Falling in Tahoe (Love in Tahoe #3)

Chapter 1

Autumn marks the end of a cycle for most things in nature, but for me, it has always felt like a fresh start.

And that’s why it’s so easy for me to romanticize it.

It represents a new cycle in my life. A time to try something different.

Maybe that’s because that cycle has been programmed into us since kindergarten.

Every fall, it’s a new school year. A new teacher, new class, new friends, new wardrobe, new you.

And that carries on through college, and then into adulthood.

If you have kids of your own, you follow that same cycle again with them.

When I dropped my daughter off for her first day of school at five, it sure felt like a brand-new phase in our lives.

A very bittersweet one. And every year after, it continued to feel that way.

This fall, I’ve made a vow to stop going after men with red flags.

I ditched the guy I was sort of dating over the summer, and I’m ready for a fresh start.

Maybe that means simply being on my own for a while.

And I’ve come to terms with that. Especially because I’m never really alone.

My ten-year-old daughter is almost always with me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Pumpkin beer, really?” A voice snaps me out of my reverie, and I turn to face my new friend Daniela, who is pointing at our specials with her eyebrows raised.

I got to know her over the summer while she was helping my friend Layla plan her wedding.

The two of them have been best friends since they were kids, and now it feels like they are welcoming me with open arms. She’s also currently in a long-distance relationship with my boss, Dex.

He’s the boisterous, kind, always-smiling owner of the restaurant.

“Yes, really.”

“It’s September first.”

“Exactly,” I reply with a grin, folding my arms across my chest. I love all things fall, and I’m not one bit ashamed of how cliché I am.

Daniela shakes her head like she disapproves, but her lips stretch into a grin.

“Anyway, I’m just grabbing a quick takeout meal.”

She heads to the back and grabs her bags off the counter, clearly already very comfortable in her boyfriend’s establishment.

“Hey! I’m supposed to get that for you.”

“Never,” she replies.

I roll my eyes and smirk. “Hey, do you guys want to get together for a girls’ lunch soon?” I pause. “When will you be in town again?”

“Definitely. I’ll be back next weekend.” Her boyfriend may live here, but she lives three hours away in Sacramento.

“Okay. It’s a date.”

“Speaking of dates, I heard you dumped the one from the wedding. What happened?”

I shrug. “Fizzled out. There was nothing there. And he just seemed so young. I like them more mature, I think.”

She grins at me, a twinkle in her eyes.

“What?” I sigh.

“So you’re saying you like…older men?”

“I guess. Maybe. I just want a guy who knows what he wants and doesn’t mess around. And has his life together. I have a child, after all. I don’t want to take care of a second one.”

She stares off into the distance with a thoughtful expression. “Did you ever meet the other groomsmen at the wedding?”

“Yes…briefly.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm what?”

“Jameson was older…I mean, not like super old. He had some greys. I would think he’s only like early thirties, but apparently he’s, like, forty. And he’s kinda broody, kinda mysterious…”

“Yeah. He seemed kind of like a jerk, honestly. I barely talked to him.”

“Oh. Bummer. Dex mentioned that he saw him staring you down.”

I scowl. “No, he did not.”

“I swear!”

“Oh well. I’ll probably never see him again anyway.”

“You never know. This town has a way of sucking people back in.” She says it like she’s disgruntled, even annoyed by it, but I know we’ve gotten to her, and she’s falling for this place along with Dex.

“You’re right about that,” I agree.