Chapter 17
Imindlessly gathered my things at the end of the day. I was lost in thought, still stuck on what Jay had said to me during the day.
Jay had told me I had a good eye. No doctor had ever said something like that to me.
So I wasn’t sure how I felt about receiving a compliment like that with no added expectations.
The moment replayed in my mind on a loop as I analyzed every part of it, trying to understand why he’d said it.
Was there some ulterior motive? Was he just being overly friendly because he really didn’t want to have to find another hygienist?
Would this kindness only last the first few days before he flipped on me?
He had to have a default setting. All of them did. It was like Buzz Lightyear—there was a secret button, and if I stayed long enough, he might bump into something and convert back to a real dentist and I’d be screwed.
“You coming, Hope?”
I was abruptly pulled from my thoughts, and the world snapped back into focus. I turned to find Macey and Tyler looking at me expectantly.
“Coming where?”
“To the bar down the street. Thursday nights at the Velvet Anchor, appetizers are half off,” Tyler explained.
They both continued to look at me as I scrambled for an excuse to say no.
I wasn’t really a social butterfly. I had Emily, and that was enough for me.
I would much rather go home and suffer through writing a few hundred words in my manuscript than hang around people I didn’t know while pretending to have fun.
“Oh, thanks, but I don’t drink,” I said, slinging my lunch bag over my shoulder.
“You don’t have to drink. You can get a soda. Also, we mostly go for the food. They have the best mozzarella sticks and fried pickles. You have to come,” Macey insisted, hooking her arm around my shoulder and steering me toward the parking lot.
I opened my mouth to protest, but no words came out—mozzarella sticks. I really liked mozzarella sticks. My mouth watered at the thought of fried food.
“I am sort of hungry,” I admitted.
I could’ve just driven back to my cabin and come up with more excuses the next day at work, but for some reason, I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of it. And now that Macey had mentioned mozzarella sticks, I was officially craving them.
We split off in the parking lot, and I climbed into my car, typing The Velvet Anchor into my GPS.
Five minutes later, I was turning down the quaint Main Street and searching for a place to park.
The sign out front was bright neon in a curly-cue font, and the place looked pretty run-down.
But the rundown appearance didn’t seem to deter the crowd in the slightest. Parking was a nightmare.
After fifteen minutes, I finally secured a spot but it was two blocks away.
I considered turning back at least three times during the uphill walk, but somehow convinced myself to keep going by repeating the reward at the end.
Mozzarella sticks.
Fried pickles.
Soda.
It was karaoke night, and the moment I stepped through the front doors, I was hit with the smell of burgers and fries, a hint of beer and sweat, and the voice of a guy attempting Tim McGraw’s Live Like You Were Dying.
The bar was lined with red booths and decorated with boating and fishing gear that looked like it had been pulled straight from some bush rat’s garage.
Big Bear locals chatted and laughed all around me, and it took a moment to spot Macey and Tyler, but eventually I found them tucked into a booth in the back corner.
“Hope, you came!”
“I thought you were going to ditch us,” Tyler admitted.
I let out a weak laugh as I slid in beside him. He had no idea how close I’d come to bailing.
“Do you want a drink, Hope? Or something to eat?” Macey asked, waving down a server.
“Uh, yeah. A Coke would be nice—and some mozzarella sticks.”
It took a moment for the waitress to fight her way through the crowd, but soon enough, I was dipping cheese sticks into marinara while answering rapid-fire questions from both of them.
“So, Hope, what brings you to Big Bear?”
“Um… I was looking for a change of scenery.”
“Where are you from?”
“Riverside, actually.”
“Oh, cool. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-four.”
“I’m twenty-four too, and Tyler’s twenty-six. We both go to the university, which is 20 minutes from here. I’m studying biology, and Tyler’s planning to be a nurse,” Macey said, popping a fried pickle into her mouth and wiggling her eyebrows at him.
“That’s cool,” I said, glancing at Tyler. He gave me a gentle smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“You must’ve graduated early to be a hygienist already,” Tyler commented.
“Yeah, I did,” I said, not elaborating.
“Well, I think it’s awesome. We’ve been in desperate need of a hygienist lately. It’s hard to find one who’ll stick around here…”
“Well, I’m glad I can help,” I said politely, trying to steer the conversation away from me. I really didn’t want to talk about myself anymore.
“Jay’s been stressed the past few months. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to find anyone for hygiene.”
“Oh…” was all I managed. The conversation was slowly shifting toward Jay, and I tried to tell myself I wasn’t interested in learning anything about him. But if I were being honest, I had lots of questions about him.
“So, Dr. Jay,” I started, unable to resist.
“What do you want to know?” Macey grinned. “Actually, never mind. I’ll give you the fast track. He’s thirty-one. Single. Keeps to himself. Doesn’t date.”
“Wait, what?” My eyes widened, heat rushing to my cheeks.
“Not everyone wants to know that, Macey,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes.
“Are you kidding? Every girl who comes to this town wants to know that,” Macey shot back, biting into a mozzarella stick with extra sass.
“I’m not interested in Dr. Jay.” Maybe I had been once—but now? Now I couldn’t be.
“I was more curious about how he ended up here.”
“You mean how he ended up with such a massive house?” Tyler said, grinning.
“Well… not exactly.” It was exactly. Dentists made good money, sure—but a private lake and that enormous house didn’t add up. And not to mention, it seemed incredibly lonely.
“I heard his grandfather died and left him millions,” Tyler said.
“I heard it was a great-aunt who died in a diving accident,” Macey countered.
The rumors grew more elaborate by the second, and I realized the town had probably twisted whatever the truth was into something unrecognizable by now.
“We can’t exactly ask him,” Tyler sighed. “That would ruin the fun.”
“Maybe at the annual barbecue we’ll get answers,” Macey shrugged. “I can’t wait to see his house again.”
“Me either,” Tyler added.
Macey turned back to me. “We haven’t even talked about you being his neighbor.”
“Why would we need to talk about that? And how did you even know?” I asked. Just then, the server returned with more food. I quickly shoved a mozzarella stick into my mouth and took a sip of my Coke, trying to hide the heat creeping up my neck.
“Jay mentioned it when he told us you were coming,” Macey said dismissively. “And obviously, I need details. I would kill to be his neighbor. Have you seen him shirtless? Does he bathe nude in the lake?” She grabbed my sleeve dramatically.
“Who swims nude in a lake?” Tyler shuddered.
“I haven’t seen him skinny-dipping,” I said quickly, my cheeks burning again. “I’ve seen him running with his dog, but that’s it. We’re not really acquainted. We met a few times, and then he offered me the job.”
“Boring,” Macey groaned, slumping back and draining her drink.
“Yeah, boring,” Tyler agreed, winking at me.
“Well, enough about Jay,” Macey said. “We don’t want to be like the rest of the town.”
“To not being like the rest of the town,” Tyler toasted, raising his glass.
We clinked glasses, and I found myself smiling as I took another sip of my Coke.