Page 54 of Axe Backwards
But I had to get going. So I gave Tess a kiss on the head and took a step back before she could smear blueberries on my top. She was halfway through her second muffin, though she was wearing almost as much as she’d eaten.
As I stepped outside, Cole Hebert appeared on the opposite sidewalk and waved.
“I’ve been meaning to text you,” he said as he jogged across the road, a big smile on his face. “Figured you’d want to hear the good news. We’ve had more vendor applications than expected.”
I clapped, cognizant of my half-full coffee. We needed those vendor fees to pay for the setup. The stage and bleachers we were building were not cheap.
“Mayor Lambert was a bit shocked, but I’ll get him to sign off on the additional parking.”
I nodded, overwhelmed with gratitude. I needed this event to be a success.
“You’re really doing this.” Cole’s voice was soft, genuine.
I looked up at him, way up—the guy was at least six and a half feet tall—and smiled. “I owe you. Thank you for doing this.”
He shook his head. “I’m happy to help. Maybe this kind of stuff is boring to most, but I actually like doing it. And city hall owes me some favors.”
“You gonna compete?” I lifted my brows, hopeful. He was a former professional hockey player, after all.
“Willa is forcing me.” He sighed. “Said she married a lumberjack, so I better get up there and make her proud.” He rolled his eyes, but his grin was wide. He was so in love with his wife.
“I knew I liked her.”
Chuckling, he looked at his watch. “I gotta run, but I’ll email you all the details later, okay?” With that, he was off, jogging down the road toward the diner.
I tipped my head up, soaking in the sun’s warm rays. Instantly, though, my stomach clenched. I wasn’t used to things going right. I wasn’t used to feeling this good. At any minute, I was sure the other shoe would drop.
And when I lowered my face, ready to move on, I saw him.
The other shoe.
Graham.
Headed straight for the Caffeinated Moose. His eyes were on his phone, so I ducked into a small alcove next to the building, hoping he wouldn’t notice me as he walked by. Sure, hiding from my ex-husband was juvenile, but given that a single interaction with him had the power to derail my week, I chose to believe it was actually a mature decision.
It would only take a second for him to walk by—
“Hello.” That voice, that tone, was imperious as always, and maybe a bit surprised. From where I stood, he couldn’t see me. So I peered around the edge of the brick wall.
Noah stood just outside the door to the coffee shop, hat backward, smile on his face, and Tess turned forward in her carrier. He’d cleaned up the blueberry mess from her face, but her shirt was likely ruined.
She was babbling happily.
“Hey,” he replied.
The two men stood a couple of feet apart, watching one another. It was a study in contrasts.
Graham was all pretense and superiority. His frame thin, his clothes perfectly pressed, and his watch worth more than my car.
Compared to him, Noah looked carefree and casual, friendly and approachable. And tall. Very tall. And built. And tattooed.
Okay, now my hormones were going wild again. But seeing my fake boyfriend in proximity to my ex-husband wasn’t helping my growing attraction to the man.
It’s just physical, I reminded myself.Hormones. Evolution. It’s not real.
“Since you’re dating Victoria…” Graham said my name as if it tasted bad in his mouth.
“Ick.” Tess giggled.
