Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,9

with her, I’m asking her out. In a totally cheesy way, let’s not forget. A slice of pie? I’m basically insinuating that I want to have sex with her. Which I do, but …

Shut up, doc.

“Um … yeah, sure. I’m kind of busy learning the ropes here, but maybe we could meet up in a couple of weeks.”

And the slap of rejection burns across my cheeks. Ever wonder what it sounds like when a woman politely turns you down? Presley just gave the prime example.

“Great.” I plaster a fake smile on my face. “That sounds great. Well, I’ve got to get back, have a guinea pig with a hiccup problem.”

I start to walk out the door, but her voice stops me. “Oh, was there anything you needed help with in the shop?”

Fuck me. I walked in here and didn’t even provide a cover for why I stopped in. I scramble, looking around, and pick up a random book off the shelf closest to me.

“I was going to buy this new book, but it will probably just collect dust on my nightstand. Thanks anyway!”

It’s not until I’m almost out the door and can feel her hiding a smile behind my back, that I realize I just put back a children’s sudoku puzzle book on the shelf.

6

Presley

Oh my, the vet is adorable.

I can’t help the giggle that escapes my lips as I watch him speed walk back to his office, which is across the street and down three storefronts to the corner where the converted Victorian home sits. His deep breath before he asked me out. The fumbling, cheesy line about pie. The way his hands kept drumming on the counter. Keaton had been so nervous that I thought he might pass out before I could answer.

The sweet, vanilla Dr. Nash seemed like he’d make any number of these small-town girls the happiest person on the planet, but for me? We just weren’t right. I felt like a bitch turning him down, especially with the roundabout no I gave as an answer, but he deserves someone much more together than me. He’s a calm, blue-skied spring afternoon and I’m a tornado in the middle of a blizzard.

In the seconds after he asked, I almost said yes. Going out with the sexy vet in my new town would be fun. Hell, even if he couldn’t hold a conversation, he was nice to look at. But he could hold a conversation, and a witty one at that. I think that’s what ultimately made me say no. I was going to convince myself that we wouldn’t fit because … what if I ended up really liking him? I had no clue if I was staying here, or where I ultimately wanted my life to go. Getting involved with someone, especially someone as steady as Keaton Nash, was just asking for trouble.

My phone buzzes on the counter, and I lift it to see two messages waiting for me. I open the first.

Gwen: How is Grandma? Tell her I send my love, but I’m working this weekend so I won’t be able to call.

I roll my eyes. So typical of my older sister to “send her love” in a text message that isn’t even to our grandmother, and then casually drop in that she’ll be doing important lawyer things this weekend so don’t disrupt her. That’s basically what the message was saying, and it infuriated me that even after twenty-seven years of knowing her narcissistic ways, she could still get to me.

Presley: Grandma is good, I’ll tell her.

I left it short because I wasn’t going to open the door for her to brag about work more than she already did. After a minute of waiting to see if she’ll respond, and maybe ask about me, she doesn’t, and I open the second message.

Ryan: Hey, boo. How’s it going in bumblefuck? Miss you, just had an iced macchiato and it made me think of you. Come home and I’ll buy you one. I’ll even spring for a seventeen-dollar martini at Al Pucco’s.

The smile that stretches my face is real, and a homesickness for my best friend and the city hits like a tidal wave. Although, I’d forgotten how expensive it all was. Seventeen bucks for a martini? I’d seen a sign outside the only bar on Main Street advertising three-dollar beers every weekday.

Presley: Miss you more, lady. Surprisingly, bumblefuck ain’t so bad. Very quiet, but they have three-dollar beer and the best pie I’ve ever eaten. How’s the