Page 1 of The Comeback Road
Prologue
Lexie
Nine months ago
Do not panic,I internally scolded myself.This is no reason to panic.My eyes scanned the abysmal wine section at what I kept calling thePiggly Wiggly, noting that there wasn’t a single flippin’ moscato on the shelf.I will not panic.
“Hey! Magnolia’s friend!” a booming boisterous voice rang out, and I was fully aware that they must be talking to me—I mean,who else? But I was busy, my mind currently cataloguing every wine I could and storing it for research later. While I didn’t have a photographic memory or anything like that, I was insanely good at remembering small details of, well..anything,if I put my mind to it.
“Earth to Lexie? I think it is?”
Doing my best to pull myself out of my inner turmoil, I found myself staring right into those perfect hazel eyes I had been introduced to a few days before…Jace.A quick flick of my gaze to his left hand confirmed the wedding ring was still on, and I found myself frowning instead of responding.
“You okay over here?” His puzzled expression only added to his charm and delayed my already late response.
“Oh, uh, me? Yeah. Fine. There’s just no wine here!” I threw my hands up in frustration.
“No wine?” His expression was filled with humor as he took in the rows of wine around us.
“No wine! Of course, I told my best friend I’d move to this town with her.Of course I did, but what kind of town doesn’t have moscato? And I can’t not move here because of the wine selection, right? I mean, that’d be insane.” I knew I was rambling like a crazy person. Ifeltlike a crazy person.
“You’re moving here?”Nowhe looked very interested, and I felt my cheeks heat under his blatant perusal as he stepped in closer to me. “Now, that’s some very,verygood news.”
I felt my mouth dry at his words as I looked up at him. I was tall, but he was taller. “Good news?” I mumbled out, my frustration over the wine completely forgotten.
“You’re cute, Lexie. I think you might do this town some good.”
“You’re married.” My eyes shot down to the ring on his hand.
“Not really.”
“Does your wife know you tell people that?”
His laugh met my ears. “I tell you what, if you can find her for me, I’ll let you tell her yourself.”
Nowthatis interesting.
Chapter One
Lexie
Present Day
The beeping of my alarm sounded, indicating that it was time to get out of bed and to the office.Fuck. Why the hell did I decide to take this job again?
Beep. Beep. Beep.The sound grated on my brain, and my hand darted out to shut off the bane of my existence. Instead of internally cursing out the world for waking me up, I was mumbling curses while wrestling with my sheets so I could get up and into the shower.
My thoughts kept floating back towhy am I awake again?Oh, yeah, because I’m hopelessly in love with Jace, mybossandfriend.Wincing at the termfriend, I did my best to shake off my thoughts and get moving and dressed.
I could hear sounds coming from downstairs, and instantly knew that Sloan must have spent the night. I was happy for Magnolia. After what had happened with her being held at gunpoint, Sloan had attached himself to her hip. At one point, he threatened to sew her skin to his. It was adorable in a totallyyuckway.
Begrudgingly and shooting longing glances at my bed, I finished getting ready and made my way downstairs. I was met with Magnolia sitting on the counter with Sloan in between her legs, feeding her what I was hoping was fruit and not something like edible body paint.
In mock horror, I yelled out, “My eyes,my eyes,”while I covered them
Magnolia’s laugh filtered through, and it felt good, hearing her laugh. She’d always been something special, spending her days trying to saveeveryliving thing she possibly could, coming up with anincredibleidea to provide low-cost, quality veterinary care to those who couldn’t afford it. She deserved all the happiness she was currently getting.
Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy. It was becoming harder to push down the nagging thought that I was intruding on her and Sloan while they were starting to reconnect. It made me think that maybe I should find an apartment. As if she could read my thoughts, Magnolia interrupted my inner turmoil.
