why his words hit hard. I had no plans to fall in love with him. Hell, I would have stayed on my side of the mountain if it wasn’t for the damn engagement party.
“We should head in. They’re about to start.” Laurent motioned toward the chairs that were still empty. Everyone seemed to be hanging out by the coffee.
“Don’t forget your nametag,” Odette said.
“Odette, I’ve been coming to these meetings every month for fifteen years. Everyone knows my name.”
“Take the nametag,” she said, more as a command than a request. I stifled a laugh as he held his hands up, then snatched the white Hello My Name is sticker from her grasp. “Good boy.”
I waved to Odette as Laurent ushered us toward the coveted coffee table. Two men manned the table, one pouring the coffee into cups and the other passing the cups to all the people. There were about fifteen or so people crowding around.
“I hear their coffee is the best.”
Laurent glanced at me. “You heard right. Michael and Kenneth own Espresso Yourself on Main. Michael is very particular about the beans, and Kenneth is an amazing pastry chef. Definitely a winning combination. During tourist season, it’s nearly impossible to get in their doors.”
“Good to know. I’ll have to stop by one day.”
“Venture away from your castle in the sky?”
“I ventured away tonight, didn’t I?”
“You’re probably here because your boss is making you. That doesn’t count.”
