Chapter One ~ Reardon
I sighed as I watched the family of ducks waddle into the pond from my seat on the wooden bench at Cherry Springs Pond. I often crossed the street from my law office in the afternoon to eat lunch and enjoy some fresh air. It was good for me to get out from behind my desk, and look at something other than paperwork and my computer.
Usually, the pond had a calming effect and helped relieve any stress I might be feeling from work, but today, my shitty mood had nothing to do with work.
It was one-hundred percent due to Chloe Zahn.
Gorgeous, smart, independent, complicated, Chloe Zahn.
I’d first seen Chloe the night she hooked up with my cousin, Gabe, at his first Super Bowl party about fourteen years ago. Neither of us saw her again until last summer, when she came to Gabe’s summer camp to tell him that the boy who’d just spent a week at his camp, was actually his son.
If that wasn’t shocking enough, Gabe had, fortunately, or unfortunately depending how you looked at it, fallen for her sister Zoey, and Chloe’s declaration caused a whole lot of confusion and turmoil.
Luckily, things had worked out between Gabe, Zoey, Chris, and Chloe, and now they were one big, but weird, happy family.
Things got even more complicated when they all decided to make Cherry Springs their home, Chloe included, and were moving quickly, so everyone would be settled and have plenty of time to plan Gabe and Zoey’s wedding, which was coming up in four short weeks.
Why was I in a bad mood over Chloe moving to town, when everything was obviously going well with the soon-to-be blended family? Because I’d wanted Chloe since the second I saw her across that smoky bar when I was a young, dorky law student, and she’d walked straight into the arms of my cousin.
In my mind, she’d always been the one who got away.
Little did I know, all the years I’d been remembering her and wondering what could have been, she was raising her and Gabe’s son alone, never thinking twice about me. I wasn’t even a blip on her radar.
Tossing the last of my corned beef on rye to the ducks, I stood tall and stretched, then turned to head back to my office, yelling hello to familiar faces along the way.
Cherry Springs was the kind of place where everyone knew not only your name, but who you had a crush on in elementary school, and how you got that cut on your upper lip. (Bike accident.)
I loved everything about it.
“How’s your momma, Reardon?”
I paused outside the door to my office and turned to see old Mrs. Dingle coming toward me from the coffee shop on the corner.
“She’s doing really good, Mrs. Dingle, all ready for the Easter Parade,” I replied with an easy smile. One of the great aspects of living here was the people, and as the only lawyer in town, I always thought it was part of my job to take the time to stay on friendly terms with everyone.
It had driven my ex, Becca, nuts, the way people were always stopping us to talk, expecting us to spend time catching up, when all she was worried about was getting back to the city and hitting up the hottest new restaurants and clubs. I must’ve been crazy to think she’d ever want to get married and settle down here, but I’d definitely considered asking her.
Thank God I came to my senses before I did.
“Wonderful,” the much smaller woman replied. At six foot six inches, I was used to towering over everyone, and Mrs. Dingle was probably a flat five foot. “I know Annabeth is over the moon about young Christopher, and now Zoey is pregnant, too. I’m sure your momma would like a grandbaby someday soon; what are you waiting for, son? A big strapping boy like you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a woman to settle
down with.”
I felt my face redden, but this was a conversation I was used to having. Even more so now that Gabe had given his parents not one, but two grandbabies to fawn over. It was making the other Lewis matrons antsy.
“I’m doing my best, ma’am.”
“Well, don’t dawdle,” she said, then her face turned sly when she added, “Hmmm, she’s a nice prospect.”
I turned as Mrs. Dingle shuffled away, to see who she was looking at, then froze when I saw Chloe walking down the sidewalk, her gaze on the gazebo across the street.
Right before she could walk into me, I cleared my throat and she stopped, startled.
When Chloe recognized that it was me, she gave an unsure smile and said, “Oh, uh, hello, Reardon.”
“Chloe,” I replied with a stiff nod, cursing myself silently. I was always such a moron around her. First, I’d been resentful of the fact that she’d picked Gabe, then wary when she showed up with a teenaged son, saying it was his. The lawyer in me had taken over, and I’d come off pretty harsh until we knew she was telling the truth. I knew she thought I didn’t trust her, didn’t like her, and I’d done nothing to dissuade her from believing that. It was better than her knowing the way I really felt.
After an awkward pause, during which I noticed that her long, dark hair was hanging straight and shiny down her back, and her large, brown doe eyes were watching me warily, her smile dropped and she said, “I’m just looking around, acquainting myself with my new home … I’m sure you have to get back to work. Uh, see you tonight.”
“Tonight?” I asked dumbly. Apparently being in her presence made me a total idiot.
“Dinner at Zoey and Gabe’s…” she said slowly, and I remembered that they’d invited me over to help welcome Chloe to town, permanently. I knew Dillon and Jasmine were going, but I’d been planning on begging off for work, but now, if I didn’t show after talking with Chloe about it, she’d think I was avoiding her.
Which had definitely been my plan.
“Oh, yeah, right, see you there,” I replied, then turned before I stuttered anymore and let myself into my office.
I was a funny, confident, successful man. I’d dated a number of women, and could even be considered a catch. Why, then, did I always turn into my geeky high school alter ego whenever I was around Chloe?
I’d dated beautiful women before. What made her different?
I needed a distraction, something to get me through the night without making a complete ass of myself.
She’s just a girl … right?
Pulling my phone from my inside pocket, I scrolled down until I found the name I wanted and pressed send.
“Shauna, hey, how’s it going?” I asked when the whisper-soft voice answered. “Great, yeah, me too. Hey, I was wondering … I know it’s last minute, but are you busy tonight? Care to join me at a family dinner? Six o’clock? Perfect, see you then.”
Sexy, single, and always ready for a good time, Shauna was just who I needed to help get my mind off the fact that Chloe, the one woman I wanted but could never have, was in my life to stay.
Chapter Two ~ Chloe
Am I nuts?