Who We Could Be - Chelsea M. Cameron Page 0,23

kids could pretty much hack through anything these days.

I turned around and found a girl so beautiful I couldn’t speak for a second. One hand gripped the edge of the table for balance.

“Sure,” I said, even though I had no idea what she’d just said. I’d been stunned by her blonde halo of curls and the kinds of cheekbones that could cut glass. If you would have told me she was a Viking princess that had the powers of time-travel, I wouldn’t have questioned it.

“Sorry, I’m just visiting, but I was wondering if you could tell me where a good place to get some lobster might be? I was driving by and thought someone here would know.”

I nodded, even though it took me a few moments to process all of the words she’d said. People came in here all the time asking for directions, for recommendations, and sometimes for really random things. The library was kind of a catch-all around here for people looking for answers. To be honest, I kind of loved being a keeper of information. It made me feel powerful in an unpredictable world.

“Oh, yeah, you should definitely go to Lenny’s Lobster Shack. It’s actually a food truck that’s parked near the beach, but those are the best around. If you’re looking for more of a restaurant, sit-down place, go to Christine’s. They also have amazing sangria.” I clamped my mouth shut so I didn’t ramble on. There was something about beautiful women that made it hard for me to speak normally. They were just so intimidating.

“Oh, the sangria sounds dangerous. I’ll have to be careful and not have too many.” I blinked at her and then belatedly laughed. She had to be a model or something. The way she carried herself on those heels was so natural, I felt like a peasant in comparison. As we said in Maine, she definitely wasn’t from around here.

“Yeah, it’s great,” I said to fill the silence. “Uh, how long are you in town?”

“Just a few days. I’m visiting a friend. Are you from here?” Oh, we were having a conversation now and I was sweating, even in the air conditioning.

“Yeah, born and raised. I left for college, but I moved back. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” The teenagers were giggling over something that probably had to do with butts and I needed to go intervene, but I couldn’t pull myself away from this beautiful creature.

“I can see why, it’s so lovely here.” Her phone made a noise and she looked down at an incoming message. “That’s my friend, I’m supposed to go meet her. Thanks so much for your help...” she trailed off, waiting for me to say my name.

“Monty,” I said, suddenly self-conscious about my name. Why, oh why, had my parents named me Montgomery? Did they have to use that family name?

“Monty? That’s cute. I’m Isadora.” Even her name was impossibly gorgeous and out of my league. “So nice to meet you, Monty. I hope we run into each other again.”

Against my will, my face went completely and totally red and I mumbled some sort of goodbye before she left and then I had to get myself together and go and see what the teens were up to.

“HEY, GUS AND I ARE at the beach. You should come over and get some ice cream with us,” Tessa said when she called me after work. That sounded kind of perfect, so I packed up my stuff, said bye to everyone, and drove the short distance to the beach.

I waved my pass at the bored dude sitting at the ticket booth and shaded my eyes to find Tessa and Gus. The place wasn’t as crowded as it would have been at the height of the day, so it wasn’t hard to slip off my shoes and walk toward where they’d crashed on the blanket Tessa kept in the trunk of her car for times exactly like this.

“Hey,” I said. Tessa beamed at me and I sat down next to her as Gus said hello. The three of us had been hanging out together for so long that I often forgot they were actually engaged and getting married. Unlike me.

My engagement ring had always thrown me off, but now that it was gone from my finger, I almost missed it. Almost.

“You doing good?” Gus asked, pulling a can out of a cooler and passing it to me. The beach didn’t technically allow alcohol, but it wasn’t like anyone was