Page 7 of Starting Our Chance

With Felicity in tow, I glided over to the men’s table and flashed my prettiest smile. “Good evening, gentlemen.” I looked at their glasses and asked, “Anyone need a refresher? Felicity and I are headed to the bar—”

Marcus cut me off, enveloping me in a hug. I felt him momentarily stiffen as he looked to his wife for permission. Good thing I brought her along. She must have flashed him a confirmation as he finished the hug and then tossed me to Logan.

“I haven’t seen this pistol in years!” Logan said, clapping me on the back. He kept our embrace short and sweet, which was just fine with me.

I pulled away and turned my attention to the real reason for my visit to this part of the bar. “Hi, Duke, how are you this fine evening?”

“Just fine, Miss Loretta.” His voice was soft yet so formal. The velvety texture was a caress, and no matter how hot this place was, goosebumps chased along my skin. I sidled over to him, pushing past a few of the other brutes who were wearing wedding bands and still making appraising eyes at me. When I was standing directly next to Duke, I shimmied my torso ever so slightly, but I couldn’t get his gaze to lower. Huffing internally, I nudged him and said, “I got the job. I want to thank you; I know you put in a good word for me.”

His eyes searched my face. I could tell he was wondering if I had other motives. I smiled, flashing him a movie star grin. Please just stop being so fucking shy and move a little my way. Meet me in the middle, Dude.

Unless . . . he didn’t have any interest in me other than neighborly? That was a depressing thought.

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

Shaking my head, I felt Felicity pull me along, and we made our way back to the bar. Once we were safely out of ear shot, she bent her head down and in a conspiratorial whisper she accused, “You like Duke Johnson! You didn’t want to see your old friends or steal other women’s husbands.”

Giving the ceiling an appraising consideration, I smirked at Felicity. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m a homewrecker who used that move to give you a false sense of security.”

Felicity gave my shoulder a shove. “You don’t fool me. I can read you like a book. You have it bad for that Duke.”

The sigh I let out was all too real. “Maybe. It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t everything in life?”

“What’s he been up to all these years?” I asked, shooting a look over my shoulder. I saw Duke get up, tip his hat to the men, and leave.

“He’s an odd duck. Quiet, keeps to himself. He works on his big farm, tending to his family land in his spare time. But he’s tight with my husband and Logan.”

“They were that way as kids. Most of the time it was Marcus and Logan, because Duke worked his ass off on his folk’s farm—” I stopped talking. I didn’t know how much Felicity knew about Duke’s past, or my own for that matter. My folks always had enough for the mortgage and to put food on the table. When Daddy died, I had enough for college thanks to life insurance. But Duke—that boy had been as poor as the dirt floor he was born on. And growing up as his neighbor, I knew what a sore spot it was with him.

I raised my hand to the bartender. “Long Island Tea.” If we were doing this happy hour thing, then I was going to do it right.

Felicity raised a brow but didn’t stop me.

I knew I was an easy read. And right now all the sad memories were pooling behind my mind’s eye. I didn’t want this girl who was super friendly, even with Sammy’s cold reception, to hate me. Duke and I had more in common than the other trio. Sammy and Marcus grew up with family money, and Logan’s parents were the new rich—their children always had the clothes and whatever else their little hearts desired. I wasn’t as bad off as Duke, but that part of our past was something I didn’t want to remember.

“When are you due?” I asked, changing the topic to try and solidify this new acquaintance into a possible friend.

“November.” Felicity rubbed her belly. “It can’t come soon enough. I’m getting to the point where things are becoming hard. I want to get back to my normal level of activity.” Felicity laughed then added, “I’m a workaholic, and these will be the longest eight weeks of my life.”

Nodding, I couldn’t help glancing back to the door. “But then after baby you’ll have down time for something like a month, right?” Duke didn’t reappear. Instead, a loud shout announced the presence of someone I didn’t want to see.

“Dylan.” I didn’t know if I whispered the name or spoke it aloud. I had frozen in place. They say when you see the ex-boyfriend, it rocks you. Well, consider me rocked.

Locking eyes on me, Dylan made a bee-line to us. Plopping a slobbery kiss on my lips, he pulled away beaming. “Hi, there, Sweet-cheeks! What took you so long to find me?”

I didn’t find you. You found me.

“Hi, Dylan, how are you?” I was stiff as a board. If I had leaned back, Felicity could have caught me in one long brick.

“I’m doin’ just fine.” Dylan leaned on the bar and winked at Felicity. “I’ll be all better when you go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

“I’ve got to help my mama with the baking for church.” The excuse rolled right off my tongue like butter on hot bread.

Felicity—who was fast becoming my new best friend—interrupted us by dismissing Dylan and dragging me back to our table. But it had almost immediately become an unpleasant night. Every time I looked up from my drink, or there was a pause in the conversation, I noticed that Dylan was watching me.

Finally, I took the opportunity while he was in the bathroom to make my escape. I didn’t have money for a cab, but I had texted my mama to come pick me up. All in all, as I rode home and filled Mama in on that day—as much as I dared to share anyway—I felt at ease. This place would keep me safe. Sure, my local ex might be obnoxious, but that was how he was, and I was used to the bluster. It was small town drama—high school flames who hadn’t grown up and moved on. My NYC mistakes would not follow me here. This town was too simplistic and beautiful to offer a sense of danger. And besides, it was home.

As we pulled into the drive, I flicked the screen to open my phone and considered sending a text to a certain male who lived at the end of the drive. But my fingers hesitated over the virtual keyboard, suddenly aware that anything I said would be awkward.

When did we become so stiff and formal? Hell, we used to tell each other everything. Duke would have been my sober driver, and I could have told him all about how Dylan made my skin crawl. But that was ages ago. I clicked my phone to sleep mode and leaned back against the seat. My mama must have sensed my mood because she just chuckled. I gave her a kiss and thanked her for the ride before dashing upstairs and falling into bed. In the dark, I gazed out the window and watched the eaves of the neighbor’s house before letting sleep claim me.

---