Page 2 of Fallen Hearts

“Thanks. So you live here?”

“I do. Born and raised. Although I just came back to town myself after a few-year hiatus.” Delaney took a sip of coffee, looking over the rim sheepishly. “Sorry about the waterworks.”

Clearly she’d been crying, but I hadn’t planned to mention it.

“No apologies necessary,” I said. “No one is a bigger crier than me. Though I definitely don’t look that good after a cry. More power to you.”

Delaney laughed. “I don’t believe you. The guys in town are going to lose their minds. We haven’t had anyone new to Cedar Falls as pretty as you… ever.”

“Stop,” I said, never able to take a compliment well. I’d gotten comments on my dark hair and clear blue eyes my whole life. But it wasn’t like I’d done anything to earn it, so I was never sure what to say. I supposed “thank you” would suffice, but somehow I never managed to say the words.

“Although, fair warning. There are more than a few heartbreakers out there.”

Ahh, so that was the source of the waterworks. “Breakup?”

“Yup. Five months hot and heavy, and boom. Just like that, he goes back to the ex. I feel silly. Five months isn’t very long, I know. But I liked him. A lot. He was a commitment phobe, and in the worst twist of fate, mutual friends of ours say he’s planning to propose.”

Breaking off a piece of muffin, I prepared to do one of the things I did best.

Overshare.

“I get it, trust me. Last year I dated a guy for the summer. Knew it wouldn’t last since he was only there for a seasonal job. But the fact that we were never on a collision course for a long-term relationship didn’t seem to matter to my traitorous heart. There was something about him that I connected with, almost from the start. An attraction, of course, but something else I could never quite put my finger on. Getting to know him was one of the easiest and most fun few months of my life.”

“Why do you think that was?”

I’d asked myself that so many times. “I’m not sure, to be honest. We just clicked. Our chemistry was off the charts. I told him things I’d never shared with another living soul, trusting him completely even knowing it was a dangerous thing to do.”

“So what happened?”

The pang in my chest at the thought of having lost a man I’d been convinced would play a role in my life, even though I knew from the beginning such a thing was impossible, never dulled when I thought of him.

“He left. We tried for a long time just to be friends, which worked for him, but never for me. I know he really liked me, and enjoyed getting to know me too, but only one of us caught feelings. Turns out, it’s really fucking hard to be friends with someone you could envision waking up to every day. Who you’d have given everything to be with.”

“You were willing to move for him?”

“I was. But he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. So I know a thing or two about commitment phobes and do my best to avoid them.” I remembered why I was telling this gut-wrenching story, one that I’d worked for so long to forget. “There were days I questioned everything. How I felt about him, how disappointed I was in myself for taking too long to let go. Aside from losing my grandparents, it was honestly the most difficult period of my life. One I never saw coming.” And finally, my point. “But I eventually got over it. And you will too. I promise.”

Delaney reached across the table, tears in her eyes once again, and smiled in a way that erased any doubt. We weren’t going to be friends.

We already were.

“Thank you for sharing that with me.”

It should have felt odd to squeeze a stranger’s hand, but it didn’t. I truly believed there were no such things as coincidences, and the two of us were meant to be in this coffeehouse together today.

“My pleasure.”

Letting go of my hand, she took a deep steadying breath. “So tell me how you ended up here in this little corner of the world.”

“Well,” I said, taking a sip of coffee. “I was hired as the new manager of a struggling inn. The owner seems like a great guy who I can’t wait to meet in person on Monday when I start.”

“What’s the name of the inn? Who’s the guy?” Delaney smiled wryly. “Trust me, if it’s in or around Cedar Falls, I’ll know him.”

“Heritage Hill,” I said as a vision of the beautiful, if older-looking inn popped into my head. “The owner’s name is?—”

“Thomas Bennett.”

The way she said his name sent a shiver down my back. “What is it?” I asked, knowing without a doubt something was wrong.

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