Page 79 of Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance

I shrug. “People will say what they want to no matter what.”

“That’s true.” She sips her coffee, then grimaces again. “It’s worse cold.”

I spot a car with a DoorDash sticker pull up. Right on time. A young, lean man steps out, coffee cup in hand, and looks around. I wave at him through the window.

Kelsey spots him. “Did you order yourself good coffee?” She smacks my arm with her napkin.

The man enters. “Coffee for Kelsey?”

“Right here,” I tell him.

He sets the cup in front of her and takes off.

The waitress sidles up. “I don’t blame you, but seriously?”

I shrug. She’ll forget her annoyance when she sees her tip.

Kelsey hangs on to the cup like it’s her infant child, both hands wrapped around it, pressed to her cheek. “You love me, Zachery Carter.”

I probably do, but I simply say, “I prefer not to be murdered by a menstruating woman.”

She lets out a low shriek. “You are the worst!”

I laugh. “I know.”

She sips the drink and groans, a sound that hits me straight in the groin. “You know what you never see in rom-coms?”

“What?”

“Menstruation. Nobody gets their period in those movies.”

I grunt. “It’s too realistic.”

“Great. Another thing I’m getting wrong on this trip.”

Was last night the other thing she got wrong? I don’t want to know. “Come on. We’ve got to hit the road.”

“To the motel?” she asks.

“To the house.”

Her eyes narrow. “I’m staying in the motel.”

I drop cash on the paper ticket as we slide out of the booth. “I’ll get you Starbucks again in the morning if you stay in the house.”

“Damn it. You know my weaknesses.”

I drape my arm around her shoulders, determined to keep our light banter the way it’s always been. “Every single one.”

“But still no.”

And when she calls me the moment we’re back on the highway, challenging me to black-and-white-movie trivia as we drive, I know I’ve done the right thing in keeping things light after what happened in Dillville.

The world of Zach and Kelsey has been put back in its rightful place.

Somebody needs to tell that to my heart.

Chapter 27

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