Page 11 of Text Appeal

“Wonderful.” I collapse into the nearest chair. “Was there anything else you wanted?”

He wearily rubs his face with one hand. “What are you, a lawyer or a teacher or something?”

“No. I’m a writer.”

“What kind of writer?” he asks, daring to move deeper into the room. Then he sees the stack of books on my desk. “You write romance?”

The way I physically, emotionally, and spiritually brace myself for the shit that is sure to follow. “Yes.”

But he just nods. That’s it.

Huh.“Did you get your quiet weekend?”

“Yeah,” he says, sounding vaguely surprised. “I did.”

“Good.”

He gives me a long look. No idea what he’s thinking. Then he sits his firm, denim-clad ass on the edge of the sofa. Like he might still make a run for it but has yet to decide. “I didn’t get a bunch of messages about her today either, which was great.”

“You mean about your ex?”

He nods. “They all think I’m with you.”

“You really can’t bring yourself to say her name?”

“I really don’t want to.”

“Fair enough,” I say. And then dare to say some more. “People around here sure have opinions about you two. Given you’re no longer together, the messages from your friends andfamily were a surprise. It seems to be taken for granted that whenever she comes back…”

Another grunt.

“Must be annoying.”

“That’s one word for it.” He sighs. “I did get some messages about you this morning. People wanting to meet you. But those don’t bother me in the same way.”

I give him some side eye. “Okay.”

Were he a character in a book, his backstory would be about a broken heart making him disdainful and distrustful. This would probably be a grumpy-sunshine story. Those are often quite popular. Me being the sunshine character would be a challenge. But it could work. Or I could just continue to spend my life negging myself. Options are important.

“Was there anything in particular that pushed you into changing your number?” I ask. “Besides her coming back to town?”

He says nothing for a long moment. Long enough that I think he’s not going to answer. “It’s pretty much all about that.”

I nod.

“Six people asked if I was excited she was coming home last Friday.”

“Six doesn’t seem so bad for a whole day…”

“It wasn’t the whole day. I stopped at the bakery to buy a bumbleberry pie,” he clarifies. “Wasn’t in the store for more than five minutes.”

My brows arch high. “Six people asked about her in the space of a five-minute pastry purchase?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s not great.”

“No. Grandma said you’re new to the area,” he says out of nowhere. “That you grew up in the city and moved here from out of state.”

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