Page 5 of The Lucky One

No backup option.

From the minute I showed some talent at football, my parents poured into my training. Not because they wanted acash cow for a kid, but because I loved it. And I was good. Hashtag blessed.

I chuckle because I thought that’s exactly what I was. I got what I always wanted and now my future feels like a giant question mark.

Back in the fall, this place looked like a walking advertisement for Hallmark movies. Pumpkins everywhere. Now Cupid looks like he flew around, draping hearts on every available surface he could find.

Eager for coffee after my brief session at the gym, I head for Once Upon a Brew. I roll my eyes at the hearts splashed across the windows and the phrase ‘you’re the cream to my coffee’ scrawled in huge letters.

But if I ignore the overly sweet sentiment of love, everywhere I’ve been in Enchanted Hollow oozes charm. The buildings feel like a blast from the past, with uneven stones and wood and iron rather than simply glass and steel. I’m still not used to the heft of the wooden door of this place, a steaming coffee mug design made of stained glass in the middle of it.

Even inside, it feels like I’m stepping into a storybook. Flecks of gold sparkle in the green floor tile, and plush purple velvet cushions outfit the bar seats.

“Still here?” Quinn asks as she steps up to the register. She’s cute and kind, but I’m not here to meet anyone.

I shrug. “Got nowhere else to be.”

“Well, I’m glad you picked here.” She smiles at me, but not in a flirtatious way.

I think that’s one reason I like being here, honestly. At home it feels like I’m always ‘on’, charming people, putting my best face forward. Press is important.

But here, I can just be me.

I’m still figuring out who that is, but I enjoy the pressure being off.

“Me too. Are those divulging a company secret?” I ask, pointing to the tile dragons puffing out fire along the back wall. “I’ve always wanted a pet dragon. Dogs are cool, but they don’t fly.”

Quinn snickers at me and shakes her head. “I suppose anything is possible but we make our coffee the old-fashioned way.” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder toward the espresso machine. “What will you have?”

“Do you haveanythingwithout ‘cupid’, ‘sweetheart’ or ‘love’ in the title?”

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, Weston. Deal with it.”

I scoff as my eyes roam the menu. “I’ll take the white chocolate mocha.”

“You mean the Happily Ever After Mocha?” She smiles sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

Women.

“Can you swap the chocolate heart on top with extra strawberry puree?”

“Fine. Grouch.” She laughs. “Give me a few minutes. Will you be here for trivia night?”

“Still don’t have anywhere else to be.”

“You’re on my team this week. We’ve got to take Jack and Gus down.”

I leave a twenty on the counter and chuckle about the two older friends that own the town hardware shop. This place is full of interesting people and businesses.

There’s still a lot I could see for being such a small place, but I have to force myself out of the house to move around. Get some vitamin D. Fresh air. By the end of the counter where drinks are delivered is a bulletin board advertising all the local happenings.

A moonlit wine walk at the local vineyard.

Carriage rides around the square.

There’s one for Ever After Farms that piques my interest: Cupid’s Arrow Archery.

This town.

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