“Someone in town already has my eye, sorry.” I said it without thinking, but it worked.
“I bet it’s fucking Jade. That weirdo gets all the guys.” Brooke emphatically rolled her eyes again and went to a table.
“Well then,” I muttered.
“Is she right?”
I jumped. “Shit. Mark, I didn’t know you’d come back.”
“I wasn’t sure if I needed to save you or not. If you’d been into her, I definitely would’ve. But now I need to know who you’ve got your eye on. Brooke mentioned Jade.”
“I ... haven’t met Jade, so no.” I wasn’t sure how to get out of his interested stare. Damn small-town gossip. “You probably shouldn’t keep Brooke waiting for long.”
Mark shook his head. “She needs to learn some patience anyway.”
“I just said that to get her away from me,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I haven’t talked to anyone.”
“I know you’ve met Grace.”
I sighed. “You heard that in the Facebook group, didn’t you?”
He smiled. “You know how small towns work, don’t you?”
“All too well. And I won’t be talking to Grace again.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why’s that? Don’t let her sister scare you off. Grace got all the kindness from her mother.”
“Grace is very nice,” I said. “But I’ve been banned from talking to her.”
“Who would’ve done that? Oh, Wren? She doesn’t seem like the type.”
Did they ever stop? Did I need to tell them my life story while I was at it?
“The point is you have nothing to worry about.”
Mark hummed before I was saved by the ticking time bomb in the bar.
“Mark!” Brooke yelled. “Stop yapping and get me my drink.”
“Fuck,” Mark said. “She got worse when she went to Nashville.”
He stalked over to work on Brooke’s drink. I let out a sigh and went back to my beer. Thank God I was out of the hot seat.
I sipped on my beer, loosely watching the bar. Brooke got what she was waiting on. A few other people slipped in, greeting Mark like old friends. Thankfully, he seemed to stay busy and forgot about what he was asking me.
Out of habit, I scanned the bar for someone to go home with. I’d been banned from breaking hearts, but not from everything. Other than Brooke, there wasn’t anyone here who was close to my age and looking twice at me. I shouldn’t have been surprised that a bar like this was quiet on a weeknight.
But even if I did have my eye on someone, I had a feeling they wouldn’t hold a candle to Grace.
Which meant I was going back to my hotel alone.
“So, you’re the guy everyone’s been talking about?” A man with close-cropped hair sat in the seat next to me. “I’ll admit, I’m curious.”
I knew they’d been talking. I wasn’t a fool. I grinned like one anyway. “I like to make a good first impression. This time it was by hitting a stop sign. I’m Dean.”
I offered my hand, which he shook. “Atticus. I’m the local vet.”
“Careful with that one, man!” Mark called over. “He’s a heartbreaker!”