Page 17 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

I pulled the dress’s neckline higher to hide some of the cleavage I’d forgotten was there, and she batted my hands away.

“Don’t touch it. It’s perfect. Now, if only we can get Tanner there tonight to see you like this.”

I turned on her and gave her the glower of the century. “Don’t. You. Dare.” I didn’t like the mischievous gleam in her eye.

“Calm down. If Tess didn’t invite him to the reception, it isn’t my place. But a girl can dream, can’t she?”

“Carmen, half the town is in love with him. Don’t tell me he got to you too.”

“Half the town is in love with him because they aren’t as blind as you are, roomie.” She slapped my butt like I was a horse or football player and slipped past me to open the door. “It’s no crime to look, and you only have a few more days to do it before he leaves. So get a nice eyeful for the both of us.” She grumbled something about her terrible work schedule before disappearing into her room.

I moved the door back to see my reflection in the full-length mirror again and instantly regretted it. At least Tanner wouldn’t be coming tonight to get an eyeful ofthis.I wore a deep-orange sparkly gown that reminded me of pumpkin spice and fell all the way to the floor, a slit running up the entirety of the left leg. The bust fell far too low for my liking, making “the ladies”look awfully perky and full tonight. I also blamed the special bra Carmen let me borrow. A chain necklace hung down my chest and nestled between my breasts as if pointing downward in a veryLook right here!kind of way. I reached behind my neck and unclasped it, carefully setting it on the bed. I’d tell Carmen I forgot it.

No more letting her dress you, Sophie. Never again.

I’d promised myself several times over the past year, yet I kept forgetting. It just made her so happy—and I could tell she missed the parties and social life of Portland. She appreciated the raise and the trust the boutique owner had in her, but choosing between Portland and a new job opportunity in a small town had been hard. Every day I walked into the kitchen and found her there, I was grateful for her choice. I couldn’t even remember how or why we’d hit it off so completely given the fact we were complete opposites. I heaved a sigh of relief every time I arrived home from work, happy to get away from people. Then she would drag me out the door again, excited to be out of the shop’s confining walls and see the people she’d spent all day missing.

“I’ll be ready in ten minutes!” she called down the hallway. “Can we take your truck? I’m almost out of gas.”

“Of course.” I made my way down the hallway, trying not to trip on the too-long gown, and grabbed a snack in the kitchen. I hadn’t eaten since lunch. Which I’d eaten in the driver’s seat of my truck with Tanner Carmichael, the YouTube star, sitting next to me. I wasn’t sure I’d see the passenger seat the same way ever again.

Stop it. You arenotstarstruck by a guy you’re trying to get rid of.

Our day had been packed with activity, exactly the way I wanted it—first with the museum, where I’d forgotten about Dad’s book, and then the sidewalk where he stared at me like I was some alien creature as I talked to Kate Sherwin. I would never forget his expression. Haunted. Wistful. Pained. Then a tour of the town, where I’d rolled the windows down to enjoy the crisp autumn air. I’d caught him staring at me then, too, when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Worse, I’d found myself wanting to stare right back.

I still wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Then I’d dropped him off at the hotel and told him I had work to do—which was true. My mother’s best friend, Mariama, or Mari for short, needed extra help packaging the pastries for tonight’s wedding reception. Since Paul had let me off for the week, it was the perfect opportunity. Tanner hadn’t asked where I was headed when I dropped him off, and I wouldn’t have told him if he had. The wedding was a town thing, an event for my friends. My family. He could see all the old buildings he wanted. Huckleberry Creek’s buildings and structure were its skin and bones, the things most people saw when they drove through. Only a rare few saw its heart. I wanted to keep it that way.

When we arrived, Carmen’s night-life friends instantly swarmed her. At least, that’s how I saw them—a group of reformed bar-hoppers who’d grown up in the city before creating their own little community here. I joined them on occasion to make Carmen happy, but I enjoyed the people-watching more than the companionship. Reading alone made me happier. And sitting quietly in my favorite spot on the overlook, which Tanner most definitely wouldnotbe seeing.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful—the autumn sunset seemed like a burst of fiery orange across the western sky, the perfect backdrop to Tess and Phillip’s moment. Every chair held a smiling observer, and, to my delight, not a single one contained Tanner Carmichael.

The reception took place at the park across the street. Despite its commonplace location, Tess and her minions had worked their magic. White fabric floated overhead to form a massive extended tent. Fairy lights and potted trees and plants from Maddox’s nursery added to the effect. Roger’s quartet looked sharp in their suits as they played at the far end of the park, although the second violin was actually a flute and rather a rough one at that. It made me smile. I couldn’t think of a better sound in the world. Several couples danced slowly in front of them, practically draped across one another as they swayed.

I paid my respects to the happy couple and looked for Carmen, who chatted animatedly with a man I didn’t recognize. Must be one of the groom’s friends. Phillip, Tess’s new husband, had moved here only two years before to manage the sporting goods store and fallen for Tess long before she gave him a second glance. Love won in the end, though.

Carmen had mentioned several eligible men in the town. I skimmed the crowd, easily picking out several bachelors. I’d gone out with a few of them and avoided others. None gave me that feeling of magic, that thrill of something special being awakened in my heart. “The stirring that couldn’t be denied,” Dad called it in his book.

Was that my destiny, then? To wait for a handsome stranger to come to town and fulfill all my dreams?

I laughed out loud at the thought. My dreams. I didn’t even know what those were. The last time I allowed myself to dream about a more fulfilling career, I chickened out before submitting my application. Leaving my town felt like betraying these people, turning my back on a family that embraced me. Needed me.

It felt like betraying my parents’ last wish.

The crowd began to murmur, turning their heads toward the park entrance. I rose onto my toes and nearly stumbled in Carmen’s heels. Were Tess and Phillip leaving early for their honeymoon? But the reception had just begun.

Carmen trotted over to me—a feat considering the uneven grass and the fact that her heels were inches higher than mine—and grabbed my arm. “Guess who just arrived!”

“He’s so much hotter in person,” one of her friends said, trailing her. “I think I hear angels singing. Birds are going to start falling from the sky any second.”

Birds?I stared at her, but she seemed serious.

There was only one person who could make an entire town swoon at once. “If Tanner is here, he shouldn’t be. I’ll go talk to him.”

Carmen grabbed my arm. “Don’t make a scene. It’s a wedding. The more, the merrier.”

Then the crowd parted and Tanner appeared.

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