Page 46 of Hothead

“So, you guys are a thing now ... officially?” Libby nodded toward Luke, who stood around in a circle with the other men.

Her eyes went to and stayed on Luke as she answered, “Yeah, I guess we are. Until I leave.”

“And after that?” Cat asked.

She let a sigh slip, her gaze going back to the two women sitting cross-legged in front of her. “After that, I go home. And we both go back to our lives.”

“And you’re cool with that?” Libby didn’t seem very enthused.

Bella’s eyes dropped to her own crossed legs. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

“So that’s it?” Libby wasn’t doing a great job at hiding her frustration. “You both like each other, but you’re not even gonna try? That’s just dumb. Can’t you do long distance for a while? Where do you live again?”

“Uh, San Francisco”—Bella began to fidget—“but I guess I’m kinda between places right now. Marco and I had an apartment together, but after ... Well, it was too big for just me, so I didn’t renew the lease. My stuff is all in storage, so when I head back, I’ll need to start looking for a place.”

“Oh my God,” Libby squealed, “that means you could move here, to Woodvalley. You wouldn’t even have to do much, ’cause your apartment’s all packed up!”

“Um, what?” Bella was pretty sure her face was contorting just as fast as her heart was beating. “No, that’s not what ... I don’t think. Um, no. Just, no.”

“Way to scare the shit outta her, Lib.” Cat smirked as she reached over to the cooler and pulled out a beer.

Bella didn’t even deny it. The woman was scaring her. There was no way in hell she would be moving to Woodvalley. Talk about total bunny boiler behavior. The last thing she needed was Luke taking out a restraining order on her ass.

“Sorry, I just meant that you travel for work, right?” Libby didn’t wait for Bella to confirm before continuing, “Well, I got the impression you’re not home a lot because of your job, and I remember you saying Marco was your only friend ... and you didn’t mention any family—so I just assumed there wasn’t much keeping you there. If that’s the case, then why not move?”

Wow. No friends. No family. Reality slapping you in the face really stings that much more when it’s coming out of someone else’s mouth.

“What Lib is trying to say,” Cat jumped in, “is that you have friends here now. Me, Lib, and Rach. And if there’s nothing waiting for you back home,we’dlike you to stick around ... whatever happens with you and Luke.”

A wave of emotions washed over Bella as warmth blossomed in her chest. Why were these women being so nice to her? People were never really that nice to her. She hadn’t even ever had a close girlfriend before. And now suddenly she had three. It didn’t make sense.

“But you guys hardly know me?” she let slip.

Matching smiles were pasted on Cat and Libby’s faces.

Libby was the first to speak. “Is it that hard to believe that we like you?”

Yes.“I’ve not had any female friends before.”Seriously? Where the hell is my “Don’t sound like a loser” filter?

“Well, now you do,” Cat replied before taking a swig of her beer.

Bella felt her lips tip just as Wade called out for everyone to make their way over to the creek.

It was time to tube.

***

“Why were you livingon the street?”

Of all the times to have this conversation, Bella wasn’t expecting it to be now. In a fancy Italian restaurant. Her mouth full of pasta. Pasta she still had to finish chewing while Luke’s eyes pinned her in place.

She knew this question was coming. He’d opened up to her last week, and now it was her turn. But Luke was well aware that she didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe that’s why he’d suggested taking her out for dinner after his shift tonight and plied her with her favorite food. To soften the blow.

Taking her time to swallow down her penne and then following up with a long, slow sip of wine, his gaze didn’t waver. And his paused fork meant his bolognese was paying the price for her stalling and getting colder by the second.

“I told you,” she finally caved. “I’m no stranger to dysfunctional families.”

“That’s not an answer.” A condescendingtskcame just moments later.

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