Page 8 of Coming Home

“Ugh…get a room,” Nat groaned at the now moderately PDAing couple.

“Agreed,” Noah added.

“One with a door that locks,” Willa laughingly joined in.

“Agreed.” Laughter rumbled in Noah’s chest.

Elle flipped them off while she remained lip-locked with Clayton.

There was no shame in their PDA game. As a woman who had been in a self-induced sexual drought, Nat was impressed and, perhaps, a little jealous. As a little sister, she was horrified.

“Willa, how much do you charge for therapy? I may need you.” Nat winked at Willa, hoping it would make up for her earlier abruptness.

“Queen, I’ve got you.” She placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “We single gals gotta stick together. Especially since the entire male population of the wedding party is married or Noah. Hopefully, there will be some cute, single, and lady-part-loving lads invited to this shindig. We need to get our swirl on.” She used her fingers to mimic a sexual act.

Married… and Noah?Nat nodded, not knowing how else to respond. Was somethingnotgoing on between them? The words conflicted with the behavior between the two.

“There will benoswirling for Nat,” Clayton warned, pointing his finger at Willa.

“Looks like you activated overprotective big brother mode.” Nat rolled her eyes. “On that note, I’ll grab Elle and my drinks.”

Nat threaded through the crowded room and found an open spot at the end of the bar near the front entrance.

Todd waved from the other side of the bar, mouthing,Be with you shortly.

With a smile, she pivoted and leaned against the bar, marveling at all Noah and Todd had achieved. Five years ago, Noah moved back to Perry from San Diego, where he’d lived after being discharged from the Marines. After buying the Farmer’s Wife, the local bakery, and opening the Wine Down, Main Street’s only wine bar, he’d partnered with Todd to open the brewery.

“Natalie Owens.” A familiar low voice jolted her.

She twisted around, and her heart thumped like a kangaroo on a trampoline. “Duncan Ellis?”

CHAPTER THREE

“You don’t need scores of suitors. You only need one…if he is the right one.”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

Duncan Ellis.Butterflies twerked in Nat’s stomach as she stared into a pair of familiar bourbon-colored eyes. It had been ten years since she’d stood in front of her high school boyfriend.

That early May rain had drizzled as they stood on his front porch. A shopping bag full of things he’d given her dangled from her hand. His letterman jacket she’d worn cheering from the stands at his baseball games. His royal blue homecoming hoodie she’d pulled on to keep warm at parties hidden within the cornstalk confines of his parent’s farm. His DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean she’d never watched.You didn’t break up and get to keep things.

“How are you?” Duncan wrapped his muscular arms around her.

“Good.” Nat pulled back, brushing a wayward tendril of sandy hair behind her ear.

“I heard you were back in town working with your dad.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. It was nice to have someone saywithand notfor.

“You did it. You became a doctor.”

“Yup.” Shifting foot-to-foot, her gaze flicked to her table and back to Duncan.

He looked the same and, somehow, entirely different. Those same slightly ruffled floppy blond waves. The once-rounded features had been replaced by sharp angles and a strong jawline. But a familiar bashful smile rested on a now chiseled face.

“What are you up to? Are you back in Perry or just visiting?” she asked.

“I moved back six months ago. I’m working as an Assistant District Attorney at the County Courthouse in Warsaw.” That self-conscious smile dissolved into a prideful grin.

“Amazing!” Her face lit up. “I remember when we’d watch thoseLaw & Order: SVUmarathons in high school. You talked about wanting to be a prosecutor.”

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