“What on earth is this truck doing here?”
It was the day before the Spring Picnic and a big delivery truck with “PMS” painted on the sides in bold letters was blocking the street right in front of Dave’s Diner.
Dave himself was hauling a fold-up table to the town square, where several people were getting everything ready for the picnic and open-air movie theater. His face was bright red and he shook his fist in the air, cursing the truck and its contents.
The delivery driver looked at him wide-eyed, then shook his head and mumbled something about how every town had their own collection of wacko people.
“What’s going on?” I asked, joining Dave on the sidewalk.
“None of my customers can get inside. And their view is blocked by this truck,” he said.
He made it sound as if there was an entire cruise ship parked in front of his diner instead of a standard-sized Parcel Mail Services truck. Normally, I hated to encounter PMS, but this was a different type altogether. And the view Dave was talking about? It was just a regular old town square, not some jaw-dropping tropical beach or summit.
I approached the driver. Someone had to take it upon themselves to find out what was going on. “Are you delivering stuff for the Spring Picnic?” I asked in my friendliest voice.
“I honestly don’t know,” the guy said, shaking his head. “All I’ve got is an order form for five hundred vacuum cleaners with clear instructions to drop them off at the town square. That’s all the information I can share, sorry.”
I watched in horror as the guy kept stacking all five hundred boxes of vacuum cleaners on the grass. A small crowd of people gathered on the pavement around me.
Fifteen minutes later, news of the enormous delivery had spread, and Diane came rushing toward the town square.
Diane and Dave were on good terms with each other, but judging by Dave’s glaring eyes, their comradery might be pushed to the background, at least for now.
“Good, they’ve arrived,” Diane said.
She gave the boxes an approving look.
“Good?” Dave asked, seething. “These boxes take up half the town square. It’s like you’ve taken it upon yourself to build a replica of the Great Wall of China in our small town.”
“There, there, Dave,” Diane said, swiping some imaginary speck of dust off her cream-colored sweater. “No need to get angry with me. I can’t help it that I’ve got such great business opportunities coming my way. Besides, the mayor has given me his explicit approval.”
Dave scoffed. “Of course he has.”
As the mayor’s mother, it came as no surprise that Diane had gotten some privileges. But her acting like she was the mayor might have gone a bit too far. Old Pine Cove thrived on a sense of community. Angering Dave was not a good move, unless Diane wanted her next sandwich to contain something gross.
“Tell you what, to make things right, I’ll give everyone who buys a TurboVac5000 Diamond Series a ten percent discount.”
The crowd went silent, none of them wanting to break the news to Diane that these vacuum cleaners were not a top priority to them, especially not at the price she was selling them for.
“Discount or no discount, that doesn’t solve the problem of this truck blocking the pavement,” Dave said.
Diane shot him a closemouthed smile. “I’m sure all the boxes will be unloaded soon enough.”
Dave put his hands on his hips to let Diane know that was not the solution he was waiting for.
All that was missing now was a lonesome tumbleweed rolling by, and Dave and Diane drawing their guns. I wondered who’d win in a standoff like that. It would be a close call, for sure.
As I had stuff of my own to take care of, I decided it was no use staying on the sidewalk and watching a heated discussion unfold. I turned around and walked over to the spot where Justin and I were setting up our food stands.
“Do you really need to work on this shirtless?” I asked, motioning toward his bare chest. “This place is crawling with kids, you know.”
Justin put down his drill and narrowed his eyes as he looked around. “Oh yeah, where are those kids you’re talking about?”
I followed his gaze around the square. The swings at the far end were deserted, as well as the slide. Milly was placing colorful quilts on a table and Mr. Rogers was trying to get his electric wheelchair over an uneven patch of grass, his tires not getting any grip whatsoever. Luckily for him, a group of seniors sporting Bingo Was My First Love shirts came running to his rescue.
Fine. There were no kids in sight, but they could arrive any minute.
“Take this,” Justin said, throwing something my way.
The object landed at my feet before I could even stretch my arms and try to catch it. I crouched down and picked it up.
“A packet of peanuts?”
He laughed. “Yeah, what else? You love nuts so much that you sleep with them.”
“I don’t love nuts that much,” I said. “I actually prefer a different kind of nuts. Not human nuts, walnuts,” I quickly added.
Gah, I had to stop with the nutty talk.
I shoved the gift in my pocket. “What do you want me to do?”
He handed me a big wooden model of a plate. “Hold this so I can attach it to the roof.”
He held the other side and attached it, then came over to my side. I gripped the piece of wood like it was a matter of life and death. He was standing so close to me that I almost got pushed into his chest hair. I turned my face, but that didn’t help matters either. Now my other cheek was pressed against his bare chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of anything but him and how good his skin felt on mine. It was no use, as I was still inhaling his ridiculously awesome scent. Even his armpit smelled nice, all manly and intoxicating.
It wasn’t fair that Justin had everything going for him. Good looks, a great job, lots of money, and a non-smelly armpit. No wonder he often came across as arrogant.
“You can let go now,” he said, drilling the last screw into place.
I pulled my face away from his chest and let out a long breath.
He wiped some wood dust off his jeans and took a step back to admire his creation. “Not too shabby, right?”
I had to give it to him, the guy knew how to build something appealing from nothing but a couple of wooden planks.
He held his palm up for me. I high fived it. I was still feeling confused and flustered from being smashed into his body, though. Okay, I knew that it didn’t mean anything. Not anything romantic anyway. There simply was no other way to attach the plates to the roof of the food stand without him standing close to me.
“Oh, look, it’s Suzie,” I said, spotting my friend passing the Great Wall of China and heading our way.
Any excuse to step away from Justin would do. I didn’t know if he felt the tension between us as well, but to me, it was making the air so heavy that I was afraid I’d get crushed.
“This is looking good. Great job, Justin,” Suzie said.
Her eyes twinkled when looking at him.
“Thanks,” he said before walking over to the other side of the stand.
I slapped her on the arm and pulled her out of hearing-distance from Justin. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Checking him out with that look,” I whispered.
She let out a laugh. “Oh, come on. I love Alex fiercely, but this is Justin Miller. As in famous and gorgeous actor. Any woman would have a peek if they were standing so close to him. It doesn’t mean anything. You on the other hand…”
“Me what?”
She leaned in closer. “I think you secretly adore the guy.”
I scoffed. “I do not. Do I hate him less than I did last week? Sure. But there’s a long stretch of feelings between hating someone and adoring them.”
“I won’t bring it up again. Not today anyway,” she said. “Are you all set for the Spring Picnic tomorrow?”
I nodded. “I need to bake some more cookies, but everything else is going according to plan.”
“Well, if you need any help, let me know. I’ve gotta run.”
“But you just got here,” I said.
“I know. I was actually on my way to Sip’nBean to grab some coffees. Pippa’s at the store all by herself and must be wondering where I am. See you tomorrow, Addy. You too, Justin,” she called out to him.
“See ya,” he said and gave her a little wave.
He had climbed onto a chair to put the finishing touches on our food stand. His tool belt sat snugly around his waist and every time he stretched to reach the back of the stand, his abs flexed. This was too much. Why was he torturing me like this? I needed a cold drink. And if that didn’t do the trick, I’d hop into a cold shower.
“I’m going for a walk,” I said in a high-pitched voice. “Do you want me to pick up something to drink on my way back?”
He motioned toward a cooler placed on the grass. “Thanks, but I’m all set.”
I hurried away from the magical effect his chiseled chest had on me. This was so not me. I had never been this physically attracted to someone before. And especially not someone I had beef with. My last boyfriend was sweet, and we got along great, but he never made my pulse race. Not like this, anyway.
I left the town square and crossed the street to Sip’nBean. An iced coffee might seep some sense into me.
“Hi, Addy,” Olive said. She was the most upbeat barista I’d ever met. “What can I get you today?”
I smiled at her and got a couple of dollar bills out of my purse. “A caramel iced coffee, please.”
“Coming right up. How are things at the inn?” she asked while prepping my drink.
“Really good, thank you.”
“I heard you’re thinking of opening a petting zoo. That’s so exciting.”
I grinned. “I know, right? It’s going to be amazing.”
Olive put my coffee on the counter, a dreamy look in her eyes. “I’d love to open a dog hotel one day. You’ll give me some advice when the time comes, right?”
“Sure,” I said with a laugh. Everyone in Old Pine Cove knew how crazy Olive was about dogs. She even ran a business on the side where she offered tarot readings for dogs.
I grabbed my drink and waved her goodbye before settling myself on the terrace outside. The May sun was giving her best effort. I loved days like these. Winter was nice too, as Old Pine Cove was the best place to spend those months, but there was nothing like the allure of clear spring nights and the days getting longer and longer as time passed.
Asher and Layla’s wedding would take place only ten days from now. It meant that a busy period would come to an end for me, but it also meant Justin would be leaving soon. Not that I wanted him to stay, per se. I doubted he would want to stick around here longer than intended. His life in Hollywood was probably an exhilarating one with new adventures every day.
Sometimes I wondered if I would have stayed in Old Pine Cove myself if it hadn’t been for the inn. When my dad left for Florida after gushing about golf carts and oranges, he kind of assumed I’d take over the inn. I did, because I loved working with people and making sure all their holiday needs were met. But I’d never traveled far outside of my hometown. It was ironic, really. I spent all this time catering to people who were taking a well-deserved vacation, yet I never went on one myself.
I got my phone out of my pocket, my fingers automatically heading for the Instagram app. Oops, now the app was open, and I couldn’t stop myself from scrolling. I looked up pictures Justin had posted himself, pictures he was tagged in by others, and pictures of his friends. His life seemed alien to me. Here I was, surrounded by beautiful mountains and people I’d known all my life, while he led a completely different life out there, chilling in the shadow of palm trees, frolicking on the beach, and attending parties in the Hollywood Hills.
A tiny part of me was intrigued by a life lived outside of the Cove, but I knew it would always be a fantasy, at least for me. I had responsibilities here.
Plus, I still had dozens of cookies to bake for the Spring Picnic, which meant I didn’t have time to sit around and think about things that would never happen. I had to get back to work.
I got up, my chair scraping across the concrete. The package of nuts Justin had given me earlier fell out of my shorts pocket. I picked it up and tucked it back in safely.
Justin might be leaving in a couple of weeks, but at least I still had his nuts.