Page 76 of The Charm of You

I lean forward, utterly intrigued.

Maren’s voice is still hesitant when she continues. “He’s not exactly a guy who sticks around for seconds, if you catch my drift.”

“I thought he dated that Keely woman we saw him with at the bar last weekend…”

Another snort escapes her, and my spine straightens like a steel rod. I’m so out of the loop, and suddenly, I wish I could get Scarlett back here. From what I gathered, she has two fingers on the pulse of the Sapphire Creek gossip.

But Maren is my only option at the moment.

“You’re beating around the bush, Maren. Why? You’re not going to hurt my feelings. Out with it.”

She clears her throat and glances behind me, presumably for customers, or prying eyes and secret antennas. “Austin and Keely had a shared lack of interest in commitment, but it wasn’t a real relationship. He has a rep for being unavailable. The kind of guy you have your fun with before you marry the one.”

“Huh,” I say, although I’m not surprised. He’s been quite reserved during every exchange since I arrived.

But he’s been open and honest too. Last night, in particular, he shed the walls he had up during our initial interactions.

On the bridge, he was unrestricted. Free.

Beautiful.

Which is when it hits me. He acted strange this morning because he’s scared. He’s not used to sharing so much of himself with women, and I know too much.

Austin freaked because we’re supposed to only have fun. We’re not supposed to share intimate, vulnerable secrets.

That has to be it, right?

“I’m sorry.” Maren cringes.

“Why?”

“Are you not hurt? You seemed hurt before, like maybe Austin wasn’t as forthcoming as you’d hoped after you slept together.” She searches my expression, which loosens as I sink into a smile.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not in the market for the one. I’m going home to the city next week, remember? I’m just curious, is all.”

“Oh. Then, good.” The hesitation in her voice suggests she might not believe it’s a good thing at all.

“Trust me, Maren. It is fine,” I chirp, and my optimism is, in fact, genuine.

Because she’s got it all wrong.

Sure, Austin might normally be aloof, as she claims, and he definitely has been a tough nut for me to crack.

But I have cracked him.

He confided things in me last night that I don’t imagine he shares with most people, if anyone. It has to mean something. It must indicate that once I’m gone, he’ll remember me and all the fun we’ve had.

With a more positive outlook than I had when I returned to Cream and Sugar, I ask, “So, Addie and Owen. You weren’t kidding about how fiercely they squabble.”

She throws her head back and releases a hearty laugh. Such a reaction is a rarity with her, given how guarded she tends to be, and it makes me grin wider. “Those two need to bang one out. It’s the only solution.” Maren shakes her head.

“I was getting that vibe as well when we were decorating. I was trying to string lights where I was told, but Addie kept interrupting herself to yell at Owen.”

“What was she yelling at him for?”

“For his existence?” I jokingly guess. “Oh, and how do you know about Scarlett’s hamburger obsession, but her own mother doesn’t? Do you have some superpower I don’t know about?”

“I hear everything at this coffee truck.”

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