locations match up. That’s highly unlikely. And three, if anyone would have a shot with him, it would be you.”
She bursts into a fit of laughter that confuses me.
“Why are you laughing?” I ask.
“He didn’t look at me like he wanted to smear that icing on my nipples and lick it off.”
“Claire!”
She crosses her arms over her chest, completely undeterred. “It’s true.”
I squirm in my seat. The picture she painted is enough to make me want to go home and take a cold shower. But as I hear his laugh echo through my mind and wonder how rough or gentle his touch would be, I snap back to reality.
“I’ll give you that he’s gorgeous,” I say.
“And sexy.”
“And charming,” I add.
“And he seems intelligent.”
“And he can be kind,” I admit, tapping the plate with my knuckle.
“So? What’s the problem?” Claire asks.
I look at her. “That. All of it. That’s the problem.”
“For someone as smart as you, you’re making no sense here.”
Of course it makes no sense to her. It doesn’t even make sense to me until I sit down and really am honest with myself. But when I am, I know I’d fall so in love with a guy like Trevor Kelly my head would spin.
I sigh. “I fell in love with Joel. And Henry. And Marcus. And however many before them. Things would not go well with Trevor, even if he were interested, which he’s not. And if I were in the mind-set to want to hook up with someone, which I’m not . . .” My phone buzzes in my purse. I fish it out. A text sits on the screen from Dane.
“I gotta go,” I say, getting to my feet.
Claire looks up as the door chimes. “I’ll be right with you.” She glances back to me. “Call me tonight. We can head to Mucker’s for pizza.”
“Will do, unless I lose my job today.”
“Don’t think like that,” she says. “They probably want to give you a promotion.”
I give her a smile for the compliment and head to the door.
“And if Trevor Kelly wants to be repaid for that doughnut, you better follow through,” she calls after me.
“Bye, Claire.” I step into the sunlight, feeling a little lighter than I did when I walked in. A gorgeous man—whom I’ll never see again—gave me his doughnut today. Life is good.
CHAPTER THREE
TREVOR
This is going to be interesting.”
My words drift through the cab of my truck as I wait for a pickup loaded with hay to go through the intersection. Bales are stacked in the bed higher than the cab, held in place with only a few straps. The driver gives me a wave as he drives by, and I return the gesture, wondering if waving is a thing here. Because everyone does it. Every single person.
It’s clear I’m not in the city anymore. These people take southern hospitality to a whole new level with the waving crap.
My eyes flip to my rearview mirror. I can’t see the Dogwood Café anymore, and something about that makes me chuckle. Not that I can’t see it, but rather that I’m still wishing I could.
Idiot.
Haley Raynor. Now there’s a feisty, sassy girl I wouldn’t mind spending some more time with. For someone so tiny, she sure had some attitude. I barely held in my laughter as she described her morning, but that look in her eyes when she saw my doughnut? Let’s just say there are other parts of me that wouldn’t mind that look directed at them. And it’s better not to think about her yoga-pant-clad ass while driving either.
Clearly it’s been a while since I’ve gotten laid.
My thoughts are broken when my brother’s name pops up on the dash. I press a button to answer the incoming call.
“Hey, Jake,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Hey,” he says. “How’s the city no one knew existed until Dad married Meredith?”
I glance at the little building on my left. It’s one of those miniature, freestanding buildings with a tiny front porch. It has an old-fashioned barber’s pole spinning outside. The man on the porch waves as I pass. Naturally.
“Calling this a ‘city’ is a stretch. I’m not even sure it qualifies as a town,” I say. “Maybe a village? Is that a thing?”
My older brother chuckles. “Why did I expect it to be exactly that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Because Meredith uses the word ‘quaint’ in every other sentence?”
“I really don’t love her, you know,” Jake says.
“Yeah, well, I’m not her biggest fan.” I follow the navigation system and turn