Page 26 of Tangled Up In You

"Anyway, I loved when we came to Whisper Lake. It was so clean. It felt far away from traffic noise and dirty city streets. The kids were nice to me. I also met Phoebe. She made a lonely teenager feel like there was magic just around the corner, like someone really cared to know what I thought, what I needed. When my mom started dating someone, I thought we'd stay here. I really liked that guy, too. He was so much better than everyone else. He would have been a good stepfather, but it didn't work out. My mom got an offer to work at a studio in New Orleans, and off we went."

"Where is your mom now?"

"New York. I called her before I came back here, and she had the oddest reaction to my news. She said Phoebe had told her when we left before that I belonged in Whisper Lake. That's where I'd be happy. My mother had been super annoyed by that comment, because she was determined to leave, and she wasn't going to leave me behind. She yanked me out of high school a month before graduation."

He frowned. "I probably shouldn't say this, but your mother doesn't sound that great."

"If you met her, you'd like her. She can be charming and fun. And aside from too many abrupt moves in my life, she treated me well. We were more like sisters than mother-daughter. We grew up together. Anyway, she wasn't happy that I came back here. She doesn't believe you can ever go back and recapture anything. She always tells me it's important to keep looking ahead, chasing my dream. That's what she did."

"Perhaps at your expense."

"Maybe. People are complicated—good, bad, and everything in between. I try not to judge. It doesn't get me anywhere. Not that I can help myself from having opinions."

"So, is your dream a career in health and wellness? To run a store like A Better You?"

"I've been in the wellness industry in some form for the last six years. I've worked for an herbal tea manufacturer, sold skin care products, and burned a lot of incense for a yoga retreat resort in the Napa Valley, but I haven't quite found the right niche. I think this store might be it. I've never wanted to do just one thing. I want to help people feel better in a lot of different ways. I believe stress is the most dangerous disease we have, and yet so easy to treat, with meditation, relaxation, sleep, exercise, and good nutrition. If I can further that cause, then I'll feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. I've been drifting my whole life. I feel like I haven't left my mark anywhere. This is my chance to do that."

There was certainly passion in her voice, and he admired her goals. He just wondered how much of what she was selling was actually helpful.

"Anyway, that's my story," she said. "Let's talk about you. Lizzie and Chelsea told me a little about your family at dinner, how you were raised with a lot of values, like giving back to the community, protecting each other, but also making your own way in the world. Is that why you became a police officer?"

"Partly, yes."

"And the other part?"

He shrugged, not wanting to get into his past. "A story for another time."

"No fair. I just told you a lot."

"And you just reminded me I need to relax." He stretched out on his back.

A moment later, she said, "Do you do this often?"

"I've never done this."

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't usually slow down long enough to look at the stars."

"It's nice to just be, isn't it? Phoebe was always telling me to slow down, to be present, but it's a battle I continue to fight. I always have too many ideas, and too much energy. I have to force myself to breathe more slowly."

He rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow. "I also have a hard time slowing down unless I'm forced to. But I have to admit, I like this…present."

She turned her head to look at him, then rolled onto her side to face him. "Do you like it? I thought you were annoyed with me tonight. You didn't like me being around your friends."

"It wasn't that. You took me by surprise, and I didn't like…" He searched for the right words.

"What?"

"I didn't like that I could still taste your lips on mine. I didn't like how much I wanted to kiss you again."

She sucked in a quick breath. "I never would have guessed that's what you were thinking behind that scowl," she said in a breathy murmur. "If you want to kiss me again, you can."

His pulse sped up at her offer, at her pretty face lit by the moonlight, her green eyes sparkling, her lips soft and so tempting. "It's a bad idea," he muttered, talking more to himself than to her.

"Why?"

"We're different."

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