Page 13 of Choosing You

He was driving by Books & Beans when he saw a car he didn’t recognize. Being an enthusiast and the fact that he worked for the town’s one and only mechanic, Will knew every car in town. But this little blue hybrid Honda wasn’t from around here, of that he was certain.

He slowed down and noticed a woman standing beside it. She had on some sort of baseball hat and sunglasses and…nope. She didn’t look familiar to him. It was possible that he didn’t know everyone in Sweetbriar Ridge, but…he had a feeling he’d seen this woman before.

He watched her in his rearview mirror for a minute and saw her take off her hat and shake out her hair and…

Holy shit!

It was his mystery woman!

ChapterThree

Sloane didn’t get a second to herself until Saturday morning. Hailey had kept her busy all day on Friday. It had been great just having the time together and getting to fuss over Layla, but in the back of her mind, she desperately wanted to get out and try to find Will. Sure, she could have asked her sister if she knew who he was, but this was something she wanted to keep to herself for the time being. After all, maybe it wasn’t just Ashlynn who worried about what would happen if she properly met him.

And that’s why she avoided mentioning anything about having his name or the next town festival.

So, on Saturday morning, she parked her car in front of Books & Beans and went inside. Hailey had to head out early to her yoga studio to teach a couple of classes and interview two potential instructors. She had apologized a dozen times because she hated leaving Sloane alone and even invited her to come and take some classes, but she had sweetly declined.

She had other plans.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where she was supposed to start on her search to find Will, but she figured coffee and a muffin might help. And for some reason, she did her best to be a little…incognito. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore a baseball cap and a pair of big sunglasses.

All she was missing was a trench coat.

“I’m being completely ridiculous,” she murmured as she walked up to the door.

Inside, she looked around for a minute and didn’t recognize anyone working behind the counter. Billie had mentioned that she was taking time off, but she assumed Jade would be here.

“Hey! Welcome to Books & Beans! What can I get for you?”

Sloane stepped up to the counter and immediately realized this was Jade’s mom, Cora. Actually, they both seemed to recognize each other at the same time.

“Oh! You’re Sloane, right? Levi’s cousin?”

“That’s me! How are you, Cora?”

“I’m fine! Thanks for asking. And you?”

“I’m good! I’m in town for a quick visit, but Hailey had to teach some classes this morning. I thought I’d take advantage of the time alone and explore the town for a bit. After grabbing a little breakfast,” she explained with a wink.

“Smart girl! And there’s so much to see around town! I swear, I never thought I’d see the day that Sweetbriar Ridge was such a thriving place! You’ll find all kinds of little shops to explore. But first, what can I get you?”

Glancing at the bakery case, she considered her options. “Um…how about a blueberry muffin and some coffee? I’m not fussy about what kind, so…surprise me!”

Within minutes, she sat at a table by the front window and happily sipped her coffee. She was just getting ready to take a bite of her muffin when a small group of guys walked in. She’d taken off the sunglasses, but she pulled her cap down a bit—just enough to hide part of her face, but not enough to block her view.

None of them were Will.

They were standing close enough that she could hear their conversation without straining too hard, and they all were wearing matching shirts that said Sweetbriar Ridge FD. She figured that they worked with Ashlynn’s husband, Reid, but that was neither here nor there.

“So what are you going to do?” the one guy asked. Sloane had no idea who they were, so she was going to call him Hot Firefighter Number One.

Hot Firefighter Number Two—equally hot and resembled the first guy enough to be his brother—said, “I’m not sure. It could be worth fixing, but…do I really want to put the time and effort into it?”

And then there was a third Hot Firefighter—clearly no relation, but hot nonetheless—who added his two cents. “That car is a classic. How could you just let it go? If for nothing else, fix it up and sell it.”

Ugh.Cars. There was almost nothing that made her eyes glaze over faster or bored her more than the topic of cars. What was the big deal about them? And why did guys have to talk about them so much? Giving up on listening to any more of their discussion, she took a bite of her muffin.

“Devin said he was pretty swamped at the shop, but Will could look at it,” Hot Firefighter Number Two said, and at the sound of Will’s name, Sloane’s ears perked up. True, it was a common name, but what if they were talking about her Will?

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