His Curvy Treat E-Book

Mary E. Thompson

• Herausgeber: BluEyed Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Colin
Why did I move to a small town where everyone knows everyone, and they all know more about my family than I do? I thought I could be anonymous, but the word didn’t exist for my new neighbors. They all wanted to meet me, talk to me, date me. 
I hadn’t had so many offers for dates in my entire adult life. 
But the one woman I wanted a date with carefully avoided the topic. And me. 
Until she had no choice. 

Elise
Happily ever after wasn’t in my future. I was okay with it. I’d moved on from my past, and my ex who almost destroyed me. One-night stands with men I’d never see again suited me just fine. 
But Colin made me want more. He made me wonder if I could have more. 
Spoiler alert, I couldn’t. 
A quick fling with my newest online dating match was supposed to take my mind off Colin. Except, eff me, my match was Colin. 
I got the hell out of there. Told him it was a bad idea. 
But he wasn’t like the others. One rejection didn’t send him running for the next bed to jump into. He wanted me. Only me. 
And he wasn’t giving up until he wore down every last one of my defenses. 

Leseprobe

HIS CURVY TREAT

A SMALL TOWN CURVY GIRL ROMANCE

BOOK BOYFRIENDS WANTED

BOOK THREE

MARY E THOMPSON

His Curvy Treat

Book Boyfriends Wanted, book 3

Copyright © 2020 Mary E Thompson

Cover Copyright © 2021 Mary E Thompson

Cover Photo from depositphotos, Copyright © mimagephotos

Cover background from depositphotos, Copyright © tomert (lights) and Milanares (blue)

Cover watercolor stripe from depositphotos, Copyright © ronedale

Published by BluEyed Press, All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, businesses, locations, and events are either products of the author’s creative imagination or are used in a fictitious sense. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-944090-88-3

Print ISBN: 978-1-944090-89-0

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-944090-90-6

Created with Vellum

BOOK BOYFRIENDS WANTED

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

About the Author

You are stronger than you think you are. Never stop fighting for love.

1

ELISE

It really didn’t get any better than a day outside. A cool breeze, a gentle sway of the boat, birds chirping, the smell of fresh water and flowers. Summer wasn’t quite here yet, but it was so close I could taste it. I was ready to shake off the winter and get back to being outside and free.

First, I had to sit through training I’d been through five other times. No one got a pass, not even if you were a lifer. Which meant I was there, again.

“Hey!” I heard from across the room. I looked up and found my friend, Ava Bailey, waving and rushing toward me. Ava and I worked together on the Tours from the Cove boat tours. She left MacKellar Cove through the winter for school, but she was back for her third summer as a guide.

“Hey,” I said, hugging her when she sat down.

Ava was a hugger. She was since the day we met. She was also a college student and still all shiny and happy and the way a person was supposed to be when they were twenty-one and had their entire lives ahead of them.

“Your hair looks awesome. How was your winter?” she asked.

“Thanks,” I said, touching my purple locks. It was my latest color. “Winter was good. Busy but not insane. How about you? How are classes going?”

“Great,” she said with a grin. “I can’t believe I only have one more year.”

“Assuming you pass your exams,” I teased.

Ava shoved me and grinned. “True. I’m only here for today, then will commute for a few weeks until exams are over. But hopefully I can keep doing this even after I graduate.”

Ava was a secondary education major with an ELA certificate who was hoping to move full time to the area and teach middle school. If she did, she was going to continue to work summers as a tour guide to earn extra money. I hoped it worked out for her.

“Is it too early to start looking for jobs?” I asked.

Ava nodded. “A little. I have one more semester of classes and then a semester of student teaching. I’m hoping I can land a spot here and stay on after, but I don’t know of any MacKellar Cove teachers looking to leave.”

I grinned. “People have a tendency to stick around here forever.”

“I totally get why.”

Ava grew up a few hours away on the other side of the Adirondacks. MacKellar Cove sat along the St. Lawrence River, west of the mountains. A small cove separated the town from the river, giving us opportunities for swimming and fishing in a quiet area relatively untouched by the deep, powerful waters of the St. Lawrence.

It was home for me. Sanctuary in a way. It was the only place I ever wanted to live, the only place I could imagine living.

“So, what have you been up to? Meet anyone new?”

I shook my head and forced a smile. Ava was a coworker and sweet, but she didn’t know me well. She didn’t know that meeting someone new was not going to happen. Been there, done that, had the scars to prove I survived it.

“Nah. You know how it is here. Everyone knows everyone.”

Ava nodded solemnly. “It’s really the only downside to living here. But since I didn’t grow up here, it’s not as bad for me. There are still a lot of new men for me to discover.”

I grinned. “Definitely. Hopefully you’ll find a good one.”

“God, I hope so. I’m sick of being single.”

“You need some friends,” I told her with a chuckle. If I didn’t have my group of friends, I’d go nuts, but not because I was waiting for a man. Having good friends made everything better.

“I need that, too,” Ava said with a laugh. She wound her long, dark ponytail around her hand and swung it over her shoulder. She was pretty with a cute nose and hazel eyes behind glasses that made her look a little nerdy. She was curvy like me, but where I could wear maternity clothes even though I’d never been pregnant, Ava looked more like Marilyn Monroe with her sexy, proportional curves.

Our boss and the owner of the company, Walter Coronado, moved to the front of the room. Everyone fell silent. Walter was a good boss and treated all his employees like family. It was why people came back year after year to work for him.

“Hello, everyone. Are you ready to get back on the water?”

We all cheered.

“Good. I’m ready, too. We’re going to run through some basic stuff that most of you have heard before, then we’re going to talk about the tours we’re offering this summer. I’m really excited about this summer and can’t wait to share it with all of you.”

“Woohoo!” Ava called.

Walter smiled at her. “Glad to see you’re just as excited, Ava. How was school?”

“Good,” Ava said, “but I’m ready to be back here for a few months.”

“We’re happy you were able to come back. For those of you who are new, we have a lot of employee events so you can all get to know each other. I hope you’ll participate,” Walter said, meeting the gazes of the staff.

I sat back in my seat at the back of the room and surveyed the others. Most of them I knew from previous years working on the boats. A few faces were new. Every summer, the staff got younger and younger. Not the operators, but the guides. I was one of the oldest ones left, and at twenty-nine, I didn’t usually think of myself as old.

I got it, though. Last summer, one of the other guides was about to get married. Another one was pregnant. One was finishing college and not coming back to the area. It was the kind of job most people didn’t hang on to for a long time. But I loved it. I loved cracking jokes with the tourists and being outside and knowing I was safe because there was nowhere to hide on the boats. Nowhere to get trapped or cornered or…

I pushed the thoughts away and focused on what Walter was saying. All of us were required to having fishing licenses and CPR and lifeguard certifications. In order to drive the boat, a captain’s license was required, and most of us didn’t have that, but in an emergency, we all knew how to use the radio and get help if needed. Walter didn’t take any chances with his customers or employees.

The safety stuff was a review for me, but I listened anyway. When it was time for lunch, two massive sandwich platters arrived, courtesy of Walter. Ava and I grabbed food and returned to our seats.

“This is so good,” she said around a mouthful. “I was starving. I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.”

“Why not?”

“I’m trying that intermittent fasting thing. A friend of mine lost a ton of weight doing it.”

“You don’t need to lose weight,” I told her.

She shook her head. “Oh, I definitely do. If I could drop about forty pounds, I’d look so much better.”

“You do not need to lose forty pounds!”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I really do.”

“Curves are hot, and if someone you like can’t see that, then you shouldn’t be with them.”

Ava smiled. “I wish I had your confidence. I get overlooked all the time for the skinny girls. I’m kind of sick of it. I just want a guy to see me and have his eyes do that lazy slide up and down before he smiles and asks what my name is.”

“College is not the time to judge men for the quality of their choices,” I said.

She laughed. “True, but I figured I would have met someone by now. If I don’t find The One this year, I worry I’m going to be single forever.”

“Would that really be the worst thing in the world?” I asked.

She shrugged. “The worst thing? No. But I don’t want to be single. I don’t know how you’ve stayed single for so long.”

I grinned. “Good vibrators.”

Ava choked on her drink and struggled to breathe while she coughed up the water. I slapped her on the back and felt bad for scandalizing her.

“Jeez,” she wheezed. “You need to warn me before you say something like that.”

“Sorry,” I said, grinning wryly.

“No, you’re not,” Ava said.

I shook my head. “No, I’m not.”

We laughed.

“What did I miss?” Walter asked, turning the chair in front of our table around to face us.

Ava and I exchanged a look and broke out laughing again.

“Trust me,” Ava said. “You don’t want to know.”

I nodded.

Walter raised a dark eyebrow at us and shook his head. “Pretend I didn’t ask. How is my dream team doing this year? You ladies ready to handle the big boats?”

Ava and I exchanged a glance and nodded.

“Good. I’m going to keep you two together as much as possible. Elise, while Ava is finishing up school, I’m going to pair you up with a few of the newer guides. We need to find a third to send with you two on some of your trips. You need to let me know who works well with you.”

“I’m sure anyone will be fine,” I said automatically.

Walter smiled. “I’m sure they will, but I want to be positive. It won’t cost anyone their job, but I trust your judgment. I know you’ll find someone great to pull onto your team.”

I appreciated the confidence he had in me, but I was a background kind of person. I could get up in front of guests and make them laugh, but I wasn’t good when it came to getting to know my coworkers or figuring out who was the right fit with the customers and who wasn’t.

The only reason Ava and I were friends was because she didn’t give up on getting to know me. She was always nice, but she was the one who made the effort over the last few years.

“She’ll find someone awesome, won’t you?” Ava asked with far more confidence than I felt.

I nodded. “Yep.”

Walter held my gaze for another minute, then nodded and asked how we were doing.

“Good. Ready for tours to start,” Ava said. “And ready for exams to be over.”

Walter chuckled. “Don’t rush it. College should be a fun time. A time for you to find yourself and figure out who you are. Those were some of the best years of my life. It’s all downhill after college.”

Walter and Ava laughed, but I had to force a smile and choke back the bile threatening to spill out. College was the worst three years of my life. So bad I left college a year early and finished my degree online. Just the fact that I was alive and surviving on my own made life after college much better than college.

The bar was low for me.

Walter stood and knocked on the table. “Back to it. Elise, we’ll talk in a few weeks or so about your first instinct with some of the newbies. You guys ready for a tour?”

We nodded and cleaned up our lunch. Walter led the group outside to the boats. Tour boats couldn’t dock in the Cove because of the shallow water so we were just south of town on the bank of the river. The St. Lawrence was plenty deep for the boats Walter had. All six of them.

“Ooh, I like that one,” Ava said when she saw the shiny, new boat in the water at the Tours from the Cove dock.

I laughed. “Of course you do.”

“Oh, come on,” Ava said. “It’s gorgeous.”

I nodded. “It is, but I’m more of a well worn kind of girl.”

Ava grinned. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It has to be broken in for you to know it’s any good.”

I smiled and followed her onto the deck of the first boat. It was one of the biggest ones in the fleet. Cove 1 and Cove 2 were used for the tours that ran consistently to the local castles and other tourist attractions.

Walter went through the boat for the sake of the newbies, showing them all the little things they needed to know about it. He also reminded them that they would always work with an experienced crew member so they had plenty of chances to learn the ins and outs of each boat.

Since Cove 2 was exactly the same as Cove 1, we moved to the next dock and walked onto the smallest boat, the one used only for private tours. It didn’t get used often, but it was there and it was a good boat.

The last dock held the three boats I favored, including the new one that fit in the same class size. They were the utility boats. The boats that were used for regular cruises but held about half as many people. These were the lunch cruises, the dinner cruises, and the sunset cruises. I’d driven one of them a few times on really quiet cruises. It made me think about getting my captain’s license, but I hadn’t made that choice yet. Especially because the big boats scared me.

When we stepped on the deck of the new boat, Ava sighed. “She’s gorgeous.”

I grinned. “Yes, she is.”

“See, I told you you would love her.”

I chuckled. We listened to Walter’s spiel then filed off the boat and down the dock with the others. Walter dismissed us when we got back to the training room.

“I was hoping we’d have time to grab a drink and catch up, but I have class in the morning. Next time?” she asked. “I’ll be back this weekend.”

I nodded. “Sounds good. Drive safe getting back to school.”

“Yes, Mom,” Ava said with a smile. She hugged me again, then we walked in different directions to our vehicles.

I drove north past MacKellar Cove and thought about stopping in town, but I was ready to be home. I pulled into my neighborhood and waved at Mrs. Lockhart. Her trailer was the first one after the entrance, and she was the unofficial neighborhood watch. Nothing happened without her knowledge, or her approval sometimes. Knowing she was always watching made me feel safer and was one of the reasons I bought my home when I moved back to MacKellar Cove.

Some people looked down on trailer parks, or mobile home communities if you were upscale, but I loved where I lived. My neighbors all watched out for each other. We got together regularly for impromptu gatherings, and everyone pitched in to help each other out. And in our area of Upstate New York, there were plenty of communities like ours, full of people who owned their own home on wheels.

I backed my hatchback into the spot next to my trailer and checked my mirrors before I got out. Satisfied no one was around, I got out and locked the car then skipped up the two steps to my door. I unlocked my door and went inside, closing and locking the door behind me. I listened, even though I knew I was alone, just to make sure.

My trailer was small with an open floor plan, just how I liked it. No one could hide because my closet didn’t have a door and neither did my bedroom. The only door was into the bathroom, and that was wide open with a clear shot though the see-through shower curtain.

I poured a glass of water and carried it to the couch. I turned on the TV and called my mom.

“How was it?” my mom said when she answered the phone.

“Training was good, Mom.”

“Was Ava there?”

“She was. She has one more year and is still hoping to find a teaching job here. She’s also looking for a student teaching position for the second semester.”

“I’ll ask around,” Mom said. My mom was also a teacher, but she was at MacKellar Cove High School. She said if Ava wanted to work with her, she’d take her in a heartbeat, but Ava was set on middle school.

“Thanks, Mom. How was your day?”

“Good. Dad and I got the boat out of the garage. Ian is going to take a look at it for us.”

“Good. Let me know when you want me to help you get it in the water.”

“If Ian says it’s good, then soon. Bob and Sandy already have theirs in the water. They went out today. Said it was beautiful. A little cold, but gorgeous.”

“It was definitely a nice day. Walter bought a new one for tours. Ava loved it.”

“But you didn’t,” Mom said with a smile in her voice. “You always like the things that have the edges rubbed off.”

“It’s better when all the kinks are worked out.”

Mom chuckled. “Well, I can’t always disagree with you. Are you coming over for dinner tomorrow night? Chelsea said she might come. You should call her.”

I nodded and made a mental note to check in with my cousin. We grew up like sisters, both of us the only children of sisters. Our families spent a lot of time together when we were younger. Chelsea and I drifted when I went to college, but we’d gotten closer again in the last few years being back in the same town.

“I’m planning to come. I’ll talk to her. Are Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ken coming?”

“Yep. And maybe one day you two girls will bring someone over to fill in those last two spots at the table.”

I made a noncommittal noise and let my mom ramble on. She knew I was in a serious relationship with Andy in college, but they never met. He never wanted to travel with me when I went home to visit my family, and eventually, I stopped visiting. For almost a year, I didn’t see my parents because of him.

I know now it was one more thing he wanted control over. But he was the reason I’d never bring someone to fill up the empty seat I sat next to at the table. Maybe Chelsea would have a kid one day and she could fill both seats.

Not that I thought it would get my mother to stop talking about my need to settle down.

“…never see it happen. I just don’t know about you young kids now. Waiting forever to get married and have kids. Don’t you know that if you don’t start having kids soon, you might not be able to? I mean, you’re not that young anymore, not biologically.”

“I know, Mom,” I said. I’d never win the argument with her, so I agreed and blamed my lack of interest in dating on having grown up with almost all the single men in town. She told me I should broaden my horizons and date men who didn’t live nearby, but I told her I wasn’t driving two hours each way for a date.

And she thought my generation was crazy.

“Promise me you’ll give me a grandchild one day, Elise,” she begged. It was how she ended every conversation.

“I promise I’ll try,” I said, like I always did.

She huffed because she wanted more than that, but we both knew I got my stubbornness from her, so that was the best she could expect.

“I love you, Mom,” I told her to ease some of the irritation.

“I love you, Elise. We’ll talk soon. I’ll ask if anyone knows any single men who aren’t more than an hour away. I’ll let you know.”

“No, Mom—”

“Bye, darling.”

“Mom...” I looked at my phone. “And she hung up on me.” I shook my head. I couldn’t say I blamed her. Once upon a time I wanted kids. Two, maybe three. With a big yard to play in and a husband who doted on all of us.

That dream ended the day I landed in the hospital.

2

COLIN

I stared at my phone for longer than felt sane. The text didn’t change. It didn’t rearrange itself into something that made sense. It just sat there, begging me to reply.

Ramsey Holland

A few of us are meeting at O’Kelley’s for a drink. You should join us.

I double checked the number and wondered if I was losing it. He was my lawyer. Yeah, MacKellar Cove was a small town, but was it small enough that you socialized with your lawyer?

He seemed like a nice enough guy. I’d met his kid and wife, and they were nice. But all that was basically work. I invited him out to the farm to make sure he knew what we were fighting for. He suggested a grand opening and it was only right he was there since it was his idea. But we didn’t hang out.

Hell, I didn’t even know what or where O’Kelley’s was. Maybe that was a sign I needed to get out more. Or maybe it was a sign my business was going to be a success.

Then again, did socializing with my lawyer help with that?

Hell, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was I was exhausted and not really in the mood for small talk with a bunch of strangers.

Thanks, but I think I’m in for the night. Next time?

Understand. Definitely.

I pocketed my phone without another glance. He was my lawyer. You didn’t hang out with a guy you paid to work for you.

“What are you up to?” Nicky Holbrook asked as he set a beer on the desk for me.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

He sat down and raised an eyebrow, silently asking what I found so damn funny.

I shook my head. “My lawyer just invited me out for a drink.”

“So?”

I shrugged. “I said no because I don’t think it’s a good idea to hang out with someone you pay.”

Nicky gave me a wry smile and shook his head. “Then I guess this other beer is for me, too.”

I laughed and grabbed the bottle before he could take it back. Nicky worked for my grandmother for years. Forever if you believed him. They became friends, and Nicky stayed on even after she was sick and stopped maintaining the Jones Family Maple Farm. When she passed, Nicky still stayed, to make sure nothing happened. He didn’t get paid. He didn’t have instructions. He just stayed because he was that kind of man.

“Things here aren’t the same as where you grew up, Colin. People here look out for each other. They care. And your lawyer invites you out for a drink sometimes. It doesn’t mean you have to be friends, but it means you can be if you want to be.”

I twisted off the bottle top and tossed it in the bin under my desk. One of the many projects I hoped to get to one day. I didn’t know what I was going to do with all of the bottle tops, but eventually I’d come up with something.

“I don’t have time for friends,” I told Nicky. “I work eighty hours a week. When I’m done, I’m barely able to stand let alone go out and drink a beer.”

“But you can stay in and drink one?”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Listen, kid, I get it. You’ve only been here a few months. It’s tough to meet new people. But hanging out with me all the time isn’t going to be good for you. I’m old and crotchety and too damn stubborn. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up like me.”

“I don’t know if that would be so bad.”

Nicky laughed, a rough, weathered laugh. He’d never been a smoker, but he sounded like it. He liked his whiskey as much as his beer, and he spent more than his fair share of hours outside in the cold. He blamed the cold instead of the whiskey for his rough sound.

“Trust me, you don’t want to end up like me. Life is better when you have a woman by your side and some friends to grab a beer with once in a while.”

I shook my head. “Maybe one day, but things are too busy right now. I need to focus on the farm for the first few years. Get things settled. Then I’ll think about it.”

Nicky shook his head. “You’ll regret it. You’re already getting old.”

“Hey! Thirty-nine isn’t old.”

Nicky grinned and tipped his beer to me. “Forty is, though. You only have two months.”

“Forty still isn’t old. And if the woman isn’t the right one, she’s not worth it.”

“Speaking from some experience?” Nicky asked.

I shrugged. We were still getting to know each other, and I wasn’t a big talker. I didn’t share a lot about my past, and especially about my past mistakes.

“I haven’t been a monk for thirty-nine years.”

“That either means you’re too picky to be willing to let the right one in or you know exactly what you want in a woman. Or a man? I never asked.”

“I know what I want in a woman. If I thought I’d met the right one, I’d let her in.”

My mind went to Ramsey’s friend. Elise. She was at the grand opening, but we only met for a moment. Barely a moment. She was stunning in a way that most men overlooked. I saw her from behind before I saw her face, and I admit it was an asshole move, but shit, her curves had me salivating before I walked over. When she turned and smiled at me, it was tentative, but I felt like I’d been hit with a lightning bolt.

I hadn’t seen her since, but I also hadn’t ventured far from the farm. I wasn’t lying when I said work took up all my time.

Nicky stood and slid his empty bottle into the bin by the door. “I still think you should go meet your lawyer for a drink. Maybe he has a cute friend he can hook you up with.”

I chuckled and shook my head but couldn’t deny he had a point. If I wanted to meet Elise and maybe get to know her, Ramsey was a connection to her.

“Think about it. And get some sleep tonight. You don’t need to be in here when I arrive in the morning.”

I nodded even though we both knew it was likely I would be. Nicky knocked on the door frame and left, leaving me to my quiet, lonely office.

My grandmother worked out of the barn, but I decided I needed to spread out more. I moved the office to one of the bedrooms in the main house, and had plans to knock down the office walls in the barn so we could do more in there. It was another One Day project. I really needed to write some of them down.

I dug out my phone to look for a list app and clicked to the text app instead. It had been an hour since Ramsey texted me. How long did people hang out at a bar, if O’Kelley’s was a bar?

I searched the place and found an address. It wasn’t far, and while I second guessed myself again, I grabbed my sweatshirt and headed to my truck.

The town was quiet, but I didn’t expect much on a Tuesday night. I listened to the directions as my phone read them to me and found the place right on the waterfront. It was definitely in a great location, and judging by the cars parked out front, it was popular.

I found a spot a block away and walked back to the bar. Inside was a little dark, but not so dark I couldn’t see. I scanned the place quickly and didn’t think I saw Ramsey.

The bartender met my gaze and nodded once, whether in invitation or acknowledging that he was watching me, I wasn’t sure. Depending on the person, it definitely could go either way.

I walked over to the bar and took a stool in the middle.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

He was a big guy, close to my height, with dark eyes and a dark beard. His baseball hat displayed the local high school logo, and his white tee stretched across his chest, making sure everyone knew he could kick their asses if they got out of line.

“A beer. Whatever you have on tap.”

He gestured to the list. “I could guess for you or you could pick one. Up to you.”

“Bud sounds good,” I told him.

He nodded and pulled the lever. “You’re Cleotha’s grandson, aren’t you?”

I nodded, curious that the man in front of me knew my grandmother.

“She was a damn good lady. I’m sorry for your loss.”

I nodded again. “Thank you.”

My grandmother was a good woman, but she was also a little of a mystery to me. My parents met on Jones Family Maple Farm, and when my mother died, my father couldn’t stay in the area. It reminded him of my mother, and he chose to leave so he could focus on me instead of letting his grief drown him.

But that meant I grew up without my grandmother or my mother. My father was wonderful, and we were still close, but there was a part of me that knew I was too gruff at times.

“I’m Hudson. This is my place,” the bartender said. “First drink’s on me since you’ve never been here. Hopefully you’ll come back.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I was actually supposed to meet someone here.”

“Don’t tell me it’s someone from that dating app,” Hudson said with a groan.

“Dating app?”

He rolled his eyes. “One of the locals is a tech genius or something and she made an app. All the women around here are going crazy for it, but since they know I won’t take shit from anyone, they’re meeting their dates here. Who are you supposed to meet?”

I shook my head. “No one from the app. My lawyer actually. Ramsey Holland. He suggested I stop by.”

Hudson relaxed. “Sorry. You missed them by about ten minutes.”

I shrugged. “Maybe next time.”

Hudson nodded. “Hey, nice to meet you. If you need anything else, let me know. The kitchen closes at nine tonight, so if you’re hungry, we need to get an order in soon.”

I grabbed the menu and thanked him, realizing I was a little hungry. It didn’t take long to decide on something to eat and put in my order. I also asked for another beer and checked out the bar around me.

There was a dance floor to the side. Bathrooms ran down the hallway. An old juke box sat in the front corner and pool tables made a square in the back. Booths lined the front and side of the space with tables scattered in the middle. Waitresses worked their way around with trays of food and drinks and smiles for all the people.

It wasn’t insanely busy, but it was busier than I expected for a small town bar on a weeknight.

“Hudson, I’m getting a refill,” I heard a woman shout from a few stools over.

I turned and watched as she reached over the bar and grabbed the soda gun. Her breasts flattened on the top, her ass in the air. She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth as she watched, completely focused on the liquid filling her glass.

She stopped halfway to the top and put the soda gun back, then set the glass on the top and pushed herself off the bar.

Elise.

It made no sense that I was so mesmerized by her. She had her purple hair up in a messy bun. A black sweatshirt hid her upper body. Jeans hugged her legs. She even had on shoes that looked like slippers. Hair slid into her face, and she blew out the side of her mouth to push it back then took a sip of her drink.

She defined cute. And with those curves, she defined sexy.

She turned her head and met my gaze. Almost as quickly as she saw me, she looked away, her eyes sliding right past mine like I was no one important. Then again, I wasn’t. We met once, and it wasn’t for long. She might not even remember me.

I opened my mouth to say something to her, but she hopped down and turned away. I watched her walk through the crowd, smiling at people as she moved. When she stopped, she sat at a table of other women, women I didn’t know but recognized.

I guessed saying hi was out of the question. I hadn’t even wanted to meet my lawyer, and I definitely wasn’t intruding on a bunch of women I didn’t know so I could say hello to one.

“Do you know Elise?” Hudson asked.

I hadn’t heard him come back, but I wasn’t surprised. He made it clear he wasn’t going to let me, or anyone else, mess with his bar.

I shook my head. “Not really. She came to the grand opening and we met, but that’s it. She’s friends with Ramsey’s wife.”

Hudson nodded. “Yeah. All of them are friends.”

I glanced at the table again, just in time to see Elise tip her head back and laugh at something someone said.

When I finally looked away, Hudson was gone, but I knew he noticed. I wasn’t exactly being subtle. My dinner showed up, delivered by one of the servers, not Hudson. I ate and finished my beer and stuffed a few dollars into the tip jar. I nodded at Hudson and thanked him for the beer.

Just before I reached the door, Elise and one of her friends did.

“Hey, aren’t you the guy from the maple farm?” her friend asked me.

I nodded. “I am. I’m Colin.”

“That’s right. We met at the grand opening. Nice to see you again, Colin. I’m Trinity. And this is Elise.”

I shook hands with Trinity then offered my hand to Elise. She stared at it for a long moment until her friend nudged her. Elise forced a smile and stuck her hand in mine for the briefest of moments. That one quick touch was enough to send a spark through me, but Elise clearly didn’t feel the same.

“We haven’t seen you here before,” Trinity continued.

“Oh, um, yeah, I’ve been working like crazy. I was actually here to meet someone. Uh, Ramsey. I think you know him.”

Trinity laughed and nodded. “We do. I thought you were going to say you were meeting someone from Book Boyfriends Wanted.”

“What’s that?” I asked her.

“It’s a dating app. No judgement if you were,” Trinity said.

“No, I…quite honestly, I don’t have time to date.”

“Really? Well, that’s a shame,” Trinity said. “Maybe things will slow down for you at some point. But a lot of people are busy in the summer, right, Elise?”

She nudged Elise, and she nodded.

“Elise works for Tours from the Cove boat tours. They’re starting up soon, and she’s going to be crazy busy. That’s what happens when you live in an area that shuts down for the winter.”

I nodded and tried to figure out what was going on.

“Well, we should go,” Trinity said. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“You, too,” I told her. I smiled at them both, but Elise barely acknowledged me. I tried to tell myself it was for the best.

I went outside behind them, but they were walking the opposite direction from where I parked my truck. I got in and turned on the heat, needing a little warmth to fight off the chill of the spring night.

On my drive home I tried to decide if Trinity was flirting with me or if she was trying to get me to ask Elise out. By the time I got home, I realized it didn’t really matter because I didn’t have time to date. I didn’t have time to do anything.

But I did want to see Elise again.

Even though I knew better, I looked up the dating app Trinity mentioned. Before I could convince myself not to, I downloaded the app. I didn’t open it, but it was there. If nothing else, maybe when I was ready to date, I could meet someone.

Maybe Elise was on it.