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The pizza I was currently chewing becah and hard to s I felt cold all of a sudden, and a faood at fielding personal questions I wasn’t exactly what you’d call an open book Taking ed to s my food I hid my hands under the table so she couldn’t see them tremble “I don’t have any family left Not blood, anyway My best friend, Matthew, is rew up”

Bailey’s eyes were bright with sympathy “I’m sorry, Jess You don’t have to talk about them”

“Thanks It was hard losing them, but Matthew has always been there for hter, and she’s just an adorable devilish angel”

She grinned at et to see her a lot?”

“Not as much as I’d like” Partly my fault because ofback to Iowa “But we FaceTime a lot”

“And what about back in Wiluy?”

As we in to leave eon We met at the hospital while I was a resident The hours were so insane—even worse than my hours noas impossible to have any kind of relationship with someone asn’t a doctor And honestly I didn’t want a relationship I still don’t I like ets all of it We’re friends with benefits” I thought about that term and snorted “Except we’re not really friends, either”

Bailey surveyedeach other?”

I chuckled at the way she phrased the question “We started a few years back and then he th of their relationship That was about a year He decided he didn’t want a serious relationship after all and so we started up our thing again”

“And close friends in Wilton?”

Until I arrived in Hartwell I hadn’t realized how ton I had no time for the realization to dawn on oing on in ues that I like, but we don’t go out or spend our free ti hours”

This garnered me a worried look

“It’s fine,” I said, but her expression didn’t change “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’lad you came here”

“Why?”

She shrugged and gave me this secretive, mischievous smile “I just am”

NINE

Cooper

It was a fact that the coffee at Emery’s was better than the coffee Cooper had at the bar On days he wanted that coffee bad enough he would hit E he’d have to endure the painful shyness of the owner

That day was no different from any other As soon as he stepped into the bookstore-coffeehouse, Emery blushed froht of him and lowered her eyes

It would have been cute if her discomfort didn’t make him so uncomfortable

“Morning, E the counter “I’ll have the usual”

She nodded, her gaze aimed somewhere over his shoulder In the entire tiht maybe she’d made eye contact with him once Cooper would never understand it She was a few years younger than hied to open her own business at a really young age All of that should have given her plenty of confidence, ance, but as far as Cooper could see, Emery had none of that

The first tiht maybe she was attracted to him because of the way she blushed when he talked to her, but over time he came to realize she was shy with most folks, especially men She blushed that pretty color of pink when Jack spoke to her, too

He frowned No need to think of that son of a bitch But it was a hard habit to break, considering the er part of his life

“Anything else?” E his eyes

“No, angel, that’s it” He paid up, getting out of her place fast like always It ht make him a dick, but that woman was hard to be at ease around He felt like his presence tortured her, considering the way she whispered or sta the hell out of her way as quickly as possible so she could go back to breathing normally

Cooper stepped outside her store and sipped at his coffee

Pure heaven in a cup

Made the aardness from the oorth it

Coffee in hand, he started walking toward his bar His footsteps al under the bar awning

Think of the devil and he shall appear

Fucking Jack

He felt a familiar cold hardness settle inside him and coil around his muscles, like it always did these days whenever he encountered his ex-friend around town

“Here on business” Jack held up his hands defensively

Cooper’s anger toward Jack was so controlled he ed to keep his face blank He stoppedin his personal space That e was, You don’t bother me, asshole; you’re not even on my radar He sipped casually at his coffee as Jack stared back at hiut, Cooper finally said, “And Ian thought it was a good idea to send you?” izza I was currently chewing becah and hard to s I felt cold all of a sudden, and a faood at fielding personal questions I wasn’t exactly what you’d call an open book Taking ed to s my food I hid my hands under the table so she couldn’t see them tremble “I don’t have any family left Not blood, anyway My best friend, Matthew, is rew up”