Someone tugs on my hand. I look down to see Nathaniel peering up at me with a marshmallow stuck in his hair. “Miss Haley. Can I have more hot chocolate, please?”
“You sure can, buddy.”
“Let me take him,” Trevor says. “You talk to your friends.” He takes the boy’s hand and whispers something conspiratorially, making the child laugh.
My heart swells so big I think it’s going to explode. The more I learn about Trevor, the more I love him. He’s even sweeter with the kids than he is when he insists on taking Lorene to lunch on Saturdays. Watching him grow closer with his father and learn to like Meredith has been endearing, but the thing I love most is none of those. It’s the way he cares about everyone around him.
He stops to help people when they’re broken down on the side of the road. He leaves crazy tips for servers at restaurants when they go out of their way to be kind. He makes my coffee every morning and brings it to me in bed to help start my day off right.
It might’ve been his face that caught my attention and his wit that drew me in, but it’s his heart that keeps me around.
“If they grow men like that down here, I’m moving in,” Grace says, snapping my attention away from Trevor. “No offense, Haley. Or rather, congratulations.”
I can’t help but laugh as Neely sighs dramatically at her friend.
We stand in the middle of the entryway, at the point where the flower shop intersects with the new library. Of course, Meredith wasn’t about to let the town go without books. I think she blinked her eyes twice at Branson before he demanded I expand, on his dollar, and create something special. Although, having watched them together for the last two months, I can see that it’s not Meredith being manipulative, really. Branson simply loves her, and in that love, there is the desire to please her and make sure she’s happy.
“Did you and Trevor work out where you’re going to stay this winter?” Neely asks. “The last update I got was a very dirty, sexually explicit answer from Trevor at the café.”
“For now, Trev will have to spend upward of a week in Nashville at the office. Most of the other stuff he can do from here or Natalie can do. She got a raise. A big one,” I say.
“But where are you staying?” Neely asks. “Your house? At the Love Nest?”
“You have a love nest?” Grace raises a brow. “Damn it. This place is a utopia.”
I laugh. “We’re staying at the Love Nest,” I say. “It’s just the two of us, and Trevor hated my kitchen.”
“I don’t blame him there.” Claire comes up behind me and hugs my neck. “This place is awesome, friend.” She steps around me. “Sorry I’m late. Long story and you don’t want the details.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “Your stories are usually pretty great.”
“Totally sure.” She glances at Grace. “Hi. I’m Claire.”
Neely laughs. “Claire, this is my friend Grace. Grace, this is the one and only Claire.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Grace’s eyes go wide as she looks toward the entrance. “And which one of you lovely ladies is going to introduce me to him?”
We all turn to see Penn walking in. His swagger is on point tonight as he pops an invisible collar with his large, tattooed arms. And then he sees Grace. His jaw hangs open for a half of a second before he recovers.
“And yet again, no one called me.” Penn saunters up, a short-sleeved shirt over his chest despite the cold. “It’s like you guys hate me or something.”
Grace smiles, batting her lashes. “I don’t know you, so I don’t hate you. Yet.”
Penn grins a killer smile. “Let’s fix that. I’m Penn Etling.”
“And I’m Grace.”
“No last name?” he asks, cocking a brow.
“Not until the third date.”
Neely laughs. “Seriously. Stop while you’re ahead. You two would kill each other.”
“It might be fun.” Grace winks at Penn, and we watch Penn almost melt on the spot.
Our attention is redirected by the sound of a bell. We turn to see Trevor at the checkout desk.
The patrons quiet down, sipping their hot chocolate and coffee and waiting on Trevor’s speech. My body tingles as I watch him look around at the faces of Dogwood Lane that came to support our project.
“On behalf of Kelly Construction, Incorporated, I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight,” he says. “I’d like to personally thank everyone that contributed to this night’s success, specifically my father and stepmother, Branson and Meredith Kelly. They couldn’t be with us tonight because a poodle was sick.”
The crowd laughs.
“And the biggest thank-you of all to the love of my life, Haley Raynor. You, pretty girl, are an inspiration.”
The crowd oohs and aahs at Trevor’s sweet words. Lorene gets to her feet and claps, beaming as her favorite person in the world heads my way.
My eyes leak as the handsomest man I’ve ever seen smiles at me. I leave my circle of friends and wrap my arms around Trevor’s neck.
“You just stole from me again, you thief.”
He flinches. “What did I do now?”
“You stole my heart.”
“I thought I already had it?”
I shrug. “There was a little part holding out. Just in case. Don’t worry—you have me so tangled up in you now, you’ll never get away.”
He studies me, his eyes narrowing. “When I saw you in the café, I was scared to touch you.”
“But you did.”
“Then I touched you and I was scared to have you.”
“You did that too.”
“Then I had you and I was scared to love you. And now I love you and it’s like winning the best prize in the entire universe.” He rests his forehead on mine. “No, the best prize will be when I finally convince you to have my baby.”
I bury my head in his chest and try not to swoon. I couldn’t love him more if I tried.
“Love me forever, will you?” he asks.
I pull back and look him in his gorgeous blue eyes. “Says the man afraid he won’t feel the same way twenty years from now.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
He looks at me and grins. “Before you. Before I knew what love was.”
I melt into his arms, the frenzy of the room fading out. In this moment, in this man’s arms, I realize what true love really, truly means. It involves trusting in the person to hold your heart close to theirs and never tire of that job. It involves sacrifices too. And we all know that basically means that if your girl wants the doughnut, then your girl gets the doughnut. Now that’s true love.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank a few special people who helped make this book happen.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank God for His blessings and the ability to do what I love.
I’d also like to express my appreciation to my family for their patience, love, and support. Saul, Alexander, Aristotle, Achilles, and Ajax—otherwise known as my world—thank you for being you. I’m so lucky to call you mine.
I’ve been blessed to have the world’s best parents, Mandy and Dennis, and in-laws, Rob and Peggy. I love you all so very much.
Kari March, Tiffany Remy, Carleen Riffle, and Kim Cermak make everything possible. You are my backbone. Thank you for your unfailing friendship.
Thanks to Marion Archer for her tireless energy and exceptional kindness, and to Becca Mysoor for her love and answering all the phone calls.
Hugs to Mandi Beck for making sure I laugh every day and to S.L. Scott for always being ready to bounce ideas around.
Jen Costa and Susan Rayner never fail to encourage me and provide the best kind of friendship a girl could want.
Ebbie Moresco, Kaitie Reister, and Stephanie Gibson are the women who keep my groups running. You are all the best. I couldn’t do it without you.
And to Haley, the girl who makes me laugh over pizza and fajitas. I love you. Even if your taste in music
isn’t that great.
Sincere gratitude to the bloggers who continue to show excitement for my stories.
And to my readers: Thank you for choosing to pick up my books. I appreciate and acknowledge you.
Don’t miss a release! Sign up for my Amazon Live Alert or text the word “adriana” to 21000.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana created her own. The author of the Landry Family and Gibson Boys novels, and Tangle and Tumble in the Dogwood Lane series, Adriana resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, two dogs, two cats, and a bird. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice, and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket. Besides cinnamon gummy bears, boxing, and random quotes, her next favorite thing is chatting with readers. She’d love to hear from you! Look for her at www.adrianalocke.com.
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