Page 53 of Tinsel & Tools

“Me too.” I squeezed her back, then peeked over her shoulder and waved at Ryan, who was still sitting in his truck watching us.

He leaned across the console and gave me a grin. “Hey, man.”

“Hey. How’s it going?”

His eyes flicked over to Allie, and his grin widened. “Not bad at all, but I’ll let you two catch up.”

“Bye, babe. I’ll see you soon.” She blew him a kiss.

He pretended to catch it in the air, then backed out and drove off.

I turned to my friend and couldn’t hold in my laughter. “What the fuck was that?”

She smacked my stomach playfully. “Let’s talk inside.”

“About that.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “The place is in complete chaos right now. The plumbers have started replacing all of the pipes and the water heater. So, I know there isn’t any water, and Cole may have turned off the electricity already too.”

“Well, it’s too cold to stay out here.” She rubbed her hands together before bringing them to her mouth to blow hot air into them.

“We could go to the diner?” I suggested.

“Sounds great.”

We climbed into my car and buckled up before I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

“So, if there’s no water or electricity at the B&B, where have you been staying?”

I glanced quickly at her, then looked back at the road. “With Cole.”

“Oh really?”

“In the spare room,” I added quickly, then sighed. “Allegedly.”

She gasped. “Oh my god. You’re sleeping with him!”

“Yes, but no one knows. He’s made it clear he wants to keep it a secret. You can’t say a word, not even to Ryan.”

She held up two fingers in a mock salute. “Best friend’s honor.”

“I mean it,” I pressed.

She squeezed my arm. “I know. I won’t tell anyone.”

I turned onto Spruce Street. “Now that I’ve spilled my secrets, it’s your turn. What’s going on with you and Ryan?”

“I don’t know.” From the corner of my eye, I could see the big smile spread across her face. “He called me on Friday afternoon, and I joked about him coming to visit me. Six hours later, he was at our door. We spent all of Saturday exploring the city and talking. He’s not what I expected.”

I arched a brow. “Is that a good thing?”

“It’s the best thing.” Her voice took on a dreamy tone. “I’ve never felt like this about anybody before.”

“Not even Seth Reed?” I asked, mentioning her boyfriend from our last year of college, whom she swore was her soulmate just a month before she broke up with him.

“Are you kidding me? Ryan is ten times better for me than Seth,” she huffed. “I think I can actually see a future with him.”

“Damn, Al, that sounds pretty serious.”

“Maybe we’ll both get our own small town romance story after all.”