Page 8 of Love at First Slice
“Should I be worried you’re staring at my girl?” Brew finally asked. I hadn’t tried to be subtle as I stared in the direction of the women hosting the Friendsgiving event tonight.
“Not staring at her,” I answered softly as I tore my gaze away. “Respectfully.”
“Sorry. Just wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be some kind of weird sexual harassment thing my girl was going to need to file.” Brew might have been teasing, but there was no denying the hint of truth in his tone.
“Miss Nuñez is a great teacher, but I wasn’t staring at her. It’s Abby who has me a little… distracted.”
“Ahh.” He chuckled. “Let me guess, she busted your balls at the door? Was she pissed about tonight?” My brows bunched.
“No,” I answered, “not at all.” It was crazy to me that the world was so small that the same guy who had sold me my place when I’d moved here was dating one of my teachers. In Seattle, you hardly ever saw the same person twice. And that was when you were working exclusively with them.
“Abby?” he asked, and when his gaze skated over there, something like jealous possessive need washed through me. I wanted him to look at anyone but her.What the hell is that about? I’ve never been jealous. Not once.
“Abby’s the one with the one in the orange sweater,” he pointed out. I nodded, unable to hold back the way my lips tipped upward. I didn’t know anything other than her name, but I knew I would be dreaming about that pretty, little orange sweater and brown corduroy skirt that held curves and softness I wanted nothing more than to get my hands on.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“That’s her.” I grinned. “So, tell me about tonight? The people here.”
“That’s right; you’re new to town.” He brought the bottle of water up to his lips. “And somehow, you’ve stayed under the Moonlit gossip radar.” I choked out a cough.
“Mostly,” I answered honestly. “I had a group of older ladies come into the school with casseroles the first week of classes.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“No, the food was great. It was just that each tray had a picture of their single daughters, nieces, or granddaughters over eighteen, along with what I can only call a brag sheet stappled to it.”
“Shit.” He coughed. “I was born and raised here, left and came back eight months ago, and forgot about getting that visit.” We both shook our heads with a smile.
“They’re a tight group,” he shared; I knew he was talking about his woman and her friends. “Tabitha, Abby, Rosie, and Ember all grew up together. Tight since my girl moved here when she was eight. They went to high school and somehow managed to stay close even through college. They all came back and, well… here we are.”
“Friendsgiving.”
“Friendsgiving,” he repeated. “My girl…” He paused. “She didn’t have a whole bunch of family,” he explained, “so her friends started these, I guess holiday traditions you can call ‘em, to make the time a little easier on her.”
“Ahh.” Realization rang clear in my head at what had happened.
Tabitha Nuñez had heard I was going to be alone, and she knew how that felt. If I had any doubt of Miss Nuñez being a good human, it would have been wiped away right then and there.
“So… your family?” he asked, and I looked at him.
“My parents passed away a long time ago. I have two brothers who, if I’m honest, I haven’t seen in over a decade.”
“You’re not close,” he muttered; I could hear a hint of understanding in his words. I shrugged.
“No. I was with someone for a long time, and when we broke up, I decided it was time for me to leave Washington.”
“Ahh.” Understanding was clear in his eyes. These were things we hadn’t talked about in the few times I’d gone to see places with him when I was looking for a home. I hadn’t shared, and he hadn’t pried about why I was moving to a small mountain town community.
“How are you liking Moonlit Pines so far?” I couldn’t help looking away from him and right at Abby. Abby, who was looking at me at that very moment, too. Those beautiful sugary hazel eyes felt like they didn’t just see me but saw right throughto the heart of me. It was wild thinking, but I couldn’t shake the magnetic pull I felt.
“I like it a lot more now,” I admitted, and he chuckled.
“Careful with that one,” he teasingly warned. “She’s a bit of a ball buster. Tough nut to crack, if you know what I mean.”
“Hmm,” I grunted. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to suggest, but I didn’t care. I didn’t mind hard work. Maybe Moonlit Pines wasn’t as boring as I’d first thought?
“But my guess, with how she is with her girls, it would be worth the work.” I tore my eyes away from where she was talking to the blonde, Ember, I think was her name, and turned towards him. “You get in there, like what’s there, I figure it wouldn’t be a bad place to be. She’s loyal and funny. Thoughtful.”
