The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “We weren’t making out in any aisle, Ms. M. You’re makin’ that up.”

  “Am not!” she objected, giving her head a haughty wiggle. “And I take offense to that.”

  I smiled at the old woman sitting at Blair’s station while her hair was set in curlers. “You do not,” I teased back.

  “Fine. I don’t take offense, but I did hear that. And if you didn’t make out with that man in the squeaky toy aisle, you’re all kinds of fool. If I were forty-five years younger and still had my original hip, I’d rock that boy’s world.”

  Everyone in the salon, including me, burst into laughter. “You want me to put in a good word for you, Ms. McClintock? I’m willing to bet you could still teach him a thing or two.”

  “Bet your bottom I could,” she harrumphed. “You need any pointers, you know where to find me, child.”

  The salon burst into laughter. “I hate to break it to you guys, but there’s nothing going on. He was picking out a puppy for his kids, and he asked me to go with him. That’s all.”

  “Well, I’m friendly with Claribel Fisk,” Meredith Sanderson announced from two stations down.

  “Who’s Claribel Fisk?” Blair asked with no small amount of curiosity.

  “The breeder they got the pup from. And she said he was watchin’ our Nona here like she was the only woman on the planet. And the second that little dog won Nona’s heart, Trick insisted that was the one he wanted.”

  Aws broke out all around, and I felt my cheeks heat under everyone’s attention.

  “Word around town is Emma’s in a tizzy since the two of them were seen snugglin’ up to each other at their kids’ soccer game last weekend,” another client chimed in. “As she should be. She was the one who kicked him to the curb, and now she’s butt hurt that’s he’s trading up. I say it’s her loss.”

  At the mention of Emma Wanderly, my stomach sank like I’d just taken a drop on a roller coaster. I needed to put a stop to the conjecture before it got too out of hand.

  “All right, ladies. You’ve had your fun, but now it’s over. I don’t want you getting your hopes up. Trick and I are just friends.”

  As the last word passed my lips, the bell over the door rang, and the entire salon fell into complete silence.

  Pushing my feet against the floor, I spun around to see what caught everyone’s attention and nearly fell out of my chair.

  “Ladies,” Trick greeted with a slight bow of his head as he made his way to my station. The moment our eyes connected, his lips spread into a gorgeous smile. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Uh, h-hi. What are you, um… what are you doing here?”

  As if sensing the eavesdroppers all around us, he lowered his voice and asked, “Have you had lunch yet?”

  “She hasn’t!” Ms. McClintock all but shouted. “And she was just goin’ on about being completely famished.”

  Trick gave Ms. McClintock a wink that no doubt made the old woman swoon like mad before turning his attention back to me. “I came by to see if you wanted to have lunch with me.”

  “Like on a date?” Meredith asked in a high-pitched squeak.

  That smile grew more prominent as he turned his head in her direction. “Yeah. Like on a date.” His attention turned back to me. “So what do you say? You want to go to lunch with me?”

  Oh my god. My mouth dropped open in shock.

  Before I had a chance to answer for myself, Blair butted in. “She’d love to!” she exclaimed from behind me, then shoved me out of the chair so hard I went flying into Trick.

  He caught me with ease, wrapping his arms around my back to keep me steady on my feet as his chest shook with a silent laugh. “How’s Evergreen Diner sound?”

  Honestly, it sounded great. Everything at Evergreen Diner was delicious, mainly because the guy who manned the grill, Ralph, was a genius.

  My lips parted to respond, but my brain was still stuck on the fact that he’d just announced to the entirety of my salon that he wanted to take me on a date, so the best I could do was nod.

  He released me, but only so he could grab my hand and start toward the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll have her back in time,” he called back to Blair.

  “Don’t sweat it,” she replied giddily. “If you guys run late, I’ll get her next appointment started.”

  “Remember what I said, child!” Ms. McClintock shouted. “You need any pointers, you give me a call, hear?”

  The door closed on the women’s peals of laughter, and Trick looked down at me with a curious expression on his face. “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing,” I blurted quickly. “She’s old and senile. You can’t listen to a word that comes out of Ms. M’s mouth.”

  Trick’s palm landed on the small of my back as he stopped us at the passenger door and opened it for me. I tried my best not to tremble as he grabbed hold of my waist to help me into the truck, but failed miserably, and by the way he froze and his fingers pressed deeper into my skin, I knew he felt it too.

  “Uh, Trick?”

  His voice came out gravelly as he asked, “Yeah?” and I trembled again.

  “You can, um… let me go now.”

  “Right.” His hands fell from my body, but not before he allowed them to skim along the curve of my hips. “Buckle up, beautiful.”

  I did as ordered, my breath coming out in labored pants as I struggled to control my body’s reaction to that touch. Every nerve ending sparked like a live wire, desperate to feel his hands on me again, and when I pulled in a shaky inhale, the smell of his cologne only intensified the feeling.

  I stayed perfectly still as he climbed into the truck and started it up, pulling from his parking spot right in front of my salon.

  “People are talking about us,” I stated as he drove past the clock tower in the town square. “Apparently they saw us at the pet store yesterday.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard.” That was all he said, and I couldn’t tell by his voice if he thought that was good or bad.

  “They’re already starting to make up stories.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Someone said we were caught making out in the squeaky toy aisle,” I continued, to see if that would get a rise out of him.

  “Hadn’t heard that one. But I did get a pat on the back today, and one of the guys at the station told me on a scale from one to ten, you’re a twenty.”

  I couldn’t help but feel a little flattered. “Aw, really? Wait, no.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. You aren’t bothered that people are making up rumors about us?”

  “Not really,” he answered with a shrug.

  “But... they’re lying,” I sputtered. “And you really didn’t help the situation by announcing you wanted to take me on a date in front of all those women. I mean, you know most of the gossip that runs through town starts right there in my salon, don’t you?”

  He finally gave me his attention, turning from the road ahead of us for a brief moment to look at me. “So?”

  “So?”

  “That’s what I said, baby.”

  “What do you mean, so? You don’t care that people are gonna get the wrong idea?”

  Trick turned into the lot of the diner and pulled into one of the parking spots before killing the engine and twisting in his seat to face me.

  “Would it be the wrong idea?”

  “I—what?”

  “Would it be the wrong idea?” he repeated, leaning in close enough that he was all I could see.

  My mouth opened and closed in bewilderment. “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

  Those quicksilver eyes bored into me so deep I felt like he could see into my soul. “All right, sweetheart. At the risk of freaking you out, I’m gonna be completely honest. I want you. And when I say that, I don’t just mean your body. I want you in every single way I can have you. I fucked up. I hurt you, and that kills me. I wish I could go back and do that night all over again, because if I could, I’d never leave that goddamn bed. I get that I
don’t deserve a second chance, but I’m asking for one anyway. You can say no, but I won’t stop trying.”

  “You won’t?” I croaked, my throat suddenly so dry those two words felt like sandpaper coming up.

  “No, I won’t.” He leaned in even more, and I suddenly wanted him to kiss me stupid. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it, so goddamn sorry, but I know what I have in front of me now.”

  By the time he finished his little speech, I was finding it nearly impossible to breathe. I didn’t have the first clue how to respond to any of that, mainly because my brain was no longer working, and I wasn’t sure it would ever work correctly again.

  “I, uh… that was… um….”

  “Let’s get something to eat, yeah? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  And just like that, the conversation was over.

  * * *

  “Hey, Trick, Nona,” Sally, the wife of the husband-and-wife team behind Evergreen Diner, greeted as we pushed through the door. “You guys grab whatever table you want and I’ll be right with you.”

  Trick grabbed my hand and led me toward a booth against one of the front windows. “Thanks, Sal.”

  He helped me into my seat like a gentleman before taking his own seat across from me. Sally showed up a second later with a bright smile and two menus.

  “Hey, guys. How’s it goin’?”

  I flipped my menu open. “It’s good, Sally. Thanks for asking. How are you?”

  “Got no complaints, darlin’. Business is good, and Ralph hasn’t driven me to murder yet, so I’d say I’m on the winning side.” She propped her hands on her hips and gave us a knowing look. “So, is this a date?”

  My cheeks immediately flushed, and Trick spoke before I could say a word. “Christ, Sally. Not you too.”

  “Hey, what can I say? It’s a small town. Not much else to do but gossip. So…?”

  “It….” I paused, turning to look at Trick before finishing my sentence. “Yeah. It is.”

  The woman’s face split into a grin so big I worried her face might freeze that way. “Ralph!” she hollered back to her husband. “Ralph! You’re never gonna believe this!”

  “Damn, woman!” Ralph returned on a yell. “You determined to shout this whole place down?”

  “Oh, quit your bellyachin’ and get a load of this! Trick and Nona are here on a date!”

  “You don’t say!” His big bearded face popped up through the pass-through. “Well I’ll be switched!” His eyes bounced between the two of us, and he declared, “Another one bites the dust! Welcome to the club, my boy. It’s a freakin’ blast. If you catch my drift.”

  “Don’t be crass, Ralph!” Sally chastised loudly.

  “Told you a million times, woman! My diner, my rules. Which means I’ll be as crass as I wanna be!”

  Ralph disappeared from the pass-through as Sally grumbled under her breath before morphing back into the best waitress on the planet. “What can I get you two to drink?”

  “I’ll just have a water with lemon, please,” I said through a giggle.

  “Iced tea for me,” Trick added. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  “On it. Be back in just a flash.”

  I began scanning the menu and encountered the same problem I always ran into every time I came to the diner. Ralph had daily specials on top of the regular fair, but every single thing tasted so good that it was impossible to choose.

  “What’s got you frowning so hard?”

  At Trick’s question, I looked up from the menu. “I can never decide what I want when I come here. Everything Ralph makes is delicious.”

  “I used to have the same problem.”

  My lips pulled into a grin. “Yeah? So how’d you fix it?”

  “I just started going down the line. Every time I come in, I get the item right below the last one I ate.”

  My head fell back on a deep belly laugh. “That’s really smart. So what’s today’s choice, then?”

  He looked down at the menu, dragging his fingers along the rows. “Looks like it’s gonna be the mushroom and swiss burger.”

  My stomach immediately let out a rumble. “That sounds perfect.”

  Sally returned with our drinks a moment later. “You guys ready to order?”

  “Yeah. Two mushroom and swiss burgers, seasoned fries for me,” Trick told her.

  I usually loved the seasoned fries, but sometimes Ralph got in the mood to fry up a whole onion that had been cut into slices that was to die for. “Hey, Ralph!” I shouted, leaning to the side. “You got that deep fried onion today?”

  “Sure do, darlin’!” he yelled in return. “Even made up my own special dipping sauce!”

  Sitting up straight, I turned my attention back to Sally. “I’ll have that with mine.”

  “You got it.”

  Then she proceeded to holler our order to Ralph, and despite the chaos, I knew he’d remember every word, and that it would taste absolutely wonderful.

  * * *

  My burger had been demolished, and nearly all of the fried onion was gone. “Oh my god,” I groaned, leaning back in the booth and rubbing my stomach. “I’m so full I think you might need to roll me out the door.”

  Trick pulled some bills from his wallet and tossed them to the table. “So how’d this one rank on your scale of first dates?”

  I shot him a playful grin. “Well, the last first date I went on was back when I was nineteen. The food wasn’t nearly as good, but it was actually pretty similar to this one.”

  Trick’s head fell back on a pained groan. “Ouch. That hurts. I really dropped the ball, didn’t I?”

  “No,” I answered with a laugh. “You didn’t. I’ve been having a good time.” Reaching across the table, I placed my hand on top of his. “A really good time. Thank you.”

  “Second one’ll be better, I promise.”

  “Look at you, thinking you’ll get a second date. It’s adorable.”

  “What can I say?” The gray in his eyes sparkled like silver. “I like my chances.”

  Hooking my purse over my shoulder, I pushed out of the booth and shook my head. “All right, Casanova. Let’s go. I’ve got a cut and color in a few minutes, and if I’m late, you can bet I’ll be blaming you.”

  Trick drove me back to the salon, and I was still floating on cloud nine by the time we arrived. He met me at the passenger side and helped me down, staying close once my feet hit the ground and caging me just inside the door.

  “You in this with me, beautiful?” he asked soft and low, his sultry voice turning me into a puddle of goo. He was so close that all I had to do was stand on my tiptoes to feel his lips against mine.

  I was having trouble thinking straight with him standing that close, but I somehow managed a stuttered “I th-think so.”

  “Good. ’Cause if you weren’t, all those women staring at us through the window right now would be seriously disappointed.”

  My head jerked around, and sure enough, there were at least ten faces pressed to the front window of my salon. The second I caught them gawking, they scattered like flies.

  “Freaking busybodies,” I grumbled under my breath, wanting to do each and every one of them bodily harm for ruining a perfectly good moment.

  “Baby.” I turned back to Trick to find his eyes alight with humor. “Kiss me so I can get back to the station and you can go deal with them.”

  My body reacted instantly, and I went up on my toes to give him the kiss he’d just demanded. The instant our lips touched, I melted against him, and he took over. It was much shorter than I would have liked, but no less hot as his mouth opened over mine, his tongue dipping inside for a quick taste that made my knees wobble.

  All too soon, he pulled away, and I had to force my eyes open to look up at him.

  “The kids are coming back to me this weekend, but I still want to take you out. Think you could get a sitter for Thursday evening?”

  “It’s Tris’s birthday,” I announced in a brea
thy voice. “I take them to The Groves every year to celebrate their birthdays with a fancy dinner. It’s tradition.”

  “Okay. We’ll find another night.”

  I had to admit, I felt a pang of disappointment, but I loved that he was so willing to compromise. And it was for that reason I found myself asking, “Do you… want to join us?” Realizing that asking him to be part of a family celebration might be putting the cart about a hundred miles before the horse, I quickly added. “You don’t have to. I mean, it’s not a big deal. It’s usually only the three of us. But they really like you, so if you wanted—”

  “Sounds great, baby.”

  A girly voice inside my head let out a squeal of excitement. “You sure?”

  “Absolutely. What time’s the reservation?”

  “Seven,” I answered immediately.

  “All right. It’s a date.”

  “Yeah.” I smiled so big my cheeks began to ache. “It is.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Trick

  The moment I pushed my front door open, I was greeted by a high-pitched bark. I moved to the kennel I bought for crate training, and the moment Diva saw me, she started wagging her stubby tail so hard her entire back end wiggled.

  “Hey, girl.” She let out another bark and beat her paw on the ground, demanding to be let out. “All right, bossy. Gimme just a second.” Tossing my jacket onto the back of the sofa, I headed for the kitchen, removing my gun, holster, and badge from my belt, and placed them on the island. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and uncapped it before going back to the kennel and unlatching the door.

  Diva hopped out and followed me to the back door. The moment I opened it, she shot out to do her business. I was kicked back in one of the Adirondack chairs, sipping my beer while keeping an eye on the pup as she sniffed around, when my cell rang.

  Pulling it from my pocket, I smiled at the screen before engaging the call and lifting it to my ear. “Hey, baby girl.”

  “Hey, Daddy.” Hannah replied. “What’re you up to?”