525 Cherry Blossom Ln. (Cherry Falls Romance)

“Shit,” I hiss.

“Deke’s an asshole,” Charlie says, and I laugh.

“Yeah, he kind of is.”

“Did you hear he tried to swear out a warrant on Lincoln?”

“What?” I gasp, my heart beating fast. “What on earth for?”

“My brother Duke was at the Fireside after your fight. He said after you left, Linc was so mad that he punched Deke.”

“He punched him?” I gasp.

“Yeah. He said it was epic. Linc broke Deke’s nose.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper. “I had no idea.”

“Yep, Deke tried to swear out a warrant on him. Sheriff Larson told him that if he did, Faith Bridges would swear out a warrant for slander against him.”

“Holy shit. Faith wouldn’t do that.”

“She might if the sheriff asked her to. I think they’re getting kind of chummy.”

“Faith and Sheriff Larson?” I ask, completely shocked. I haven’t talked to Faith in a couple of weeks. Seems like I should rectify that and soon.

“Yep. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and Lincoln.”

“Uh, thanks, Charlie,” I murmur.

“Sometimes things happen for the best,” he says.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I respond.

“Sometimes when people break up, it just means there’s better out there—”

“Jodie and I are fine,” Linc says coming around me and grabbing the bags of groceries that Charlie has ready on the counter.

“I…You…We…” I stutter, unsure of what to say.

That apparently doesn’t matter to Linc, because he puts his hand on my back and all but manhandles me out of the grocery store.

“Where’s your vehicle?” Linc asks, and maybe that’s what snaps me out of my stupor.

“None of your business. What are you doing here?” I snap.

“I need to talk to you,” he says, and I pull back to look at him.

I really hate that he’s so hot. He should look horrible. If he had like two noses on his face, or his lips were fat and green in color—that would make me feel better.

And what is up with his hair?

Men should not have hair prettier than a woman’s. His falls midway down his back when it’s down. Today, he has it up in a messy bun, but it’s still sexy as hell. It looks like spun gold. It’s so freaking soft that the feel of it against my naked skin is so good I still dream about it at night—even after all of this time.

That’s also another part of the problem. It feels like I just left Lincoln Locke’s apartment this morning. The embarrassment and pain is still that fresh.

I try my best to gather my wits and stare at him like he’s lost his mind.

“I don’t think we have anything to say to one another, Mr. Locke.”

“Considering you have the whole town calling me the virgin slayer, I think we do.”

“The virgin…the whole town…” I stop because I feel like I can’t breathe. “Why would they do that?” I pant, almost unable to talk.

“Maybe because you told the whole town that you were a virgin when we slept together,” he bites out and my heart stutters in my chest because his tone sounds accusatory.

“I didn’t tell the whole town,” I deny.

“You announced it at the Fireside. You’ve lived in Cherry Falls a lot longer than I have, so don’t pretend you don’t know how people talk around here. Before you ever left that night, twenty people were on the phone telling their friends about what you said and then their friends were calling their friends and—”

“Stop! You’re making it sound like I meant to blurt that shit out.”

“And you didn’t?” he scoffs.

“I didn’t.”

“Well, that’s exactly what happened, and now everyone around here is getting their kicks at my expense. Jesus, I would have never touched you if I knew you were a virgin, anyway.”

“Oh my God, you’re so self-absorbed. You think I like knowing the whole town is talking about me? And if I had known you were just a stupid jerk, I would have never let you seduce me!”

“Oh please, there was no seducing. You were all over me. Besides, if you didn’t want people to talk about you, then you should have kept your mouth shut.”

“Kept my mouth shut…”

“That’s right,” he says. “That’s what adults do,” he adds. In that moment, I’m not sure I’ve ever hated anyone more than I do him.

I don’t think. I just react. I bend my leg, brink it back, and then move so I can swing into his balls. He hollers and bends over instantly.

“You can kiss my ass, Lincoln Locke!”

“Damn it, woman,” he groans.

“But keep talking because the more you do, the less hot I think you are. Now, you’re just becoming a complete asshole I hate. And I really hate I gave you my v-card. I’d rather give it to Toothless Tommy!” I yell. Then, I turn to jog back to my car. That’s when I see there’s a small crowd around the grocery store taking everything in—including Toothless Tommy, who is well over four hundred pounds, stays drunk ninety-nine percent of the time and probably is now and has a comb over that once he flops it over, it flows down past his elbow. He’s giving me a grinning look that showcases he has no teeth, and in his expression is a definite invitation.