Chapter 1

ONE

Evie

Could this day get any worse?

As if in answer to my question, the door of the bookstore swings open, and in walks Claire and her little minions. I swallow back a groan, not wanting to attract their attention.

Great. First, they don’t have the new book I wanted to read, and now I’m going to have to deal with the mean girls. I knew that I should have just gone straight home after work.

As if dealing with Hendrix’s grumpy butt all day wasn’t bad enough, now I’ll have to deal with Claire.

I growl as I think about Hendrix and all of his requests today. It had started as soon as I walked in the door this morning. He needed me to make him a coffee, sort his papers, and redo half of the research that I did the day before because he hated the font that I used. I know that a lot of those tasks are part of my actual job duties, but that isn’t the part that bothered me. It was how he spoke to me. He’s always barking orders at me, always finding a reason to seek me out. I’ve worked for Hendrix for nine months now, and I’ve never once heard him say the words please or thank you.

I guess I shouldn’t be too upset. I mean, I knew that Hendrix’s people skills were bad from the moment that I met him. My interview was… rough.

I had shown up at the coffee shop in town for the interview right on time. I was feeling pretty good about my chances as I sat at a table nearby and waited for the other interview before mine to wrap up. That was when I heard Hendrix snap at the man he was interviewing. He was so harsh that I was kind of scared to interview next.

That was my first clue that Hendrix was rough around the edges.

“Next,” he had called, and I tried to look confident as I took a seat across from him. I doubt that I pulled it off.

He hadn’t even spared me a glance as he looked over my resume and sighed.

“What experience do you have as a personal assistant?”

“None, but I’m a fast learner.”

“I’m not looking to teach anyone anything. I don’t have the patience for that, and I have no desire to hold your hand while you do the job I’m paying you to do,” he had snapped.

“With that attitude, no wonder you can’t keep an assistant,” I had snapped back.

I had pushed to my feet, and that’s when his stormy blue eyes finally looked at me. He had seemed shocked as he took me in, and I remember wondering what he was expecting.

“Good luck,” I had spit at him before he could get the last word in.

I was stomping off when he had called after me.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

I was shocked, but I was too desperate to turn down the job.

I should have turned down the job.

The last nine months have been a weird rollercoaster of emotions. Some days, Hendrix is nice, and other days, he’s a grumpy, brooding jerk. It doesn’t help that I kind of maybe have a teeny little crush on the guy.

It started at the interview, as soon as I saw him, and it’s only grown from there. He’s attractive with dark brown hair and those blue eyes that seem to see right through me. I’d never admit that to my boss, though. I know that it would never go anywhere anyway. A guy like Hendrix is never going to be into a plus-size woman like me.

I sigh, shaking thoughts of my boss out of my head as I focus on my current problem and try to see where Claire and her friends went.

“Look at her, reading romance books because she knows that no man is ever going to love her,” I hear Claire say from behind me, and I groan as I turn around to face them.

“She might… if she lost some weight!” Jules says with a wicked laugh.

“No wonder she’s always single,” Martha adds, and I swallow down the hurt.

They’re right. I’ve never so much as been on a first date. I’ve never kissed a guy, held hands with anyone, none of it. I’m the perpetually single friend, and I hate it.

I hate listening to Claire and her friends. I hate being the butt of the joke, and as I stare at them, something in me snaps, and I find myself doing something crazy.

“Actually, I’m not single. Like some of you,” I say, aiming a pointed stare at Claire.

“Really?” she asks, her voice dripping with skepticism.

“Yup.”

“Who? Who would possibly date you?” Martha asks.

Then, I do something that I regret instantly.

I say, “With Hendrix. We’ve been seeing each other for a bit now. Surprised that you haven’t heard.”

Instant regret.

I’m freaking out, wondering what possessed me to say that, but on the outside, I remain calm. I paste on a fake smile and hold my head high as I turn and march out of the bookstore. Seeing their shocked expression feels good, but not enough to stop my freak out.

“What the hell did I just do?” I ask in shock as I stop at a red light.

Sweetheart Falls is a small town, and it doesn’t take me long to make it back to my apartment. I park and hurry inside, slamming the door behind me and sucking in a deep breath.

“Why did I say that? What the hell do I do now?” I ask as I start to pace back and forth.

My apartment is tiny, so the pacing is really just shuffling two steps forward, turning, and repeating it back to the front door.

Well, Hendrix never goes into town, so maybe he’ll just never find out about what I said. I mean, it’s not like he has a ton of friends in town, and he hates gossip and small talk, so the chances of him learning about us dating are slim to none.

I start to relax and I let out a deep breath as I sink down onto my thrift store couch. My phone rings, and I tense, wondering if it’s Hendrix, but when I look at the screen, I see my friend, Olive’s name instead. I smile as I answer.

“Hey, you! I’ve been meaning to call you,” I tell her.

“I beat you to it,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

That’s Olive for you. She’s always smiling, always happy. It’s one of the reasons why I love her. She always sees the best in the world and in people.

“How’s Xavier?” I ask her.

“Good. He’s grumbling to himself as he makes us dinner as we speak,” she says with a laugh, and I can’t help but join her.

I’ve known Olive for most of my life. We grew up together, and after high school, we both left town and went our separate ways, but stayed in touch. I tried to take a trip across the United States. I wanted to travel and experience the world a little bit. It was working out well, until I went to Montana and ended up losing my purse. That’s how I wound up working for Hendrix and living in Sweetheart Falls.

I’m close to having enough saved to quit and leave town. I’m actually looking forward to heading home. I plan to join Olive and her sisters in Wolf Valley, Oregon, and start to put down real roots. I just need to put up with Hendrix and this place for a little bit longer.

“What about you? How have you been?” Olive asks me.

“I’m okay. I’ve been working a lot. I’m hoping that I’ll be home before the holidays.”

“No way! You’ll have to come over and spend it with us!”

“That sounds great,” I say honestly.

When I left town a few years ago, I was so excited to get out and away from home, but the more time that I’ve spent away, the more homesick I become. I just want to be home with people that I love and who love me. This trip has started to become lonely, and I just want to be back where I belong.

“I’ll get the guest room ready for you,” Olive says, and I smile.

“It’s still going to be at least a few weeks,” I tell her, but she ignores me and keeps making her plans.

“How’s work?” she asks, and I sigh.

“The same.”

“So, still crushing on the boss while also fantasizing about strangling him?” she asks, and I laugh.

“Pretty much.”

“Just make a move already! Especially if you’re quitting and leaving town soon.”

“Well… actually,” I start, and I hear Olive gasp on the other end of the phone.

“What happened? Did you kiss him? Did he kiss you? Are you two in love?” she asks me rapid fire.

“No, not any of that. I just might have accidentally told some people in town that we were dating.”

“How does one accidentally do that?”

“Well, when the girls are mean, judgmental jerks, who keep pointing out how single you are…”

“Got it. Well, why not date him for real?”

“Date Hendrix? Well, even if I could somehow convince my boss to go out with me, that has disaster written all over it. What happens if things don’t go well? Then what do I do?”

“They’ll go well!” She insists.

I love her optimism, but I’m a little more realistic… or maybe that’s pessimistic.

“We’ll see,” I hedge.

“You should go for it,” she encourages me.

I change the subject, and we talk about what she’s been up to a little bit before we end the call.

As I lay down on the couch, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if Hendrix and I were dating for real.

Does Olive have a point? I am leaving soon. Maybe I should finally go for it with a guy.

Maybe.