Page 5 of Locked Down In Watch Hill
“I will,” I promised. “I will.”
And then, just like that, I was alone again.
THREE
KYLE
Itwasher.
The same Ashley Stevens, the same shock of tumbling hair, the same piercing eyes, the same captivating aura that came off her like sweet perfume. That had drawn me to her in the first place on New Year’s Eve, when I’d been dateless once again and wading through the dwindling pool of Cincinnati-area eligible women.
And here she was, living a few blocks away in my little corner of Watch Hill.
That was a cool development.
I parked the car in one of the two dedicated parking spots for Watch Hill Pizza in the small lot that fanned away from the row of shops across the street from the town’s shopping plaza. It created a charming picture of a cozy community on the edge of the Cincinnati suburbs that somehow managed to feel like its own place, and not the fabricated dreams of an out-of-town developer. I turned off the engine and took Ashley’s receipt from the cupholder next to me.
What a cute woman. Better than cute.Gorgeous, even behind the mask. That part couldn’t stay hidden.
I looked at the receipt. Around twenty bucks, paid with a gift card. Hmm. She’d said she was in quarantine too, having been exposed to the virus by someone she didn’t know. That had to suck. Canceled trip, canceled birthday, canceled life...
I folded the receipt and got out of the car. When I arrived back in the pizza parlor, Tyler was putting the next round of pizzas into the large oven that occupied much of the kitchen. He turned to me.
“How did it go?”
“Fine. How did it go here?”
“Great. We only had a few calls. One asking for hours and two placing orders.” He wiped his hands on his oversized white apron. “You were gone longer than I thought you would be.”
“Oh, yes.” I took off my jacket and switched it with the other apron on a nearby wall hook. “I ran into someone that I know.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
For a split second, the earnestness in his voice struck me, but Tyler was right. Running into someone you knewwasa big deal during a time when people were mostly keeping to themselves and “social distancing” under governmental guidelines. Six feet to slow the spread. Six feet to stay healthy. Six feet to get to the other side...
“Ashley Stevens.” I fished the receipt for her food from my jacket pocket. “We met on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t realize that she lives over here, but apparently she does.”
