1. Piper #2
Tomorrow. That would be the day I went outside and tried something new. Maybe I’d check out the library that had called me here. Or the coffee shop downstairs.
I had to do something.
With a goal in mind, I went to all the boxes Joey and Mitch had left, shuffling them to their rooms. I started in the bedroom, where my bare mattress waited for me.
After putting on the sheets and pillows, I moved to the bathroom, then to the kitchen and living room.
Hours later, my arms were aching, but my apartment finally looked fit for guests.
If I ever had those.
I pushed the thought out of my mind. I would have guests because I was going to get my fear under control.
A knock on my door broke me out of my thoughts. It shouldn’t have caused my heart to race, but it did. When people were at Joey and Mitch’s door, I would either hide or have them answer it.
I brushed my sweaty palms on my leggings and slowly walked to the door.
My heart continued to pound as I saw a woman with brown hair that faded into pink ends and another one with strawberry-blonde hair.
I recognized one of them.
Wren Hackett looked different in person than on camera. Her hair was in a braid and her lashes were lighter against green eyes. But it was definitely her.
“Hi!” Wren said, perking up when she saw me. “I’m so excited you made it! I’m Wren. And this is Kelsey.” She pointed to the woman beside her.
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Piper.”
Wren held out a hand to shake.
Fuck. I couldn’t do it.
The mixture of guilt and fear churning in my gut was familiar, and it made me want to hide.
I stayed brave, though.
“My hands are sweaty,” I managed to say. “And gross.”
“Oh, no problem!” Wren said.
“I told her not to bug you on your moving day,” Kelsey said, “but she insisted on checking in.”
“It’s my first apartment renovation in town,” she told Kelsey. “And I need to make sure it holds up.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes and turned back to me. “She’s incredible at what she does. You’re living in the best place in town. Minus possibly the library.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “That makes me feel better.”
“Still, I need to make sure you can contact me if something goes wrong.” Wren reached into a pocket of her overalls and pulled out a card. “Here you go.”
“Nothing will go wrong,” Kelsey added. “But she also does house calls for friends.”
“That I do. Someone has to take over for the town handyman.”
I slowly grabbed it from her, careful not to get too close. I hated the fact that my body couldn’t tell the difference between being beaten to death and grabbing a card from a stranger.
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s a little scary moving to a new place.”
“You’ll love it here,” Kelsey replied. “We all take care of each other.”
“Good.” I took in a breath, hoping I didn’t appear as nervous as I felt. “Tomorrow, I’m gonna try to be brave and go do something in town. Any suggestions?”
If I said it to others, I was more likely to do it, Scarlett had said.
Or something like that.
I mostly felt like throwing up.
“You should come downstairs to The Reserved Bean!” Kelsey said. “If you like coffee, of course.”
“I really do. Is it good?”
“More like life-changing,” she replied.
Wren nodded. “It is.”
“The town was lacking in good coffee and the resident handyman finally fixed that problem. Who knew he liked coffee so much that he would open his own shop?” She shook her head.
Slowly, I nodded. “It sounds nice.”
“And if you’re nervous, Kelsey works there!” Wren said.
“Thank God,” Kelsey added. “I was working with my mom at her diner, but I’m the worst at it. Really, Theo shouldn’t have hired me, but he did, and it’s going so much better.”
Knowing someone who would be there made the idea of a new place easier.
“I’ll be there tomorrow,” I said. “Or I’ll try to.”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Kelsey said. “I promise. Everyone here is nice and the coffee is so worth it.”
It did sound fun, and it was just downstairs.
Hopefully it didn’t go horrifically wrong.
Wren and Kelsey welcomed me to town one more time before they headed to the library. I gave them a wave and watched them link arms as they walked down the stairs.
They seemed close. Kind of like Joey and I were.
I wanted friends like that. I wanted to feel like I could walk along the streets of Strawberry Springs and belong. I’d wanted that for years.
I was about to close the door when my eyes were drawn to movement under the staircase. A man with dark hair was coming out of the back entrance of the coffee shop below me.
He let out a long sigh and started rolling up the sleeves of his flannel, which exposed strong, tattooed forearms.
My mouth went dry as I stared. I was curious. So curious that I wished I was closer so I could see more details.
Was this Theo? The coffee shop owner?
He was different than I expected. I’d pictured an older man who was finally following his dreams.
Not a man who belonged on a magazine cover.
Holy shit. He was hot in a way that should have been illegal.
He was older than me with wide shoulders and a chiseled jawline. He was covered in tattoos, something I didn’t think I would ever find attractive, but I did.
If I were a character in my book, I’d run down the stairs and find some way to introduce myself to him.
I’d say I just moved in upstairs and looked forward to trying his coffee.
When he answered, I would tuck a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear and hope he found me as interesting as I found him.
But this was real life and I was no romance heroine. A man like that would not go for a woman like me. I was complicated with a past that had left scars I couldn’t talk about. There’s no way he would have the patience.
The man walked forward and got into the only other car parked behind the building. When he was in the driver’s seat, I swore he looked up.
I made sure to go back inside before he saw me.