Page 10 of The Small-Town Seduction Plan

“You really don’t quit, do you?” Duke scowls.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I give him an innocent look. “But now that I think about it, my mom did tell me you can always judge a man’s true character by his actions. Or lack of them.”

With that parting barb, I give Suze a big smile. “It was great to meet you. I hope I see you around.”

I give Duke a withering glare, and turn to leave. Then I hear him chuckle.

“Uh, princess?”

“What?” I turn back. “Not done with insulting me just yet?”

Duke smirks. “You have a little something…” he says, gesturing at my ass.

I look down, glimpsing the edge of a black grease-stain spread across the back of my cut-offs.

Crap, I must have leaned against something in the garage. I feel a flush of hot embarrassment, but I refuse to let Duke get the last word. I give him a careless shrug, and toss my hair back. “How about you spend a little more time working on your can-do attitude, and a little less time staring at my derriere?” I coo.

And then I sashay away, with as much dignity as I can manage for a girl with a massive black blob on my ass.

3

DUKE

Avery waltzes away with her long, tanned legs swaying like she’s walking down a catwalk, not strolling on Sandpiper Lane. And even with that grease staining her shorts, she still manages to look like she’s stepped out of the pages of a fancy fashion magazine: polished, and golden.

And way out of all of our league.

“Having those damn movie people cluttering up town was bad enough,” I grumble, heading into the coffee shop with Suze. “The last thing we need is more celebrity nonsense. What’s next, Oprah decides to rent a place in town and cause a gridlock just stopping by the diner for pie?”

Suze whacks me on the arm. Hard.

“Ouch,” I protest. “What the hell was that for?”

“You left her on the side of the highway?” she demands, looking outraged. “Alone? At night?”

I wince. “Oh. Yeah. That. It wasn’t exactly my finest moment,” I admit, before Suze hits me again. The woman’s had a mean right hook on her since high-school.

And in this case, I deserve it.

As soon as I drove away from Avery, I knew I’d fucked up. She may be a spoiled, shallow princess, but I was raised to always make sure a woman got home safely.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I add, catching Suze’s glare. “I called Larry at the tow shop right away to go pick her up. Besides, anyone tries to mess with her, she’d probably just bat her eyelashes and have them crawling on their knees in five minutes flat.”

There’s a woman used to getting what she wants, alright.

“She seemed nice enough to me,” Suze offers, placing our orders.

I snort. “She’s an actress, she’s used to turning on the charm. Besides, she won’t last the summer without her designer shopping, and fancy spa, and an assistant running around after her 24/7.”

I know high-maintenance women, and the last place they want to be is Blackberry Cove. The thought should reassure me, but I still can’t help grumbling. “She’ll probably be fleeing back to Hollywood by the end of the week, complaining about the sushi.”

“Are you done?”

I look over. Suze is smirking at me between mouthfuls of blueberry muffin. “Just, you seem to be awfully invested in Avery’s future here,” she adds, giving me a thoughtful look.

“Not at all,” I say immediately. “Couldn’t care less.”

“Mhmm,” Suze doesn’t look convinced. “Well, if you need something to distract you from our movie star friend, you can always come help me out with theater camp. I’m trying to get the kids performance-ready before the Shakespeare Festival next month.”

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