Page 82 of Single Chance

She eyed me across the front seat, dark except for when we passed under a streetlight. “I don’t know. Can I?”

“Of course.” When we hit Main, I turned toward downtown. “We’re going to the Fly.”

“That’s next to Humble’s, right?”

“Right.”

“So we’re going to a bar? Are you planning to get your pregnant roommate roaring drunk or…?” She left the nonserious question hanging.

I laughed again. “Last time we drank together, it was life-changing.”

“True story,” she said, laughing with me. “It’s a good thing I won’t be drinking tonight.”

I didn’t even try to find a parking spot on the square. I could see from a couple of blocks away, traffic was backed up, and there were people everywhere, which wasn’t surprising. It was early March, and the weather had been springlike all day, luring the people of Dragonfly Lake outside in droves.

“I’ll have to park on a side street a few blocks away,” I told her. “Do you want me to drop you off at the door?”

“I can walk. I need to walk. Especially after that delicious dinner.”

“It was just enchiladas. Nothing special.”

“Someone cooking my dinner while I napped? I felt like a spoiled princess. Of course, now I know you were scheming to get me out of the house.”

“Busted. You must be tired of sitting at home every night though.” I found a parking spot along the curb on a side street about a block from Main.

Rowan and I had been cooking together most evenings, then hanging out until bedtime. But today, on our day off from work, I’d taken pleasure in giving her extra time to relax.

“Generally speaking, I’m just plain tired,” she said. “But depending on what we’re doing tonight, it might be fun to get out. If only I knew what that was…”

I killed the engine, got out of the car, and strode around to Rowan’s door.

“You want the surprise spoiled?” I asked when I opened her door.

“Yes, please.”

I offered my hand to help her out, pretending I was only assisting her because she was pregnant and not because I liked to touch her. “You’re a fan of Everly Ash, right?”

“I was even before I lived in the same small town as her,” Rowan said of the country singer once she was next to me on the sidewalk.

“She’s doing a pop-up acoustic show at the Fly.”

Rowan whipped her head toward me, her mouth open, her brows raised. “Really?”

“I wouldn’t make that up,” I said with a laugh.

Everly had made headlines as the Nashville country starlet turned runaway bride around the time Sam and I had moved to Dragonfly Lake. Long story short, she was now married to Holden’s brother Seth and had taken her career indie. Her impromptu performances around town were crowd-pleasers.

“Oh! This is exciting. Is the Fly very big?”

“It’s big for a bar, but not for a concert. They don’t often have live music.”

“How do you know about it if it’s a pop-up?”

I peered down at her.

“Oh,” she said, answering herself. “Because she’s Holden and Chloe’s sister-in-law.”

“Bingo.”

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