“He is,” Chloe and KT say in unison.
“And, yeah, of course I have feelings for him. Locking this down so soon just feels so…intense and final and confining.”
“Why?” KT asks.
Good question. “What if I don’t like living in a small town? Mind you, it’s also a small town where a lot of people hate me.”
“You know,” Chloe says, “that could just be PTSD from your parents.”
KT nods. “You’ve spent your whole life following their rules. Go to this school or you’ll never make it in the world. Wear this dress or you won’t be valued. Date this person or you’re wasting your time. And now you have Levi saying, commit or I walk. Which is interesting coming from the king of commitment issues.”
“I see that as a sign he’s completely sure about his love for you,” Chloe says. “Not trying to force you into his idea of someon
e else, which is really what your parents want.”
“And we need to do a reality check on your small-town issue,” KT says, “because you’re thirty minutes from Santa Barbara. You’d be able to get your upscale-city fix at just about any store your heart desires. You’re fifteen minutes to Solvang, which is adorable with amazing restaurants. Maybe it’s not downtown LA, but it’s not some farming community in Iowa either.
“And if you’re being honest, you’ve never loved LA. You’re there because your parents are there and your job is there. You’ve also told us in the past that your life is so hectic, you don’t even have time to make friends or enjoy a night out.”
All valid points. “You’re smashing all the blocks in my wall.”
“The people here won’t hold a grudge once the marina is up and running,” Chloe says. “And when you and Levi are together and happy, I think you’ll end up becoming the town’s favorite couple.”
“Even that feels like an expectation. It’s all so…heavy.”
We go silent while Chloe looks at a utensil set. She adds it to the cart and says, “I think if you put all the pros and cons about staying here and committing to Levi on paper, you’d be overwhelmed with pros.”
It only takes a second for me to realize that’s true. And for some bizarre reason, taking that organized step to handle this logically helps my stress. “Good idea. I’m going to do that when we get back.”
“Ooo, can we do it together?” Chloe asks like a kid. “That sounds fun.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Sure, why not?”
“So, maybe Georgie Pie would be better for KT, then,” Chloe says, “because Levi’s house is at the end of the lake, where you’ll have all the privacy you will desperately need with that man.”
I cut a smile at her. “For someone who’s celibate, you sure do focus on sex a lot.”
“I’m celibate, not dead. You try celibacy, see if you don’t think about sex all the time.”
I’m laughing as we turn the corner toward the small appliances, and I run the cart right into someone. “Oh, jeez. I’m sorry—”
It’s Chloe’s cop, only he’s in plain clothes. I’ve always thought uniforms made even the most ordinary man handsome. But in Hot Cop’s case, it doesn’t matter. The man is gorgeous in and out of uniform.
“Ladies,” he says, hand gripping the front of my basket. His gaze immediately latches onto Chloe. “Celibate, huh?”
Her cheeks turn pink, but she stands tall and meets his gaze directly. “Does that dim our spark, Officer Wilde?”
“Hell, no.” His mouth lifts in a half smile, and his gaze is smoldering. “Have you been a good girl otherwise? No fruit thievery? No instigation of restaurant brawls?”
She lifts her brows and pretends to think about it. “I may or may not have jaywalked since I last saw you.”
“Girl,” he says, “you’re lucky I don’t have my cuffs with me.”
“I like the sound of that more than I ever expected.”
“Hello,” KT says. “Other human beings standing right here.”
A young girl comes up behind him. “Found a cupcake pan.”