Guys don’t do that sort of stuff.
No one has been chasing me like I’m some sort of prize before now.
What’s changed?
“I’m actually busy.”
“Tomorrow?” he asks.
“Busy.”
I shut the door before he can ask about the next day, and I study the brownies as I put them on the countertop. Now I feel guilty for accepting them.
Refusing to dwell on it, I head to the bedroom, but a knock at the door has me returning. Expecting to find the same guy, I swing open my door, and startle when I find a stranger staring at me.
A pan of some gooey dessert is shoved at me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.”
My eyes flick from the gooey dessert to the bearded, attractive man, who doesn’t look like he’d have problems getting a date. I think this town is too small if fresh meat gets so much attention from either gender.
Another car pulls up, and I eye it, glance at the man before me, take another look at the dessert…and step back inside.
He’s still smiling and holding the dessert as I slowly shut the door, lock it, and carefully step away.
“Uh-oh. What’s happening right now?” I ask on a whisper to myself.
When someone else knocks, I hear bickering begin. “Go away. I was here first. Wait your turn.”
“She shut the door in your face. Clearly you’ve been rejected. She didn’t even take your gift.”
“You brought flowers?”
“Girls like flowers.”
I take a few more slow steps back.
“What the hell are you doing here?” they both snap in unison.
“Bringing her Grandma’s favorite cobbler. What the hell are you doing here?” a third voice asks.
Carefully, I step inside the bedroom and shut that door, lock it, and take a seat on the bed as I simply stare at the door.
When I hear a loud knocking and a fourth voice join the bickering, I drop back and stare at the ceiling.
Yep. I shouldn’t have tasted the water.
“Just leave them out here. You all scared her off with so many out here at once,” one of them says so loudly that I can hear them through two doors.
“Hey, Piper?” one calls out, proving they know my name already. “I guess we scared you off, but I promise we’re way more harmless than Kai Wilder. Since you two are over, I was hoping—”
“Don’t be an idiot! Don’t bring up an ex when you’re trying to woo the girl. You’ll mess it up for our turn if you do.”
Their turn?
I really am in a breeding experiment town.
They lure you in with lords of the dance, tales of underground pot rings, and unique banter so they can put babies in you. I’m going to become an incubator.
I can’t think of any other reason four guys would be arguing over me right now.
“If she was with Kai, this isn’t scaring her! She was fine until he showed up!” that first voice says.
These people never can seem to speak very quietly.
I scratch my head, idly thinking back to how Deacon would just accept the desserts, reject the girls, and then return like it wasn’t a big deal. I feel bad rejecting people. I’m trying not to be a douchebag, though, and I think it’s worse to just leave them on the front porch…
However, it’s also rude to just show up at someone’s house and sort of force yourself onto them without any warning. They can simply stay on the porch until they all go—
There’s another sharp knock, and it sounds like the number of voices are steadily growing.
“What kind of grown ass man brings desserts to a girl that his momma made? You guys are making us all look bad! You should have made them yourselves!”
“At least ours will be edible!”
I slip in under the covers and pull them up to my neck, and after hearing another argument break out, I start to pull them over my head. However, I hear a loud cat roar, high pitch screams, and several cars taking off.
“Thank you, Cougar,” I groan as I throw the covers back and get up again.
That’s one pussy that can clear a room damn fast.
I wait until the last of them are gone before I open the door to find eight dishes filled to the brim with different foods. There’s also a bouquet of fake flowers.
This is insanity.
After bringing them all in, I spend the next hour keeping myself busy. Cougar, for whatever reason, turned my porch into her naptime bed over thirty minutes ago.
I’m trapped inside. Even if I wanted to go out, I’d be scared of running into a man who suddenly had an interest in me. This town doesn’t do things in moderation—it’s all or nothing around here.
I go to pick up the first book in Gran’s series, wondering if I should reread it now that I know her inspiration was—