Page 61 of Slash & Burn

I chucked a pot holder at her, laughing with her as it smacked her in the chest and dropped into her lap. Snagging the baking pan from what was left on the floor, I handed it to her and said, “Let’s get this cleaned up so you can make those cookies and then we can get back to work on the library.”

Her face beamed back at me as she nodded. She’d been secretly collecting books for almost a year and had finally shown me what she’d amassed. She wanted me to help curate them, get them all organized and set up on the shelves Joey had built in the baby’s room. It had been the best surprise—way better than last time when she’d gotten me over here to help wallpaper.

As I left later I pulled out my phone and shot Grady a text. I’d never done that before—sent him something that wasn’t related to the program, logistically or otherwise. But he’d said I could, and it had seemed like he wanted me to, so I let it rip.

Jill: Hope you survived your day. If you’re around tomorrow, want to do a late lunch?

It took only a minute for his reply to come back.

Grady: Survived is the word. Joey still walking?

Jill: Sure. With a limp

Grady: Oh boy

Jill: He’s fine. We’re good

Grady: Yeah?

Jill: Yep

Grady: Good. I’m in for tomorrow

Jill: Meet me at Ernie’s at two?

Grady: You got it

I tossed my phone aside. I’d never been this impatient before. Cramming in a lunch date with a guy was wildly out of character. But I had a work event tomorrow night and the prospect of going two whole days without seeing Grady just didn’t feel right.

A little alarm went off in my head, that this was something I should be wary of. But I shoved it aside, because all it really meant was that I hadn’t lost sight of what this thing was. Grady and I had an expiration date, I was just making sure I squeezed every drop I could out of this summer fling.

CHAPTER 26

GRADY

At this point I was utterly certain that the only thing that could get me out of the crap mood I’d been in since practice was the sight of the hottest librarian in Maine walking toward me.

Jill had on a long, flowing green skirt dotted with tiny flowers and a white blouse that had a wide enough V-neck that I could see the well of her collarbones. Her lush brown hair was wavy and wild, catching the wind as she came down the sidewalk. She was like some sort of sweet, hippie flower child—until you looked up and saw the fuck-me eyes she was giving me. The woman was such an exhilarating mix of energies, there was no way to ever get bored around her.

“Hey, hot shot,” she said, beaming at me as I pushed off the wall to give her a hug. My arms closed around her like they’d been doing it for years, the comforting scent of her lavender soap seeping into me like a drug. One I sorely needed after the last twenty-four hours.

I didn’t let her go right away, holding her tight and drinking her in for an extra second before I eased back to kiss her. It was the middle of the day in our gossipy little town, but I didn’t care. This was the first second of peace I’d felt since getting back and I wanted to be greedy with her.

“How are you?” I asked, when I finally let her go enough to stare into her sparkling brown eyes.

She held my gaze questioningly. “I’m better than you, I think?”

I huffed out a laugh, not even mad she’d picked up on my mood. At this point Jill read me like a book, and I’d actually grown to like it.

“I’m better now,” I told her honestly, taking her hand and walking into Ernie’s.

The retro diner was one of the oldest restaurants in town. The red vinyl booths and shiny chrome edges elevated the otherwise standard diner fair into an experience the tourists thought was cute, and the locals found reassuring.

“What happened in Boston?” Jill asked casually, glancing at me over her menu.

I closed mine and tossed it on the table, knowing there was no point in looking. I always got the same thing: double smash burgers and extra fries.

“Not much. Just a long day.”

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