Chapter 6
Gia
Holt slams me up against the door of his house. His mouth crashes into mine with the pent-up lust we’ve both been holding back. Our kisses are messy and raw now that we’ve given ourselves permission to cross every line we’ve drawn.
I moan against his mouth, grinding my hips against his in an effort to move this along. I want his hard body sliding against my bare skin.
“Can I get you anything else?”
The question startles me, causing my coffee to spill over the side of the cup. “Oh, shit. Sorry. What?”
Looking around, I realize I’m still at the Daily Grind, with its walls of open shelves displaying vintage coffee paraphernalia and the near-constant hiss of the espresso machine.
Holt is not kissing the hell out of me, and it takes a few blinks for me to get my body to calm down. Damn, that was one hell of a daydream.
The cute waitress grins at me. “Must’ve been some good thoughts to have you that out of it. I was just asking if you needed anything else.”
I huff out a laugh. “Very good. And very dangerous. Um.” I glance at my still-full coffee and my open laptop, and decide a snack would probably be a good idea if I don’t want to get the shakes later. “Can I get some of the pumpkin bread, please?”
“Absolutely. I’m Gwen, by the way.” Her dark brown ponytail falls over her shoulder as she reaches out to shake my hand.
“Gia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. The whole town has been buzzing about you.”
My eyebrows wing up my forehead. “Me?”
“Oh yeah.” Gwen chuckles.
With only kind humor in her hazel eyes, I relax a little.
She’s not hunting for a story—at least not maliciously—like most people try to do when they recognize me.
They get this glint in their eyes that says the only thing they’re seeing is the money they’ll make off whatever gossip they can glean from me.
“You’re the mysterious blonde who was here over the summer. We all knew you were visiting with your friends, researching our quirky little town, but when you stuck around, everyone wanted to get your story. Then you disappeared, and the town was buzzing for days.”
I seriously made that big of a stir? I didn’t even do anything out of the ordinary after my friends left. Except for have a one-night stand with a hot cowboy, and there’s no way they know about that. Right?
Did I just accidentally involve myself in a “Hotel California” situation? Oh fuck, are they going to kidnap me and never let me leave? What the hell have I gotten myself into?
My face must be broadcasting my thoughts because Gwen laughs.
“It sounds crazy, I get it. Entertainment around here gets a little dull, so we glom onto anything we can. We’re a little nutty but well-intentioned. You won’t find a group of people more welcoming than us.”
Just then, someone comes walking over in a gorgeous pleated pink tulle skirt and crop top. Their hair is cut short, and they have the coolest piercing in their ear. It’s a dragon that hangs from the top of their ear and curls around to the lobe. I want one.
They place a plate of pumpkin bread on the table in front of me, and I raise an eyebrow.
Gwen hasn’t left my table since I asked for that.
They sign at Gwen, who grins and turns to me to translate.
“Charlie read your lips and brought it over. This is my sibling. They own the Daily Grind, and thank god for nepotism because I’d never get a job without them. ”
Charlie elbows their sister as I laugh.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say as Gwen signs.
Charlie signs, “It’s good to meet you too.” They head back to the counter with a wave.
Gwen turns back to me. “Charlie’s been deaf since they were a kid.
Reading lips was the only option for most of our childhood because our parents were assholes.
When our great-aunt took us in, she immediately got us help to learn ASL.
And then proceeded to teach everyone else we interacted with.
A good portion of the town knows the basics now.
At the very least, they know how to sign their coffee order. ”
“Wow. That’s incredible, although I’m sorry you two had a crappy childhood to start.”
Gwen shrugs. “It is what it is. I should go do my actual job instead of gossiping over here. It was great to meet you. Hopefully I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here for a few weeks.”
“Good.”
I’ve only got an hour before I need to meet Holt.
There’s plenty to do, but my brain refuses to focus on it.
All I can think about is Holt making that innuendo about rope, winking at me, and then walking away as if it was nothing.
I have never wanted a man as much as I do Holt.
It scared the shit out of me, and I knew that I had to put up some boundaries or things were going to get messy.
I don’t do messy.
I’m a one-and-done kind of girl. There’s been the occasional friends-with-benefits situation, but I always ended it before emotions could get involved. I never had any issues walking away from those guys.
Walking away from Holt is a whole different story.
He’s kind, and funny, and so fucking sexy it’s hard to be in the same room with him. I could easily see us becoming friends, and adding sex to the mix would only further complicate things.
I came to Pine Creek Falls on a whim. I figured rebranding the town would be easier if I were actually staying here, but eventually, I’ll have to go back home.
As I’ve already established, goodbyes are not my strong suit, so knowing I’ll be leaving is enough of a reason for me to keep my distance from the sexy single dad.
Even if I want to jump him every time he looks at me.
“G!”
Through the cacophony of sounds in the library, Leah calls my name. Turning, I see her race across the room. She barrels into me, and I’m forced to take a step back to keep from falling over. “Hey, Leah.”
“You came!”
“Of course I did.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Holt complains. Leah giggles, grinning at her dad as she hugs him.
“Come meet my teacher,” she demands, grabbing my hand to pull me across the room.
It’s a little strange how friendly Leah and Lauren are with me, but I oddly like it.
Despite not being the country music star they thought I was, they haven’t treated me any differently.
It’s an abnormal reaction after people find out I’m not my sister.
“Miss Nelson, meet my new friend, G.”
Leah’s teacher is a riot of color. Her dark brown hair is French-braided into two pigtails with a chunky rainbow headband sitting on top of her head.
Her maxi dress has multicolored flowers all over it, and her fingernails are also painted in rainbow colors.
She’s the embodiment of a kindergarten teacher if I’ve ever seen one.
“The famous G. I’ve heard a lot about you today.” Leah’s teacher laughs. “I’m Farrah.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gia.”
Farrah looks at Leah. “Go pick out your books. The next class will be here soon.”
“G, will you come help me choose? Daddy said I can pick two.”
There’s literally no chance I could say no to those big blue eyes, so I follow Leah through all the portable shelves.
Holt and Farrah stand on the side of the room watching the students browse the books.
They laugh and joke with the familiarity of people who have known each other for a long time.
Have they dated, or do they just know each other well because they live in a small town?
Are they flirting with each other?
Why do you care?
I shouldn’t. Holt isn’t mine, and he never will be. He deserves to find an adorable woman who can give him everything he needs.
And I’m not that woman.