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She took a step back and looked on either side of her. There was one store to the right, taking up the corner. The sign that hung above the door read: Dahlia & Co, and Mitzi noted it was a floral shop. To the left was a cake shop that had been there forever. Frosted by Faye was where Scarlett had ordered her six-tiered wedding cake. The skill Faye had would keep her busy until she decided to hang up her apron, too tired to bake another thing.
Mitzi wondered what the two shops used to sandwich and why it was no longer there. It was a prime location, especially considering how much business Faye saw on a regular basis. The longer Mitzi stood staring, the harder her heart beat. Again, she recalled the conversation she’d had with Nora-Jean that morning. Nora had called her situation fate. The longer Mitzi thought about it, the more valid Nora’s statement felt.
She took a slow sip from her latte. As she swallowed the heavenly beverage, her eyes focused in on the leasing agent’s contact info on the door. Her stomach dropped as she read his name over and over again. Trace Whitfield. It wasn’t a surprise his family’s agency was the one renting out the space. They represented most of the commercial real estate in all of BedfordCounty and the surrounding region. What startled her was how it seemed like the stars were aligning, and life itself was telling her what she needed was far greater and more complicated than a weekend home.
“Auntie Belle—it’sDedectiveSteele!”
Mitzi looked away from the shop just in time to see Evie take off toward the corner. Titan, spurred on by her excitement, took off right along with her. Only, his four legs moved quicker than hers. Unprepared for his speed, Evie lost her loose grip on his leash.
“Oh, no!” she gasped, her feet not missing a step. “Titan, come back!”
The sight of her maltipoo and her best friend’s preschooler heading for the street was enough to clear Mitzi’s thoughts completely. Moving as fast as her heeled ankle boots and skirt would allow, she started after the both of them. Before she could get Titan’s name out, one of the two men crossing the street hurried up onto the sidewalk and scooped Titan into his arms.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Evie murmured over and over, coming to a stop in front of Titan’s rescuer.
“Evie, babe—you can’t leave my side like that,” chided Mitzi gently.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to say hi to Dedective Steele.”
“It’s my fault,” said the detective.
Mitzi lifted her eyes to meet his handsome brown ones, and her words got caught in her throat. It had been ages since she’d seen Atticus Steele. He’d always been easy on the eyes, with his perfectly sculpted jaw line, his full lips, and his intense stare. In high school, Steele was tall and lean, which made him the kind of tight end who could really move out on the field. Everyone called him Steele not just because it was his name—but because he was as tough as steel, and stronger than he looked.
Mitzi got to see him play a few games when he suited up in orange at the University of Tennessee, too. As soon as he graduated college, he went on to join the police academy up in Nashville. Right around the same time, Mitzi was leaving for New York. After Nora and Lawson’s split, it didn’t really come as a surprise that Mitzi never ran into the oldest Steele boy during her infrequent visits.
At the sound of his sure, deep voice, and the look of his tall, lean body wrapped in jeans, a button-up, and a really great sportscoat, Mitzi was sorry she couldn’t remember the last time she saw the man. He wore the last decade extremely well—his frame a little fuller and his face a whole lot sexier with the dark stubble that dusted his chin.
“I take it this little guy belongs to you,” said Steele, setting Titan back on his feet. He then took the leash and held it out for Mitzi.
“Uh—yes. Yes, he’s mine. Thank you.”
“Hey, Evie,” greeted Steele’s companion. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is my Auntie Belle,” she replied chipperly.
“Otherwise known as Mitzi Bates,” added Steele.
The stranger smirked, the expression making him look intriguingly distracting.
“As inSterlingBates?”
Steele smiled, effectively capturing Mitzi’s full attention as he clarified, “As in Sterling Thread.”
“You—you know my fashion line?” she asked, suddenly breathless.
High school was a long time ago, but Atticus Steele was still that illustrious and enticing older brother of a friend that was off limits. He was in Scarlett’s graduating class, hung out in the same crowd, and caught more than enough female attention to keep him occupied, if he so chose. Given their age difference, hewas gone before she was old enough for him to take notice of her, but she had certainly noticed him. Now, all these years later, to learn she wasn’t completely invisible to him—to learn he’d kept some sort of tab on her—she didn’t know what to make of it.
“I don’t live under a rock, Mitzi,” he laughed quietly. “It’s been a long time. You look good.”
Mitzi felt herself blush, and she was suddenly sixteen all over again. She shook her head, in an attempt to ward off her girlishness, knowing good and well he was just being polite.
“Ithasbeen a long time. I hear you’re doing well,detective.”
The stranger cleared his throat loudly, and Steele’s smile grew before he said, “Mitzi, this is my partner, Detective Abernathy. Abernathy, Mitzi.”
His distracting smirk still pulling at his lips, he dipped his chin in a nod. “Reed, for anyone with a smile like you’ve got. I take it you don’t make it home often. What brings you to town?”
Mitzi’s eyes flicked back and forth between the men. She exhaled her amusement as she inquired, “I’m sorry, detective, am I a suspect of some kind?”
