Page 12 of Only One I Ever Wanted

Perfect façade.

I crunched the little vegetable and then went for a dumpling, eating it over the lo mein so I didn’t end up with it down my shirt.

I kept expecting to feel the loss, but there was nothing but relief.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.” I picked up my own glass and drained it.

“Think you’re lying.”

I laughed. “No. Actually I’m good. I think the problem is I’mtoogood.”

“Oh.” She picked up one of the pints of soup. “Tell me Booker ended up with a bald spot and a paunch.”

“Nope.” I got to my feet and got the wine from the kitchen, bringing the whole bottle with me. I topped up mine and hers when she held it out. “Appallingly sexy, still.”

“Did he cheat?”

“No. I wish it had been that easy.” I rolled my eyes. “Okay, so that wouldn’t be easy, either. We just kinda of ghosted each other and somehow still lived in the same place.”

“That’s a trick.”

“Tell me about it. There was nothing truly keeping me in LA. So, here I am.”

“Well, I for one, am glad to see a familiar face. Remember Tina?”

“I do.”

“Well, she’s Christina these days. My mom said she’s head of the beautification committee.”

I choked on my sip. “Excuse me?”

“I know.” She sipped some of the broth right from the pint then fished out another wonton. “If only they knew that Tina, Gus, and Booker had stolen the statue of Patterson McBride from the front of town hall.”

“I still don’t know how they managed that.” I laughed as I sat back against the couch with my glass. Living in a small town meant people knew way more about you than a person would like. But it also meant inside jokes and stories no one else would understand. So very different from California on every level. “So, what are you doing these days?”

Parker swapped to the lo mein again. “This and that. Thought I was going to be a lawyer, but then I figured out just how many hours that would mean and I switched to criminal justice.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Are you telling me you’re a cop?”

She laughed. “Actually, you’re looking at the new Chief of Indigo Valley. Old man Pope finally retired. They didn’t even bother doing an election, just called my captain in KC and decided good enough.”

“Well, your mom and dad are actual saints in this town.” Parker’s parents ran the Hope Street Diner, and her dad had coached Little League for as long as I could remember.

“Matty is almost as anointed. He’s the one who actually ended up being a lawyer. He and his wife do family law. They’re having the first grandchild so they’re racking up the bonus points left and right.”

“Sounds it. And also sounds like some things have really changed around here.”

“Nah. Still not a damn thing to do in this town after eight p.m. Saratoga is close enough, of course, but goddamn, are they expensive these days. All the high brow restaurants, bistros, and bars full of microbrews require at least a hundred dollar hit to the wallet.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Pass. At least it’s not smoothies that taste like paste like Los Angeles.”

She laughed. “Oh, we have the Smoothie Shack on Hope. Pretty good, actually. So, what do you do these days?”

“Social media marketing was my deal. Somehow, I don’t think that’ll be a big draw here in the valley.”

“You never know. The businesses in this town are in the dark ages. You might be able to teach them a thing or two about going viral.”

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