Page 63 of The Small-Town Seduction Plan

After they move on, Avery gives me a grin. “You know, for a grumpy hermit, you seem to know everyone.”

“That’s a small town for you,” I shrug.

“Wait… you like it!” Avery exclaims, studying me. “You always complain about everyone being in your business, but you still go out of your way to help them. Suze with the sets for her production, Earl and his broken window…”

“That’s nothing,” I protest, but she just smiles.

“You even showed up to patch my roof, and you couldn’t stand the sight of me! You like being a part of something. A community.”

She’s got me.

“It’s not all bad,” I admit grudgingly. “When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to move away, but once I actually got out… I missed it, having neighbors who actually gave a damn.”

“That sounds nice,” Avery sighs. “The only neighbors I’ve ever had in LA kept calling in noise complaints about the sound of a dog barking. And I don’t even have a dog!”

“Oh, don’t get all Hallmark about it,” I chuckle, “There’s plenty of petty drama, too. Earl might look like a sweet old man, but there’s a rumor he spent fifty years running the books for the mob down in Jersey.”

“What?” Avery gasps.

“Why do you think I agreed to fix his window so fast?” I add, straight-faced, but Avery realizes I’m just teasing.

“Jackass!” she swats my arm, laughing. “You had me going there. I’m far too trusting.”

I snort with laughter. “You? You’ve got more walls and defenses than Fort Knox.”

“Naturally,” Avery says, batting her eyes. “Because I’m worth just as much.”

I chuckle, slinging my arm around her shoulder. “And you were giving me a hard time about my ego,” I tease.

Avery just looks up at me with a flirty little smile. “If it’s a hard time you want…” she says softly, and just like that, I’m thinking things that are most definitely not suitable for this family-friendly crowd.

Like that smug smile turning open-mouthed in pleasure. Those laughing eyes clouded with lust.

Her perfect body, clenching around my cock…

I’m so distracted, I don’t even see it coming – not until I almost walk straight into the woman browsing lobster pottery up ahead.

“Duke!”

I pause, still half-lost in visions of Avery coming undone in my hands. Then I realize who I’m looking at.

“Rachel.” I say it evenly, but I feel Avery startle at the name.

So, she knows about my ex. That’s small-town gossip for you.

“It’s so good to see you!” Rachel beams, looking polished and expensive in a short black tunic. Her hair is blonde now, bone-straight and cut in a sleek bob, and there’s a massive diamond on her ring finger– jostling for position with her wedding band.

Suze sent me the announcement when it happened, and a few choice remarks, too. Five hundred people at a lavish waterfront mansion– it was a long way from the simple, courthouse bash we’d planned.

She’d upgraded, alright.

Now, Rachel looks up at me, wide-eyed. “It’s been so long! You look great, really,” she adds. “And I saw the feature in Architectural Digest. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” I clear my throat, wondering what the hell to say to her, but Avery jumps in for me.

“We were all so thrilled,” she beams. “And of course, the phone’s been ringing off the hook. Everyone wants him for their new houses, but you know Duke, he’s all about the craftsmanship.”

“Right,” Rachel stares at Avery like she’s star-stuck. “Wow, sorry, I saw all the gossip about you two together, but I didn’t really believe it.”

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