Page 1 of Me and Mr. Just Right

Chapter 1

Liagrippedherseat’sflimsy plastic armrests as the puddle jumper jerked through heavy turbulence. Cups of soda flew into the air, throw-up bags were flung down the aisles by buckled-up crew members, and passengers’ panicked howls were a worse sound blend than really bad karaoke.

In another life—the naïve one Lia had lived until last month—she might have appreciated this plane ride’s symbolism right at her fingertips. Mined it for poetic images and lyrics her fans could mine even deeper for personal meaning.

She quietly hummed in rhythm with the bumps of the plane, then added words.

Turb-ul-ent pl-ane ride.

Tur-bul-ent life-uh.

Someone screamed in a high F-sharp. Too high for Lia’s range, but still impressive.

Back to the song. What rhymed with turbulent? Gent, vent, rent … Ugh. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes.This is how my career ends—with bad lyrics and worse metaphors.

What if her ability to write a meaningful song was yet another thing Bo and Gwen—oh, excuse me,Bowen—took from her?

The plane jerked her into the window and then into the muscular arm of the man beside her, and she took the opportunity to breathe in his woodsy scent. (Wait!Turbulentscent! Ugh. Stop.) Men’s cologne smelled better in Alaska.

The men were more ruggedly handsome in Alaska too. Take that, Nashville.

Lia’d been stealing glimpses of this man’s tan arm from the corner of her eye since he’d sat beside her, fascinated by his sun-kissed skin and his forearm muscles rippling in a way that would make ocean waves jealous.

“Have you been to Alaska before?” Mr. Ruggedly Handsome asked.

She tore her gaze away from his forearm. Had he caught her staring? His friendly smile was open and non-calculating in a way Lia rarely saw anymore.

She narrowed her eyes. What was his angle? Other than brief hellos at the beginning of their flight to Ketchikan, they’d been happily ignoring each other for the last two hours. Lia readjusted her mask, securing it more firmly around her mouth and nose. Without her huge sun hat and enormous sunglasses, she felt exposed. So far, no one seemed to recognize her. Yet.

Not everyone knows who you are.The snooty voice in her head sounded a lot like Gwen. Who didn’t want their backstabbing ex-best friend as their critical inner voice?

“I went to Palmer a few years ago,” Lia finally said, mostly because if the plane did crash, she didn’t want Gwen’s voice to be the last thing she heard.

“Did you see the reindeer farm?” His low tone was calming, even as the plane dropped several feet, and she gasped.

She never should have come here. She never should have trusted anyone, ever. She should have insisted the airline let her bring her guitar as a carry-on. It was her emotional-support guitar.

“It’s just outside of Palmer,” he continued. His warm, rosewood-brown eyes stared at her expectantly, and she blinked out of her spiral.Reindeer farm.

“No. It was a quick trip to the fair.” Lia’d taken any and every gig when she’d first started singing, and she had found herself at the Alaska State Fair, opening for Jimmy Ricky, a country star who had been big when her dad was a teenager. She’d spent most of the time arguing with her mom turned manager, and now she could hardly remember Palmer, except it had been the first big crowd she’d ever sung to. Lia sang mostly covers, and it had been incredible to have the crowd sing along and scream for her. She’d known they’d been there for Jimmy Ricky, but in that moment, they’d been there for her too.

Would Lia still do it all again, knowing what she knew now? Before, the answer had been an unthinking, resounding yes. Now? It was a punch to the gut to realize she couldn’t say yes anymore. And it wasn’t just that her boyfriend, Bo, and her best friend, Gwen, had a secret relationship behind her back for months. It was that they’d stolen an album’s worth of songs Lia had co-written with Bo, and then rushed to release them.

Lia had always thought she’d be ecstatic to see Gwen’s name top the charts. But not this way. Not with her songs. Not with her boyfriend. And not after Gwen shared so much of Lia’s personal life with the press. Had any part of their friendship been real?

“Never thought of the Alaska State Fair as much of a destination, but …” Mr. Ruggedly Handsome chuckled as if he hadn’t a care in the world, a stark contrast to pretty much everyone else on the plane. Except his right hand betrayed him. Seeing his white-knuckled grip on his armrest put her at ease for some reason. Like between the two of them holding on to their armrests, they could keep the plane from going down.

Also, it made her feel less dramatic.You always overreact. She shook Gwen’s commentary away.

“At least you’re fixing your perception of Alaska by coming to Petersburg,” he said. Lia was grateful he didn’t seem to need her contributing much to this conversation. If she opened her mouth, she might join the F-sharp lady with her own scream (a solid C). Luckily, Mr. Ruggedly Handsome’s voice was calming. Something to focus on besides the plummeting plane. “It’s one of the most gorgeous places on earth. You’ll see when you get there—but everything is more vibrant. Greens are greener and blues are bluer, and the sun is paradise on your skin.”

“What else?” she asked, just so she could keep listening to him, and he continued to describe the city. Petersburg might be amazing, but Lia’d have to see it another time. She was taking a boat straight from Petersburg to a tiny, unnamed island near Thorne Bay as soon as this plane landed.

A tiny, unnamed,unpopulatedisland where she could be off the grid, all by herself, alone. No tabloids. No paparazzi. No surprise radio plays of Gwen’s new hit single. No images of Gwen and Bo locked in a passionate embrace with alliterative headlines likeBorelia’s Bitter Breakup.And no more seeing that ridiculous celeb mash-up of Lia and Bo’s names. The fact that Bo had liked it was a red flag she’d missed. Among many, many others.

The vacation rental hostess had apologized for the lack of Wi-Fi and cell service at the island house, except for one tiny spot on a hill if the stars aligned and the clouds parted and the fish flew, or something like that. The only reliable communication Lia could have with the world was with a satellite phone. She couldn’t book it fast enough.

Just Lia and nature for one whole week.

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