man blushed. “Well yes, you know…honeymoon period and all that.”
“I’m joking. You know I think Aimee is great. I haven’t seen you this happy in years,” Trent said with a wink. “I won’t hold the screaming against either one of you.”
Hale shot him a look that said if his friend didn’t shut up, he was likely to be made to shut up. “I’d say we’re square now, seeing as you don’t seem to own any shirts.”
Cora clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh.
Hale nudged Trent with his elbow, clearly encouraged by her reaction. “Seriously. If this guy walked around with his shirt off any more, they’d start giving him Matthew McConaughey’s movie parts.”
“Couldn’t come up with a more recent example than that?” Trent laughed.
“What about Channing Tatum?” Cora supplied. She could very easily see Trent giving it some Magic Mike action. Rolling hips and rippling abs and that sexy, panty-melting wink.
Ma’am, you need to keep your hormones under control.
“Oh, definitely,” Hale said. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Cora. I hope you’re enjoying our little slice of paradise down here in Patterson’s Bluff.”
“I landed yesterday, so I haven’t seen too much. But from what I can tell so far, I think I’m going to love it here.”
“Ah well, good thing you’ve got the town charmer to show you around.”
Cora raised an eyebrow. “Town charmer?”
Now it was Trent’s turn to shoot his friend a look. “Hale’s jealous I was more popular in high school.”
Hale snorted. “Yeah right. And you didn’t even finish high school, so I never got the chance to catch you.”
Something flashed across Trent’s face—so quick and so fleeting, Cora wondered if she’d imagined it. But then he raked his hand through his hair and winked at Cora. “Better to quit when you know there’re better things out there, right?”
Hmm. Wasn’t that what her ex had said to her? They were from different types of families and no amount of trying was going to change that, so it was better to quit and find a better match. That had cut to the bone. She’d tried so hard to be his best match.
“Anyway, I’m not paying you to stand around talking shit,” Trent said, slapping a hand down on Hale’s back.
“I wasn’t aware you were paying me at all,” his friend ribbed back. “But yes, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got a job at twelve that’s been rescheduled twice already, so I have to be on time.”
“Yell out if you need anything, okay?” Trent smiled at Cora, and it sent a shiver all the way down her spine. When he looked at her, there was an intensity to his gaze—like he saw something more than she wanted him to.
Maybe that’s why they call him the town charmer. He makes everyone feel seen.
But no matter how good it felt to have a man’s attention burning her up, she couldn’t get used to that feeling. Cora knew how quickly a fire could burn out—she’d been dumped by every single guy she’d ever dated. Every. Single. One.
Maybe it was time to stop trying.
Cora headed outside to where a deck overlooked the backyard. A table sat with two wicker chairs, lovingly decorated with blue-and-white-striped cushions. The backyard seemed to go on forever, with huge trees on all sides leading into dense bushland. Maybe she’d take a walk later, get in touch with nature. And Central Park, gorgeous as it was, didn’t have the same peaceful vibe, what with all the tourists and street performers.
Cora settled down on one of the chairs and looked at the printout of the rejection letter her father had given her, telling her all the ways her manuscript sucked. It stung, of course. But her father only pushed her so that she would be better. He wasn’t like her mother, burning down every one of Cora’s dreams in order to make her fit some fictional fantasy daughter mold. Her father had a good eye, and she would do everything in her power to make this book good enough that he would take her on as a client of the agency.
Cora, I finished your novel last night. I know you worked very hard on this and I can see you really want to do well. I love you, sweetheart, and it pains me to tell you this book isn’t publishable. For starters, a character with such insecurities about her own worth is unsympathetic. People want to be inspired. They don’t want to read about a woman