Page 5 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

“Fantastic. Things to remember if I ever hit on anyone ever again.” She sipped at her coffee. “Not that that seems likely anytime soon.”

“Ah, the dangers of living in a small town.” George nudged her with his shoulder. “Cheer up, Luce. Life isn’t that bad, is it?”

It wasn’t. She of all people should know that. She hadn’t exactly had the greatest life up until she moved to town. Now though, now things were going far better. She had money, a roof over her head, she was painting again.

“That canvas on the easel in the garage is pretty stunning,” George said, like he was reading her mind. “I peeked.”

“I told you not to.”

He shrugged. “It’s huge. I was curious. And anyway, it’s very good.”

“Let’s just hope it’s good enough.” She didn’t really want to think about it, didn’t want to jinx things.

“You’re more than good enough to… to do whatever this thing is.”

She grinned at him. “It’s a residency. They sort of pay you to sit around and paint. It’s only for a few weeks, but it’d meanbeing in London, meeting some important people.”

“Sounds amazing.”

“Sounds competitive,” she said. “And I probably won’t get it. But there’s no harm in trying.”

“And why can’t you be so optimistic about your dating life?” George asked, nudging her again so that she almost spilled her coffee.

Lucy looked out over the cool blue sea. “I know, I know.”

“You’re only, what, twenty seven?”

“I know,” she said again. “But sitting around watching you and Billy and Pen and Ash being all loved up, it just… It rubs it in a bit, I suppose.”

George laughed. “Luce, give things some time. You can’t force them to happen.”

“Especially when there’s not a single person in town of the right age or sexuality.”

“Maybe you should be more fluid,” George said. “You know, consider dating a few men, just for practice. Or dogs. I hear they’re pretty loyal.”

“I might just buy some cats and move into a shack by the sea and live out my days alone,” Lucy said.

George snorted. “You’d be bored. Besides, there’s no need to move out of here. Billy and I love having you here and the rent really helps out with the bills. We’re not throwing you out or anything.”

She hooked her arm through his. “I know. Thank you. You two are amazing.”

“And we don’t mean to rub things in your face,” said George. “I’m trying to be restrained, I swear. It’s just that every time I see Billy’s sweet baby face I want to kiss it off.”

“He doesn’t have a baby face.”

“Does so,” said George. There was a crashing sound from the kitchen. George grimaced. “He also has butter fingers. I’d better go and make sure everything’s alright.”

“Go on then.”

“You going to stay out here and dwell on how miserable andlonely life is?”

Lucy sniffed and checked her watch. “For another three minutes or so?”

“Sounds like a plan,” said George, going back into the kitchen.

Life wasn’t that bad. She knew that, deep inside. The problem was that she didn’t know if she was willing to settle for ‘not that bad’ when she could have ‘crazy in love’ like everyone else she knew.

Not that there were any prospects on the horizon.

---