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Authors: Olivia Miles
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but later⦠He didnât want to give the wrong impression. Sure, there were girls he was interested in, but he was always careful with that first move. He usually waited for a lead, however subtle. He wouldnât say he didnât enjoy it, especially when a girl was as attractive as Shea, with her long legs, jean shorts just barely skimming the space between her thighs, and a dimple in her left cheek that revealed itself when she smiled. If heâd been back in Baltimore tonight, he might have stuck around, had a few drinks, and enjoyed a pretty girlâs company. But he wasnât in Baltimore right now. He was in Briar Creek. A town where everyone knew everyone and everyone talked, and if he got to talking to Shea for too long, all of Main Street would be talking about it tomorrow.
Already his cousin Luke had noticed the exchange and was giving him a discreet thumbs-up sign from across the deck. Brett muffled a sigh and thought fast. He didnât want to hurt the girlâs feelings, but he didnât want to feed into her advances, either.
âHey, Iââ
In his pocket, his phone vibrated against his leg. Happy for the distraction, he pulled it out and glanced down at the screen.
Well, what do you know?
Looked like his services were needed after all.
He stood, readying himself to make an excuse that was, for the first time that night, the truth. And the flicker of his pulse when he watched Ivy turn and glance at him over her shoulder confirmed it.
CHAPTER
6
B
e careful what you wish for
. Ivy repeated this over and over to herself all night long as the humiliation of Brettâs rejection burned strong. Hadnât she been the one who claimed to want a man to just come clean with her, tell her he wasnât interested, rather than make up some lame excuse for why he didnât want to date anymore or offer up another empty promise that would leave her waiting by the phone?
It had been bad enough that heâd sought her out, felt the need to put her in her place, but then to carry on with his fun as if the conversation had never happened! Flirting with Shea OâRiley from the stationery store! It was
shameless
! How could she have ever even thought he was cute? Okay, so yes, he was cute, technically speaking, but he was also a total ass. And really, that smile that had once made her all but swoon was, on closer look, more of a smirk. And those deep-set eyes she had found so penetrating and intense and soulful were, on reflection, simply laced with menace.
Oh, she was plenty mad at Shea, too, until she remembered that Shea, like everyone else in town, had no idea that Ivy had held a torch for him forâshe cringedâeighteen
years
, or that she had kissed him a few months ago. Shea was simply doing what any other normal, confident, heterosexual woman under a certain age would do in this town, and that was make a play on the most eligible bachelor. Handsome. Smart. A doctor. A real catch. But of course, an uncommitted catch. At least to her.
Ivy picked up the stack of self-help books sheâd bought four towns over that morning and bit into a carrot stick, wishing it was a bowl of raw cookie dough instead. She closed the shop on Sundays now, after much pressure from Henry to give herself a rest, and she had to admitâto herself only, of courseâthat she liked having the entire day off. Sometimes she caught up on orders, or did a bit of housework, or, in recent months, used the entire afternoon to fantasize about a certain undeserving someone, but today she was using it as a self-improvement day. And it started with the glossy cover on the top of her stack:
Say No to the Narcissist! Everyday Strategies to Help You Stop Loving Men Who Only Love Themselves
.
She snorted. It wasnât like she had loved him. Strongly liked, yes. She supposed she should be grateful it was just a kiss, that her entire fantasy hadnât come true and she hadnât ended up another
Already his cousin Luke had noticed the exchange and was giving him a discreet thumbs-up sign from across the deck. Brett muffled a sigh and thought fast. He didnât want to hurt the girlâs feelings, but he didnât want to feed into her advances, either.
âHey, Iââ
In his pocket, his phone vibrated against his leg. Happy for the distraction, he pulled it out and glanced down at the screen.
Well, what do you know?
Looked like his services were needed after all.
He stood, readying himself to make an excuse that was, for the first time that night, the truth. And the flicker of his pulse when he watched Ivy turn and glance at him over her shoulder confirmed it.
CHAPTER
6
B
e careful what you wish for
. Ivy repeated this over and over to herself all night long as the humiliation of Brettâs rejection burned strong. Hadnât she been the one who claimed to want a man to just come clean with her, tell her he wasnât interested, rather than make up some lame excuse for why he didnât want to date anymore or offer up another empty promise that would leave her waiting by the phone?
It had been bad enough that heâd sought her out, felt the need to put her in her place, but then to carry on with his fun as if the conversation had never happened! Flirting with Shea OâRiley from the stationery store! It was
shameless
! How could she have ever even thought he was cute? Okay, so yes, he was cute, technically speaking, but he was also a total ass. And really, that smile that had once made her all but swoon was, on closer look, more of a smirk. And those deep-set eyes she had found so penetrating and intense and soulful were, on reflection, simply laced with menace.
Oh, she was plenty mad at Shea, too, until she remembered that Shea, like everyone else in town, had no idea that Ivy had held a torch for him forâshe cringedâeighteen
years
, or that she had kissed him a few months ago. Shea was simply doing what any other normal, confident, heterosexual woman under a certain age would do in this town, and that was make a play on the most eligible bachelor. Handsome. Smart. A doctor. A real catch. But of course, an uncommitted catch. At least to her.
Ivy picked up the stack of self-help books sheâd bought four towns over that morning and bit into a carrot stick, wishing it was a bowl of raw cookie dough instead. She closed the shop on Sundays now, after much pressure from Henry to give herself a rest, and she had to admitâto herself only, of courseâthat she liked having the entire day off. Sometimes she caught up on orders, or did a bit of housework, or, in recent months, used the entire afternoon to fantasize about a certain undeserving someone, but today she was using it as a self-improvement day. And it started with the glossy cover on the top of her stack:
Say No to the Narcissist! Everyday Strategies to Help You Stop Loving Men Who Only Love Themselves
.
She snorted. It wasnât like she had loved him. Strongly liked, yes. She supposed she should be grateful it was just a kiss, that her entire fantasy hadnât come true and she hadnât ended up another
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