Page 7 of Trust

“That’s a shame,” she replied quietly, “since I plan on living through you vicariously for the foreseeable future.”

“I doubt that will be necessary since the town’s men will buzz around you like bees the minute your breakup becomes public knowledge.”

“I hope not. I’ve known most of them since kindergarten and remember vividly when they ate their boogers.” She made a frown. “There’s not one decent prospect in all of Haven, and I might have to follow our baby sister’s footsteps and move out of town to find a man worth holding onto.”

“Callie didn’t move to the Outer Banks for love; she went to pursue her career.”

“And happened to find a fab man along the way.”

“True. But I doubt the ties that have kept us bound to this town will loosen any time soon.”

Lucy let out a dramatic sigh. “I know, but I like to pretend it’s possible every once in a while.”

She tugged her sister’s hand toward the front door. “Let’s go fix our lackluster love lives with chocolate.”

“Might as well.”

As they tromped into the house, she thought about the man at the end of Lady Bug Lane and wondered if he’d ever find her…not annoying.

Ten minutes later, they were comfortably settled in the enclosed porch, and she gave Lucy an assessing gaze. “Is it truly over with Ken, or have you two just had another knockdown war of words that will take a couple of days to get over?”

“There is no coming back from what he said, and I can happily report that I’ve seen the light and set fire to the bridge that once connected us.”

“So, you’ve decided to go with the nuclear option?”

“Absolutely, and I look forward to the peaceful days ahead,” Lucy replied. “No more drama for this llama.”

She cut her muffin in half and prayed her sister was truly over the town’s golden boy. They’d never been much of a match, and she always suspected that underneath Ken’s perfect façade lay a heart filled with darkness. Or some fairly bad intentions. Either way, her sister deserved more. She lifted a piece of her muffin and tapped it against Lucy’s. “Cheers to new beginnings.”

“Indeed.”

“Hey, before I forget, is our book club meeting still on for Thursday?”

“Yes,” Lucy said after taking a sip of her coffee. “I’ll send out a reminder tomorrow because no one will want to miss the question-and-answer Skype session I’ve scheduled with the author.”

“I can’t believe you got Ariella Buckwitz to agree to speak with our little group. She’s a rock star of regency romance, and I hope she’s as funny in person as she is on the page.” She stirred another heaping teaspoon of sugar into her coffee. “I’m gaga over the woman.”

“Who isn’t?” Lucy replied. “My little bookstore may be small in size, but it’s enormous in influence, and Ariella appreciates all the online pimping I’ve done for her fabulous books.”

“Is Grams going to be joining us?”

“Assuming you’re asking that rhetorically since our gin-swilling, caftan wearing, bon-vivant of a grandmother would never miss a get-together where drinks and nibbles are present.”

“I just wanted to make sure,” she said before taking a bite of her muffin. The dark chocolate chunks melted against her tongue, and she felt Bella’s head on her knee. “We both know that chocolate isn’t good for you.” Her dog slid her face away and let out a little whimper before collapsing.

“Seems you found a dog that’s as dramatic as Grams.”

“I think they could give the other a run for their money, that’s for sure.”

“Tell me about your neighbor. Is he too handsome for words?”

“Yes, and no,” she replied. “Half his face has several red scars, and his neck is mottled with burns, but none of that detracts from his devastating magnetism. It almost makes him a tiny bit more appealing since he’d be too handsome otherwise.”

“Really?” Lucy asked. “Guess I have to see him in person to grasp his appeal.”

“He’s rather unfriendly and gruff when you first speak to him, but after a couple of hours, he warms right up.” She watched her sister’s signature eye roll and let out a huff. “What…it’s true.”

“No doubt, but why am I getting the feeling that this poor man is going to be subjected to your efforts to save him?”

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