LORETTA WASN’T SURE what was on the menu tonight for dinner at Josie’s place, but she stopped and bought two bottles of wine, one white and one red. She also stopped at Sam’s flower shop for some help with a plant that she hoped would signal a welcome to Hope as well as a kind of housewarming gift. Sam put together a beautiful bonsai in a gorgeous antique lavender pot. Loretta loved it, and she hoped Josie would, too.

She stopped at home to drop off her things and to feed Otis and let him run for a bit. After she’d thrown the ball for him what seemed like a thousand times, he drank a gallon of water and she brought him inside. He’d been pretty good lately, but she still shut all the bedroom doors, gave him several of his chew toys and plenty of water, then told him to be good. Otis gave her a cocked head look, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She hoped that was his signal of agreement.

She drove to Josie’s house, which was located in the central part of Hope. It was near the high school, but also within walking distance of downtown. The neighborhood was filled with charming, well-maintained older homes. When she parked in the driveway, she smiled.

The house was a gray ranch frame with red shutters and a wide front porch. She could tell with a quick glance it had a large fenced backyard. She could see why Josie had chosen this place. It was stunning.

She gathered up her bag, headed up the steps to the front door, and rang the bell. Josie answered. She’d changed from her earlier outfit of black pants and a matching black short-sleeved silk blouse. Now she had on hip-hugger jeans with a wide brown leather belt, a bright red tank top, and a long silver chain.

She pushed open the screen door. “Come on in. I thought you were bringing Otis?”

“Oh, you know, he’s fine at the farm. He has all his toys and food and water, and this way, I can sit back and relax and not have to worry about him eating parts of your house.”

Josie laughed. “I wouldn’t have worried about that, you know. I love animals.”

But Loretta would have worried.

The inside of the house was magnificent, with curved archways, beautiful built-in shelves surrounding an amazing fireplace, and stunning wood floors. “This house is gorgeous, Josie.”

Josie turned to her and smiled. “Thank you. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and knew I had to have it. I hadn’t planned to buy right away. I was going to wait to settle in, but I was browsing online one day while I was here looking around, and the architecture was amazing. I just couldn’t pass it up. Would you like some wine? I have Chianti, a chilled sauvignon blanc, and a pinot noir.”

“I’d love the white. I also brought you a couple of bottles.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you. Thank you.”

Loretta laid the box Sam had carefully packaged for her on the kitchen island. “And this is a housewarming gift for you.”

Josie lifted her gaze to Loretta’s. “Really? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted you to feel welcome. Plus, you have a new house.”

Josie opened the box, her eyes widening. “Oh, this is stunning. Did Sam make this?”

“She did.”

“It’s amazing. I love it so much.” Josie came around the island and folded Loretta into her arms. “Thank you, Loretta.”

Loretta experienced that warm friendship feeling again. “You’re welcome.”

“I know just where to put it, too. I have this idea for a table I want right under the living room window. This plant will look perfect on it.”

“Now you have a reason to buy the table.”

Josie laughed. “I do, don’t I? Thanks for helping me make that decision. Now let’s have a drink.”

Josie poured the wine—the white for Loretta and the Chianti for herself.

“This kitchen is pretty awesome, too,” Loretta said.

“Thanks. I was happy they modernized it. I’m all in for the retro look, but I didn’t really want to cook in a 1950s kitchen.”

Loretta laughed. “I don’t blame you.”

“Come on, we’ll have a seat in the living room. It’s a little warm today, so I grilled some salmon for dinner. We’ll have salad with it. I cheated and bought bread at the store, since it’s too hot to bake bread.”

“That sounds amazing. And you bake your own bread?”

Josie sipped her wine and nodded. “Only in the cooler months. I’m not much for sweating in the house in the summer.”

“I’m not, either. Then again, I’m not much of a baker.”

“I love to bake. Mostly casseroles. And bread.”

“You should get together with Megan Lee.”

“She owns the bakery and coffee shop, right? I’ve yet to stop in.”

“You have to. You two are meant to be friends.”

Josie laughed. “I’ll make a point of it, then.”

Loretta took a sip of her wine. “This is excellent. And thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

“You haven’t tasted it yet.”

“I’m sure it will be great. And I’m happy about the company.”

“Me, too. It sucks being the new girl in town.”

“So what made you decide on Hope?”

“Well, the job offer certainly helped,” Josie said with a wry smile. “And being back in Oklahoma and near family is great.”

“You said you have family in southern Oklahoma?”

“Yes. A few hours from here. But it’s a very small town, and teaching positions there are hard to come by. When I saw this job opening, I jumped at the chance. I flew out here and interviewed and fell in love with Hope.”

Loretta nodded. “It’s a pretty great town. I missed small-town life when I was gone. Dallas is such a big city.”

“So is Atlanta. I mean, there were great things about living there, but there’s nothing like living in a welcoming community.”

“Was that what drew you back? Small-town life?”

Josie stared at her wineglass. “That and the need to escape a hellish breakup.”

There was some blunt honesty. “Oh. I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks. So was I. I can’t believe I was that stupid.”

“You’re preaching to the choir here, sister. I spent ten years being stupid. Only I married the guy.”

Josie shook her head. “You’d think smart women wouldn’t make dumb choices.”

“I’m pretty sure it happens a lot. Then again, I don’t know that we can accept all the blame. Sometimes men make promises in the beginning and turn out to be not who you thought they were at the end.”

Josie nodded. “And sometimes they start out sweet and end up not so nice after a while.”

Loretta frowned. “Did your ex hurt you?”

Josie sighed. “You know, sometimes it’s just best to leave the past in the past.” She lifted her gaze and smiled at Loretta. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

The one thing Loretta did know about was that sometimes the past was painful to talk about. And her friendship with Josie was new, so she’d give it some time. “I’m definitely hungry.”

“Good. Let’s eat.”

Dinner was amazing. The salmon and salad tasted cool and refreshing, and the bread was perfect. They ate and chatted about Josie’s job and Loretta’s bookstore.

“I love that you get to do something you love,” Josie said. “That must be a thrill for you.”

“It really is. Coming home filled me with some trepidation, but so far it’s been pretty good.”

Josie buttered a slice of French bread. “Why trepidation?”

“Oh, you know. Things change when you’re gone for a while. I found that out with my old friends, as you recall from the bar.”

Josie nodded. “Bunch of hags. They can go screw themselves. You don’t need friends like that.”

Loretta laughed. “And this is why I’m glad you and I have become friends. Between the bookstore and Hazel and now the dog, I don’t have a lot of time for a social life.”

“I know how that is. I’m curious, though—when I drove by your bookstore the other day, I noticed you talking with the hot guy working on the building next door. Deacon, right? The one you have the past with?”

Loretta nodded. “Yes.”

“And how’s that going?”

“It’s . . . complicated.”

Josie stared at her for a few seconds, then said, “Hey, I get it. If you don’t want to talk about it, feel free to tell me it’s none of my business.”

She hoped she hadn’t offended Josie. The last thing she wanted was to lose a new friend. “Oh, no. That’s not what I meant at all. I meant it really is complicated. In fact, I could use an objective opinion.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, then, hit me.” Josie pushed her plate to the side and took a sip of her wine.

Though they weren’t lifelong friends, there was something about Josie she really liked. Maybe it was her laid-back attitude. Maybe it was the fact that Josie had opened up to her some about her own past. Either way, she trusted her.

“We’ve been getting closer. He’s spent time with Hazel, helping her to train Otis, and he’s also been coming out to the farm to do some repairs.”

“Convenient. So how do you feel about that?”

“I feel fine about him doing work on the farm. Hazel enjoys being around him, and he’s good with Otis.”

“But?”

“There’s still chemistry between us.”

“Like . . . lingering, Hey, I Think He’s a Nice Guy kind of chemistry, or Oh, Hot Damn, It’s Still Flaming Hot kind of chemistry?”

“Still flaming hot. So hot, in fact, that he and I had sex last night.”

Josie’s brows shot up. “Woo. Now that is hot. Good for you.”

Loretta nodded. “I thought so. Hazel’s in Texas with her dad this week, and it was nice for Deacon and me to spend some uninterrupted time together—something we didn’t have much of when we were in high school.”

“I’ll bet. So you did the naked dance together all over your house all night long?”

Loretta laughed. “Something like that. Except he didn’t spend the night.”

“Did you want him to and he ran like hell? Or did you kick him out?”

“I definitely didn’t kick him out. He left. And then today when I ran into him outside, he was . . . distant.”

Josie took another swallow of wine, then sighed. “Men. I can’t claim to understand the inner workings of their minds. But you did mention you were the one to stomp all over his feelings all those years ago, right?”

“Yes. I most certainly did that.” Would she never be able to get past it? Not that she deserved to.

“So while the sex was fun and all, maybe he’s not yet over the role you played as heartbreaker. And maybe he really liked hanging out with you last night and that caused him to take a giant step back. Because as much as we’d like to think guys don’t have feelings, some of them actually do.”

“You could be right about that.” She leaned back in the chair and took a swallow of wine, contemplating what Josie had said. It made the most sense to her. They’d had a great time, and then he’d left. What guy would do that instead of staying for more fun and action? And then today he’d been moody and cranky and seemingly couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Sure, some guys would go for sex and then distance, but she knew Deacon, and that wasn’t like him at all.

So maybe he was backpedaling because he had felt something for her last night.

Which was both a good and a bad thing. And she definitely understood his reaction.

She looked over at Josie. “Thanks for your insight. I should probably give him some space, right?”

Josie shrugged. “It’s not like I have a ton of experience dating nice guys. But I’ve had friends who have, those lucky bitches.”

Loretta laughed.

“If it were me, and you think Deacon’s worth it, then yes. I’d give him some space and let him come to you. Which I’m sure he will.”

“That’s some great advice, Josie. It seems to me you know men.”

Josie let out a snort. “Honey, if I knew men at all I wouldn’t have let the devil himself into my life. It’s easy to be objective when you’re not the one in the middle of the relationship.”

“True. And I’m sorry someone hurt you. You certainly didn’t deserve it.”

“No, I didn’t. But it’s over and I’ve put it behind me. The only thing I’m interested in now is my career. And making new friends.”

Loretta lifted her glass. “To a fresh start and new friends.”

After dinner, they did the dishes and sat out on the front porch. Chelsea was out for a walk and ended up stopping by to sit with them.

“What’s on the agenda tonight?” Chelsea asked.

“A great dinner,” Loretta said, “followed by conversations about ex-boyfriends. Some good ones, some bad ones.”

“Oooh, men,” Chelsea said. “Other than shoes, they’re my favorite topic.”

“That’s because you got one of the good ones,” Loretta said.

Chelsea nodded. “True. But I dated plenty of bad ones. Like . . . years of bad ones.”

“I’d say it was worth it to end up where you did,” Josie said. “Married to the man of your dreams, expecting a baby, and living in a great house.”

Chelsea rubbed her stomach. “It did turn out nearly perfectly, but honestly, Bash wasn’t the man of my dreams. He wasn’t even on my radar. Things just . . . happened.”

“Isn’t that the best way to fall in love?” Loretta asked.

Chelsea laughed. “Well, it wasn’t in my grand plan, but it sure did work out well. I’m hoping the same will happen for both of you.”

Josie shook her head. “I’m not looking to fall in love. I’d rather come down with a raging case of leprosy.”

Loretta nodded. “Ditto.”

Chelsea gave them both a knowing smile. “Trust me. It’ll happen when you least expect it to. I know, because it landed on me like a ton of bricks.”

“But you were looking for love at the time,” Loretta said. “I’m not.”

“Which doesn’t mean love won’t find you, honey,” Chelsea said. “Just be open to it.”

Was she open to it? She wasn’t sure. The first time around had been an utter disaster. And she had Hazel to think about. The last thing she wanted was to fail at love a second time and hurt her daughter in the process.

No. Playing around and having some fun was one thing. Falling in love?

That was off the table entirely.