Chapter 1
TRIS
Ugh, why do I have to be here? This is bullshit!
Okay, this isn’t bullshit, and I should be thanking my lucky stars it isn’t worse. But if I’m going to be here, I would much rather it be on my terms and not court-ordered. I sigh as I pull open the heavy front door. I just want to get this over with.
Walking inside the spacious, modern building, I’m greeted by a sweet, older lady at the front desk. “Are you here for the volunteer orientation, dear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply, giving her a cordial smile. It’s not her fault I’m here, so the least I can do is be polite.
“Wonderful. I’m Nadine, the Volunteer Coordinator. Welcome to the HOPE Kitchen, where we help others progress every day.” Her arms swing open as if she’s displaying prizes on a game show, and her tone is cheery when she comes around the desk to escort me down a short hallway.
She leads me to a large open conference room where several people are milling around, introducing themselves, and enjoying refreshments.
I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now, so I take a seat in the back row of black metal folding chairs that have been set out for the meeting.
Looking at my watch, I see it’s a quarter till six, and we should be starting soon.
Good, I want to get this over with.
It’s not that I don’t want to volunteer or help others in need. I actually enjoy giving back whenever I can. But it’s the reason I’m here that has me so pissed off.
Stupid Sean.
I should’ve known better than to move to Maple Ridge for a man, but tell that to twenty-two-year-old me.
Back then, I thought my college boyfriend hung the moon.
So, when he said he had a job waiting for him after graduation and wanted me to move home with him, I was sure there were wedding bells in my future.
But I’m an idiot. Now, here I am, five years later, with no marriage proposal, no boyfriend, and doing court-ordered community service.
Ugh! Stupid freakin’ Sean!
“So, you here for the free snacks?” A deep, sensual voice with a slight southern drawl catches my attention and pulls me out of my pity party.
I blink a few times as a gorgeous man with a panty-melting smile plops down in the vacant chair next to me. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Forget it. Poor attempt at breaking the ice.” He laughs at himself, and I find his lighthearted nature almost contagious.
“Why aren’t you mingling with the others?
This place not your scene?” He crosses his beefy, tattooed arms over his muscular chest as he extends his legs in front of him, resting one ankle over the other.
“No, it’s not that.” I blow out a puff of air that lightly ruffles a few loose strands of my hair.
He gently brushes the wayward tendrils away from my face, and we’re both stunned by his actions. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. Well, I mean, I did, but I—” He stares at my mouth briefly before clearing his throat and sitting up in his chair. “What brings you to the HOPE Kitchen?”
Usually, I’d swat a stranger’s hand away, especially a man with the audacity to touch me within three seconds of meeting me.
However, in the brief moment that passed between us with our eyes locked, oddly enough, he didn’t feel like a stranger.
Like I know him somehow, even though I’ve never laid eyes on him.
It’s a peculiar feeling I can’t describe that momentarily scrambles my brain.
But I chalk it up to his ridiculous good looks and my own horniness, considering it’s been a few months since I’ve had sex. Hell, who am I kidding? It’s been a few years since I’ve had good sex, and I’m not sure I remember what that’s like.
Stupid Sean. Ugh!
Falling back into my sour mood and knowing I still need to answer his question—one I’m sure I’ll be asked a few times tonight—I try to come up with a generic answer. But something about this guy tells me that won’t work for him. So I settle for the truth.
“Mandatory community service. From Judge Elliot.” I intentionally keep my voice impassive as I relay my answer.
He gives me a surprised look before asking, “What’d you do?”
I lift my gaze to the ceiling, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
Then, turning to face him, I explain how my boyfriend decided he didn’t want to marry me and cheated on me with his old high school girlfriend.
So, I thought it was only fair to crush his heart like he had mine—Carrie Underwood style with a baseball bat.
I can see the wheels in his head turning before his eyebrows lift to his hairline. “Wait a minute. You vandalized his car?”
“Listen, that douche canoe had the nerve to cheat on me for months before I found out. If he didn’t want to be with me anymore, then fine.
Man up and tell me that to my face.” The gorgeous stranger stares at me, but I can’t stop the Bitter Betty Train from leaving the station.
“So, yeah, I chose to make him feel the same pain I was feeling and did a little bodywork on his ‘69 Camaro—his precious baby. Now we can both be fucking heartbroken.” My words sound almost venomous as they spew from my mouth.
Jeez, Tris. Get your shit together.
“Wow. I’m not sure what to say to that.”
“Sounds like you’re judging me. And I don’t even know your name.” I cock my eyebrow at him as I cross my arms in a defensive pose.
“One, no judgment here from me. Every action has a consequence, and he’s living with the consequences of the actions of his dick.
And two, your ex should have his ass kicked for cheating on you.
No one deserves that shit.” His tone is firm, and I think he does feel affronted on my behalf, which is nice considering he doesn’t know me.
“But let me ask you this. Do you feel better?”
“Well, I certainly did that night.” I can’t help the smirk that appears on my face.
“How about now?”
I pause, considering my answer. “I guess not really. And even though Sean dropped the charges, Judge Elliot still demanded I do community service, which is bullshit because this is all his fault. If he had just kept his dick in his pants…”
“Sounds like you just need to move on, honey.”
My jaw drops in shock. Move on? Move on? “Who are you to tell me to move on? Like I should just get over it, and it was no big deal?”
He lifts his hands in surrender, as if placating a wounded animal. “That’s not what I mean. I’m just saying there are a lot worse things that could happen to you in life. And you’re lucky you found out about this asshole before you married him, and god forbid, you had kids with him.”
I’m a little ticked off that he has the gall to tell me what to do and how to feel. I can wallow if I want to, damn it. You don’t even know me!
“Look, I know there are worse things. But I just wanted him to feel like crap for a little while. It’s a minimal price to pay for what he did if you ask me.”
“Well, you’re better off without him, and I think you’ve come to the right place to help you ease some of that bitterness you’re feeling.”
I’m not bitter. Okay, I’m a little bitter.
I’m sure he can read the incredulous expression on my face, but he beams that megawatt smile of his back at me. “You know what? I didn’t ask you for your opinion, sir. Who are you anyway? Mr. Fucking Brightside?”
“No, I’m Mr. Jensen. Judge Elliot is my aunt, and I run the HOPE Kitchen. Welcome to orientation, sweetheart.”