AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The twinkle in his eye said he’d caught the compliment, but thankfully he moved on.
“Four of us total. Eva and I live here. Dominic and Angelica still live near my parents.”
“That’s a big family.”
He nodded. “What about you? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“A brother.”
“That’s cool.” He took another bite of croissant.
Eva returned and set a plate in front of her with a cookie on it. Meg almost hugged her for her timing. Staying away from family or her past or basically anything about herself was always her goal and she’d let her guard slip, something she’d rectify fast.
“Here you go. Baylee says to let her know if you need anything else.”
“Thank you.” Meg smiled.
The door opened again and Drew walked in with the big guy Meg had seen walking away from the Community Center with Chet a few nights before. Following her gaze, Chet turned. He waved to the two men who came over to say hello.
Meg stood and gave Drew a hug. “Welcome back.” She patted his shoulder. “Sorry for the reason though.”
“Thanks, Meg.”
It wasn’t hard to see that Drew was still mourning the playoff loss. Meg understood not wanting to delve into uncomfortable topics, so she stuck out her hand to the man next to Drew. “I’m Meg.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tyler.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Drew looked at Tyler then at Meg again. “This is my trainer and good friend. He moved here with me when I came to Silver Bay.”
Personal trainer. That made sense. The guy was a wall of pure muscle. He also had a great smile, which Meg noticed did nothing to make her knees weak.
“Good to see you, Tyler.” Chet smiled as he stood and shook the man’s hand.
Meg looked at Chet and then sat, his smile having the affect it always had. Meg mentally cursed Baylee and her truth telling. There wasn’t a single reason for Meg to not be attracted to Tyler, and yet Chet was the one who had her feelings all twisted and turned.
“It’s nice to meet you, Chet,” said Drew. “Hey, you were the fireman that helped Kate and Baylee when the fire hit their shops!”
“Guilty.”
“Thank you for that. That was a scary time for Bay. I wasn’t around yet for that, but she told me all about it. I appreciate all you did for them.”
“Not a problem. I was happy to help.”
Meg watched as the men chatted about baseball and workouts. She was no stranger to boys’ club vibes. A wave of memories washed over her. Hanging out at the firehouse, the camaraderie among the group. So many good times. And yet, like a small flame that fans into something more, bad memories always crept in with them. Her pulse raced. She tightened her hands into fists and closed her eyes, willing the panic not to rise.
Not here. Not now.
“So, I’m home for about five minutes,” Drew was saying, “and Tyler tells me I’m doing some fundraiser with him where I’m running a gazillion miles a day…”
The comment brought Meg slowly back to the moment. She took a deep breath in, let it out slowly, blinked, and looked at the men. Chet was watching her, his smile gone and his brow furrowed. When their eyes met, his filled with concern.
She pulled off a smile. Not a great one, but enough for him to look back at Tyler and Drew who were arguing over how much running was involved in the fundraiser.
“You run every day anyway.” Tyler shook his head at Drew.
“Are you two involved?” Drew asked, turning his attention to Chet and Meg.
“Yeah. We are running together,” Chet answered.
