Page 11 of When Hairy Met Stella

His big mistake was touching her. Well, it had all really started when she’d touched him the night she was trying to fix his face. Maybe these feelings would all chill if he just kept his distance.

Placing another ball on the tee, he looked out over the vast land that spread before him. There was his answer: space. He just needed a little space from her. That was all. A little time from her would do the trick for sure.

And then he remembered that, starting tomorrow, he was spending the next five days with her.

He pulled his club back and launched the ball into the woods.

Chapter

Four

“Welcome to Mountain Brew,” the barista greeted from behind the counter of one of Stella’s favorite places in town. The worker’s smile was so bright, her eyes so lively, Stella wondered if for every drink she sold, the barista chugged two herself. And if that was the case, could she quickly throw some caffeine her way ASAP.

“Hi, I’d like a large pumpkin spice latte for me, and a medium Americano for you, right?” Lucy nodded at Stella and started digging through her purse. “Nope. My treat today.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

She didn’thaveto, but she wanted to. And not just because paying in one transaction meant they’d get their coffees faster, although that certainly was a mark in the pro column. “This is your wedding week. You’re not paying for anything.”

“Except for dinner for about one hundred fifty people.”

“Yeah, except for that.”

They chuckled as Stella handed over her credit card.

The barista grabbed two cups and a marker. “Can I get names for the order?”

“Stella and Lucy,” Stella answered, knowing what was going to happen next. Mountain Brew was the place where nobody knew your name. It said so on the sign at the front of the store. The gimmick was to give famous last names to match the first name given for each order. And since there were very few Stellas in Hollywood, Stella’s name was hardly a surprise.

“Order up for Lucy Hale and Stella Pritchett.” Yep, the dog onModern Family, as per usual. The girls grabbed their drinks from the counter, and the scent of the spices perked her up almost immediately.

“Next order up for Johnny Galecki,” the barista shouted as she set another drink down.

“That’s me,” a deep voice said from behind as an arm snaked around Stella to grab the drink.

“Johnny,” she said when she turned to face him. He flashed one of his megawatt smiles in her direction, the one that drew everyone to him. “How are you this morning?”

“Not too shabby. Are you ladies in a hurry, or would you like to have a seat?” He gestured to one of the bistro tables next to the front window.

She looked at Lucy, deferring to her since she was the one with the wedding coming up and probably a zillion things to do before then.

Lucy shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

It sounded good to Stella too. The contractors started working on the salon this morning, and the more she could keep her mind off everything going on with that, the better.

Johnny pulled one of the metal chairs out from the table and sat down. “Do you guys have everything ready for the big week?” He looked at both of them, but Stella didn’t have an answer.

She should have been the one planning the events for the week leading up to the wedding, being the maid of honor and all. But Lucy had insisted she had everything under control, and all the activities were planned. Well, except for one—the ginger-dead houses they were going to make. And the popcorn balls she was in charge of bringing…which made her think of Nate.

When she’d mentioned the trip the other night, he looked terrified, like spending a weekend at a resort was akin to getting a root canal without Novocain. All the pomp and circumstance surrounding a wedding was so not his thing. Nathan was allergic to fun, always so serious and brooding. Except for the other night, when he didn’t seem to hate making the treats.

“I have so many fun things planned. Just you wait, Johnny,” Lucy answered, her face glowing brighter than the jack-o-lantern light strand that lined the counter. “It’s going to be all couples at the lodge, so there will be a lot of fun couple-y things.

Johnny’s brows waggled under the brim of his baseball hat. “Any chance of a dance competition? Because I don’t want to brag, but my wife and I will smoke all of you.”

“And yet, I feel like that was totally a brag,” Stella said, shooting a smirk in his direction.

He sipped his drink, leaving a foam mustache along his upper lip as he grinned. “It’s not bragging when it’s the truth.” He leaned back from the table, his arms spread wide. “May the best couple win.”

---