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“Of course.”
Maggie watched her grandmother walk away, then turned for the bustling town square. Booths lined the perimeter with local artisans selling jewelry and gifts and local restaurants serving a variety of tasting options. Maggie had put in countless hours with the festival committee to make this year’s Fall Fest a success.
Despite what she’d told her grandma, she did have concerns about the upcoming election. Jason Stone had been running a subtle smear campaign, a portion of it reflecting on her decision to walk away from her wedding without outing Trevor as the rat fink cheater he was.
But the more insidious digs at her came from her relationship with her grandmother. Her opponent was insinuating exactly what Grammy had just stated out loud: that Maggie had been elected because of nepotism and not on her own merits. She hated giving any credence to the idea, but the doubts pinging through her head made it even more essential that she win the election.
She sighed and started forward toward the bustling midway. Unfortunately right now, schmoozing and socializing seemed about as appealing as downing a bowl of cockroaches. Maggie was working overtime on the overtime she normally put in to prove her dedication to her job. She was tired, so the thought of making small talk for a couple of hours had her stomach tightening.
“You look like you’re walking into a gathering of flesh-eating zombies,” a voice called from behind her.
She turned to see her best friend, Brenna Apria, and Brenna’s young daughter, Ellie, walking toward her.
“All zombies eat flesh,” Ellie announced as they got closer.
“Aren’t you too young to know that, squirt?” Maggie asked, crouching down and holding her arms wide. Ellie ran forward, wrapping her thin arms around Maggie’s neck.
“I’m either going to be a zombie or a vampire cheerleader for Halloween,” Ellie told her matter-of-factly, “so I’m doing research on both of them.”
“She loves to be scared.” Brenna gave a mock shudder. “I don’t know where she gets it.”
“Marcus and I watched Gremlins last weekend,” Ellie reported. “It was PG but still Mommy had to cover her eyes for the scary parts.”
“How is Marcus?” Maggie lifted a brow in Brenna’s direction.
Her friend tried to hide the enamored smile that curved her mouth. “He’s good. Things are getting back to normal after harvest season at the vineyard.”
“Harvest season,” Maggie murmured. That meant all hands on deck at the vineyard, although the winery also stayed open. Each year, Brenna coordinated grape-stomping competitions and the opportunity for the public to pick grapes in designated vineyards. But Maggie had not gone to any of the community events this year. It was too difficult to be near Griffin, which was stupid and possibly pathetic on her part.
Although she’d known him her whole life, he’d been a jerk as a kid and all through high school, three years older than her and definitely not interested in a rule follower like Maggie.
That had changed, to her great surprise, when he’d returned to Stonecreek. Even so, they’d only been friends for a few weeks and spent one blissful night together before her little fairy tale had come crashing down. Or maybe she’d just imagined their powerful connection.
The great sex had been a real thing. She hadn’t made that up. Everything else... Well, she always did have a vivid imagination.
“You okay?” Brenna asked, her brow furrowing.
“Just tired.” Maggie forced a smile. “Not really up for doing the mayoral thing tonight.”
“You’re welcome to hang with us,” her friend offered.
“Come with us,” Ellie shouted, grabbing her hand. “We’re going to get apple cider and kettle corn and have our faces painted.”
The warmth of the girl’s fingers wrapped around hers made the band of tension wrapped around Maggie’s stomach ease ever so slightly.
“It’s a real girls’ night out,” Brenna added with a smile at her daughter.
“Then count me in,” Maggie said.
They headed into the square, stopping at each booth. With Brenna and Ellie flanking either side of her, Maggie was able to relax, greeting old friends and various townspeople and remembering why she worked so hard at her job.
She loved this little corner of the Willamette Valley, from the terra-cotta and classical revival-style buildings to the bright yellows and golds of the leaves in the fall.
“At least I’m not getting a ton of side-eye anymore,” Maggie said to Brenna as they stood a few feet from the face-painting booth, waiting for Ellie to be transformed into a Bengal tiger.
Brenna toasted her cider cup against Maggie’s. “I told you all they needed was time. People were a little shocked that you walked away from the wedding, but that doesn’t change what you mean to this town.”
“There are still a few who haven’t forgiven me.” Maggie lifted a finger to touch the small butterfly one of the teenagers working the face-painting station had drawn onto her cheek. Ellie had insisted Maggie get her face done before the girl would agree to sit. “My grandmother might be one of them.”
Brenna made a face. “I can’t help you there. Oh, no. Don’t turn around.”
Maggie immediately looked over her shoulder to see Griffin walking toward them, an unfamiliar woman at his side. The woman was beautiful, with flowing, raven-colored hair, a fashion-model-thin frame and long legs tucked into vintage cowboy boots. She wore a baggy dress that just grazed her thighs, but the shape of a dress didn’t matter when a woman looked like that. Griffin towered over her and was leaning close as the woman gazed up at him.
Maggie’s heart stuttered.
No, they weren’t heading toward her. The two of them were so engrossed in each other they could have been walking on a deserted street for all they noticed the crowd around them.
Until Griffin looked up. His green gaze caught on Maggie, the heat from it like being stabbed with a hot poker.
“What part of ‘don’t turn around’ confused you?” Brenna muttered under her breath.
“It’s fine,” Maggie said, her voice weak as she faced forward again. “Who is she?”
“Maggie?”
Heat pooled low in her belly at the sound of Griffin’s rich baritone. Pathetic. She was the most pathetic woman on the planet. This man had rejected her four months ago. She had no reason to be twitter-pated over him. She had no reason to feel anything for him. To borrow from one of Maggie’s favorite old-school pop songs, tell that to her heart.
But she spun around, pasting a bright smile on her face. “Hey, Griffin. How’s it hang—”
She yelped when Brenna pinched the back of her arm. Hard.
“Hey,” Griffin said slowly, darting a dubious glance between the two of them. “I’m...um...doing fine. How are you?”
“Hunky-dory,” she said, then inwardly cringed as Brenna groaned. “I’m fine, too,” she amended, her cheeks feeling like they’d just caught fire. “Fine.”
“Great.” Griffin nodded and she watched his throat bob as he swallowed. “I wanted to introduce you to an old friend.” He indicated the woman standing next to him. “This is Cassie Barlow. Cassie’s an interior designer up in Seattle. We’ve worked on a few projects together over the years.”
Is that what the kids are calling it now? Maggie thought to herself. She held out a hand, her cheeks aching from the perma-grin plastered across her face. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” the woman said, her eyes bright. “Great butterfly.”
Seriously, could cheek muscles grow so hard they cracked? “I had my face painted,” Maggie said, then sighed. Master of the obvious. How charming.
“My daughter demanded it,” Brenna offered quickly. “Maggie did it for Ellie.”
Griffin introduced Brenna to Cassie and then Cassie turned to Maggie again. “Grif tells me you’re mayor of this town.”
Grif. She called him Grif. Oh, yeah. They worked together. Worked together on getting busy, most likely.
Maggie blinked when she realized everyone was staring at her. “Yes, mayor,” she agreed like an imbecile. “I’m mayor.”
Cassie tilted her head and Maggie thought the other woman must think her the biggest ninny she’d ever met. But Cassie’s eyes remained kind. It was ridiculously difficult to hate someone with such kind eyes.
Ellie ran up to Brenna at that moment, her face painted in black and orange stripes. The girl held up her hands like claws and growled at her mom, then turned to Maggie and roared loudly.
“I’m ferocious,” she announced.
Maggie cowered in mock fear, never so grateful for the interruption. “Oh, scary tiger,” she said, making her voice tremble. “Have mercy on this little butterfly.”
“You’re too tiny for me to eat,” Ellie said with a nod. “I better go get a corn dog.”
Maggie grinned, then looked up at Griffin and Cassie. “You heard the tiger. We’ve got to feed her before she starves.”
“It was lovely to meet you,” Cassie said softly.
“You, too,” Maggie agreed. She gave a casual wave. “See you around, Grif.”
Griffin gave a sharp nod but didn’t respond.
And even though Maggie wanted nothing more than to escape this awkward interaction, she couldn’t quite force her legs to walk away from him until Ellie took her hand and tugged.
Chapter Two (#u40edd0c4-b0d6-5bbc-bed3-2348bde592cc)
“She thinks we’re together,” Cassie murmured as Maggie disappeared into the crowd milling about the town square.
“We are together.” Griffin unclenched his hands, which had ended up fisted at his sides, and concentrated on keeping his expression neutral. It took every bit of willpower he possessed to watch Maggie turn away. He wanted to reach for her, to pull her close and bury his face in her hair, breathing in her flowery scent.
“As in we’re dating.” Cassie rolled her eyes.
“We’re not dating,” Griffin said as if his old friend needed clarification. “We haven’t dated for years.”
Cassie smacked him hard on the shoulder. “I know that, you idiot. Your Maggie doesn’t.”
“She’s not mine,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. He continued to stare in the direction Maggie had walked. Every few seconds he’d get a glimpse of her caramel-colored hair or a flash of the bright butterfly painted on her cheek as she turned to say something to Brenna. This was the first time he’d seen her since he’d ended what was between them. Ended it before it had really had a chance to start.
Stonecreek was a small town and, as mayor, Maggie was a very visible resident. He’d holed up at the vineyard for most of the summer, repairing the damage to the tasting room from the fire that Maggie’s sister had accidentally started when her plans for teenage seduction had gone awry.
Cole Maren, the boy Morgan Spencer had set her sights on that night, had worked tirelessly at Griffin’s side. Despite the kid’s past and less-than-desirable family situation, Cole seemed determined to stay on the right track. Griffin wished he’d made that choice when he was younger. It had taken him years of running from the stupidity of his youth to straighten out his mind and soul.
A weight settled in his chest like a lead balloon as he watched Maggie and he wondered how successful he’d actually been.
“You look at each other,” Cassie said, moving toward a vendor selling handmade soaps and lotions, “like you belong together.”
“You don’t understand how it is in Stonecreek,” Griffin said with a sigh.
Cassie dabbed a sample of lemon-scented lotion on her hands, turning to Griffin as she rubbed it into her skin. “What’s there to understand? You care about her. She cares about you. All that other family history stuff is just noise. It doesn’t have to matter, Grif. Trust me. I’m all about cutting away things that don’t matter these days.”
Griffin opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. Cassie had paid this unexpected visit to him to share that she’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was due to start treatment in Seattle in a couple of days and said the doctors had given her a great prognosis. But the news had changed her—maybe for the better—as she seemed at peace in a way he hadn’t ever known her to be.
“You have to try,” Cassie urged.
He glanced beyond her and spotted Maggie talking to a tall guy who looked to be in his midthirties. Brenna stood a few feet away watching Ellie play in the bouncy house, like she was trying to give Maggie and the stranger space. The man handed Maggie his phone and she punched something into it. Her number, Griffin assumed, and felt adrenaline stab his gut.
“Give me a few minutes,” he told his friend, earning a wide smile.
“I’ll meet you in front of the stage,” Cassie agreed. “The band is starting in a few minutes.”
He nodded and headed in Maggie’s direction, absently waving to the people who called out greetings.
“We need to talk,” he told her, moving to stand between her and the man.
Her fine brows furrowed. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Maggie,” he coaxed. “It won’t take long.”
“Everything okay?” the stranger asked.
Maggie looked around Griffin and smiled at the man. “Just a little bit of bothersome town business.”
Griffin felt his eyes narrow.
“It was nice meeting you, James,” she said sweetly.
“I’ll call you next week,” the man answered, and Griffin’s hand itched to deck the guy.
Maggie held up her index finger to someone behind Griffin—Brenna, he guessed—then looked up at him, her gray eyes cool. “So talk.”
“Not here.” Before she could protest, he circled her wrist with his hand and led her away from the crowd.
“Is this necessary?” she asked tartly.
“You sound like your grandma when you use that snippy tone,” he said, flashing a smile at her.
She glared in return.
He continued to the edge of the park that took up one full square block in the middle of downtown Stonecreek and moved around the side of the town hall building.
“Griffin, what are you doing?” She dug in her heels and tugged her wrist from his grasp.
He turned and could see the freckles that sprinkled her nose and upper cheeks and the bits of gold around the edges of her eyes. He smelled the light scent of her shampoo and damn if he didn’t want to press his face into the crook of her neck. As much as he thought he had his feelings under control, the reality of this moment still slammed through him with the force of a tornado.
Then she licked her lips and it was too much. All of it. The return to Stonecreek, the acrimony he couldn’t manage to fix with Trevor, their mother’s expectations and the constant undercurrent of his past mistakes that seemed to follow him everywhere, trailing behind like a child’s blanket.
He did the only thing he could think of in the moment.
He pressed his lips to Maggie’s mouth. It was perfect. Her softness, the sweet taste of apples, the feel of her body so close to him. All of it perfect.
Until she slapped him.
