Page 17 of The Hot New Bachelor in Town

“Mika,” Carter whispers as he kisses the edge of my cheek. “Come upstairs with me.”

Before I can answer, he kisses me again, his mouth enveloping mine. And I… I…

Fear trembles in the depths of my stomach.

“Carter,” I say, resting a hand on his chest. “I... I’m not that kind of girl.”

He opens his eyes as he tilts back. “Oh,” he says, his hand falling from my cheek. “Well, I’m... definitely that kind of guy.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault.” He takes a step back. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay.” I step back, too. I push my hair behind my ears and look down, feeling all my blood rushing to my cheeks. “So, I still have some work to do here tonight, so I’m just gonna?—”

“Right.” Carter starts toward the stairs. “I’ll head up to my room.”

“Big meeting in Big City tomorrow, right?”

He pauses for a moment, then nods. “Yeah. Goodnight, Mika.”

“Goodnight, Carter.”

We both move, extending the gap between us. I step behind my desk, pretending not to count every single tap of his shoes on the stairwell all the way up.

I exhale all the air from my lungs, feeling an ache in my heart I’ve never felt before.

6

MIKA

Ihoped when I left the inn in the early morning hours that the ache would go away.

It didn’t.

It lingered in my chest as I got ready for my shift at the diner. The subtle pulse of it flared as I worked through the morning breakfast rush. Each heart beat felt small and incomplete. Cold and unsatisfied.

Carter was gone.

By now, he’d be checked out and well on his way to Big City.

Too bad Lottie and Tish never got that memo.

I try not to listen to their gossip as I unpack today’s shipment. As I set countless bags of sugar and sweetener onto the shelves, the two of them go on and on.

He stayed at the inn, right?

Did you get a peek at his luggage?

Did he order room service?

Please, please, please tell us you shared a long, lingering kiss after taking a walk around town and staring at the moon above the lake!

Okay, they never asked that last one, but they sure as hell would have if they thought of it.

“He checked in after lunch yesterday, went to his room, and I never saw him again,” I tell them.

As they visibly and audibly mope over my lack of gossip, I exit the back room to go check on my tables.

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