LITMIR.BIZ

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Nathan, she reminded herself. He made time to come in at least once a day. He’d order coffee, sit at the counter and watch her as she moved around the room.

      Nerve-racking on all fronts.

      “Anything you care to share?” Piper teased.

      “Not a thing,” Amanda assured her old friend, then abruptly changed the subject. “So,” she asked, stepping back to read the sign strung across the front of the booth Piper was manning, “what’re you selling?”

      “Raffle tickets,” Piper told her and used her thumb to fan a stack of them. “We’re raising money to help pay for the new child-care center at the TCC.”

      Grinning, Amanda said, “I heard the motion passed. Beau Hacket must have been purple with fury.”

      “By all reports,” Piper assured her. Then she sighed. “I only wish I’d seen it myself. You remember Shannon Morrison? She tells me she came within a breath of hogtieing the old coot just for the hell of it.”

      Beau was possibly the last living true chauvinist in the world. He liked women fine, as long as they stayed in their “place.” Amanda had never been able to figure out why a woman as nice as his wife, Barbara, had married the man in the first place. “Sorry I missed it.”

      “More and more women are becoming members of the TCC now that Abby Price paved the way.” Piper paused. “I’m not a member or anything, but I wanted to help with this raffle. How many tickets are you going to buy?”

      Shaking her head, Amanda reached for her wallet and laughed. “Give me five.”

      “Atta girl.” Piper peeled off the tickets and waited while Amanda wrote her name and phone number on the stubs. When she was finished, Piper dropped the stubs into a steel box and said, “The draw’s in a week. Who knows? You might win the grand prize.”

      “What is it?”

      “A weekend getaway in Dallas.” Piper shrugged. “Personally, I’d rather win the free dinner at Claire’s.”

      “Hey,” Amanda countered, in a mocking insulted tone, “how about you come eat at the diner instead? We’ve got lemon meringue pie tomorrow.”

      “Now you’re talking,” Piper said. “I’ll come in around lunch. Maybe we can sit and talk over pie. You can give me the real story behind the gossip.”

      “You’ll be disappointed. There is no story.” Except for that kiss, Amanda thought. She waved a goodbye, then moved on. She was still smiling when she caught the scent of fresh-brewed coffee along with a delectable aroma of cinnamon coming from nearby. Marge Fontenot had probably brought in her homemade cinnamon rolls to sell in the coffee booth her husband ran. Amanda’s stomach growled in anticipation as she headed for the vendor cart with the long line snaking in front of it.

      “Doing some shopping?”

      She stopped and looked at Alex Santiago as he approached her.

      “I am.” As the sun shone down on her, she was grateful she’d tucked her hair into a ponytail that morning. But Alex looked cool and comfortable in khaki slacks and a short-sleeved white shirt. “Living in the city, I really missed farmers’ market days.”

      His gaze swept across the crowded park. “I admit, I enjoy them as well. Last week I bought a new pair of boots.…”

      She glanced down and nodded in approval at the hand-tooled brown leather boots he wore. “Very nice.”

      “Thank you. And just now, I’ve purchased what I am told is the—” he paused to reach into a paper bag and draw out a jar long enough to read the label “—world’s best huckleberry jam.” He shrugged and gave her a smile that could probably melt ice at a hundred yards.

      Amanda just chuckled. “If you bought that jam from Kaye Cannarozzi, I guarantee it is the world’s best. She’s won prizes for her jam every year at the state fair.”

      “Good to know,” he said and folded up the bag again. “You can find just about anything here, I’ve discovered.”

      Amanda watched him as he looked around the park. He was dark and gorgeous and his accent made every word sound like seduction. Alex was also nice, funny and, except for his dubious taste in friends—Nathan for example—he was pretty much perfect. Too bad for Amanda that the only bell he rung for her was one of friendship.

      “Hmm,” Alex mused. “I’m curious as to what put a frown on your face just then. Dark thoughts?”

      She forced a smile and shook her head. “Not at all. Um, I’m headed for the coffee wagon over there.” She pointed and asked, “Would you like to join me?”

      “I could use some coffee as well, so, yes.” He fell into step beside her. “I’m looking forward to the Fourth of July celebration. I hear it’s quite the event.”

      “Oh, it’s great,” Amanda told him. “Most of the town gathers right here for an all-day party. There are contests and games and the fireworks show is always amazing. If I do say so myself, we put on a terrific Fourth.”

      Funny how good it felt to say we.

      “Sounds as though you’ve missed it.”

      “I really did,” she admitted, glancing around the park at the people wandering from booth to booth. Kids raced away from their parents, laughing as they headed to the playground. Dogs on leashes strained against their owners’ restraining hands and a hot summer wind kicked up out of nowhere.

      Royal was home. There was no other place like it and she’d never really been happy anywhere else. “You know, I told myself while I was gone that I was fine. That life in the city was better, somehow. But now that I’m back, it’s like I never left.”

      “Going home isn’t always possible,” he mused. “I’m glad you’re finding it easier than you’d thought.”

      Amanda looked up at him and saw that while his stare was fixed on the distance, a slight frown was etched into his features. She didn’t know Alex well, but she sensed something was bothering him. Before she could offer to help, though, he spoke again.

      “I’m pleased to see that the gossip hasn’t upset you.”

      She sighed. The downside to small-town life. She’d already had several people stop her in the park that morning, asking questions, giving her sly winks and knowing smiles. Nathan and she were the talk of the town and until something really juicy came up, that wasn’t going to change.

      “You’ve heard it, too?”

      He gave her a rueful grin. “I think you would have to be on the moon to miss it.”

      “Know anyone who could give me a ride?”

      “Sadly, no.” He shrugged and added, “Though a beautiful woman shouldn’t let loose talk from small minds worry her.”

      Amanda stopped, cocked her head and looked up at him. “You really are perfect, aren’t you?”

      His mouth quirked. “I like to think so, though I’m sure others would disagree.”

      “Not from where I’m standing.”

      “For that, I thank you. Besides, gossip isn’t a static thing, Amanda,” he said. “Very soon, they’ll find something else to talk about.”

      “I suppose,” she said, looking at the crowds in the park. Most of the people she’d known her whole life. Oh, there were plenty of outsiders who had come into town solely for market day. But the great majority were familiar to her. Which was probably why everyone felt free enough to talk about her.

      She knew they were watching her now, too. Wondering why she was walking with Alex when it was clear she and Nathan were starting up again. A tiny twist of pain wrapped itself around her heart. “As much as I love Royal, it’s not always an easy place to live.”

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