The guest house I’m renting sounds fancier than it is, but it is just a block off Main Street, and so the location works perfectly. And on top of that, the studio is clean and quiet. There’s a small kitchenette where I can make tea in the morning and a big bathtub where I can take a long soak at night. It is more than enough for me.

Certainly, more than I ever had growing up.

I turn on the shower, wanting to wash some of the sweat and sugar off my skin before my date. Stripping out of my dress and kicking off my boots, I step into the shower, letting the warm water soak me. I close my eyes, thinking through the day.

Sales were good. Better than good, actually. And for only being a few days in business, I can already see how being in a tourist town like this is going to be great. My biggest concern is what I will do when it gets cold or rains. I’ll have to close down my cart. There aren’t any indoor markets in this village, and that’s why I need a shop of my own so badly.

I can’t worry about that right now. My entire life can’t be about my candy. Making a few friends would be nice. I haven’t had the luxury of thinking about friendships for years. Now that I’m here, starting over, I have a chance to be more than a caregiver and provider. Still, a party isn’t my first choice. Maybe a dinner with a few ladies, meeting for a drink. A party is not exactly what I’d call my comfort zone.

But I was asked out by a real man. Clive might not be the most outgoing man in the world, but he just might well be the hottest.

His shoulders pulled the tee-shirt he wore today taut and seeing him in his office, where maps hung all over the wall as well as pictures of him on outdoor adventures, I couldn’t help but imagine myself being on a forest expedition with him.

As I wash my hair and rub soap over my skin, I lose myself in that idea. Clive’s strong hands pushing up my dress, pulling down my panties, his hands holding me tightly and taking me places I’ve never gone before.

My legs part as my fingers move gently toward my clit, my body hot at the thought of Clive pressing his fingers against me. I gasp as my fingers move faster and faster, dreaming of Clive lifting me at the waist, his pants dropped, his cock under me... inside of me. I moan as I lift a leg up on the side of the tub, my fingers working themselves into a frenzy as I near orgasm.

I take myself to the edge as I imagine him ripping off my dress, burying his face against my breasts, grinding his length inside me. I come, hard. My body tensing as I let the sensation wash over me.

My hand reaches for the water, pushing it all the way to cold. My body is primed and on fire and desperate for more.

I let my skin calm down as ice-cold water rushes over me.

Get yourself together, I think. This is a date. Nothing more.

Heaven knows I’ve never had more than this before, so why would I think a man as perfect as Clive would be interested in taking my virginity?

* * *

When Clive arrives at my place, I’ve calmed down. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited at the prospect of getting to know him better. A lot better. And when he knocks on my door, I remind myself that anything can happen. This is my life after all.

“You look beautiful, Hazel,” he tells me, his voice low and gravelly like he’s working hard to keep himself together.

For a moment I doubt if he really wants to be there, with me. His sisters did kind of push the issue.

But then he looks me in the eyes and his icy blues tell me everything I need to know.

He wants to be here. With me.

And when he takes my hand in his, leading me to the sidewalk, my body feels electric.

I know he feels it too, because he shakes his head, biting his bottom lip. “Damn, woman, where did you come from?”

“Nowhere good.”

He frowns. “I don’t believe that. You are the sweetest thing that’s ever landed in this town. No way do I believe you’ve been anywhere that wasn’t good.”

I twist my lips, not sure I want to unload all of my baggage on him on our first date. “I brought caramel corn. Do you think that’s okay?” I pat the tote bag that is slung over my arm.

“That’s fine. Though you didn’t need to bring anything. It’s Maggie’s place. I bet she has a whole setup.”

“Is she the party planner of the family?” I ask, noticing the looks we’re getting as we walk down the street. I swear women left and right are giving us a double take.

“Yeah, she likes to be the center of attention,” Clive smirks. “I don’t get that vibe from you though.”

“I’d say the same about you.”

“You picked up on that?” he asks.

I laugh softly. “Um, every woman we’ve walked past is giving you those eyes and yet you don’t give them a second glance.”

“What kind of eyes, exactly?”

“Sex crazed.” I elbow him playfully. “Don’t tell me you don’t notice. It was like that yesterday at my cart too. Every woman in this town seems to have their eyes on you.”

“Eh, I don’t date much.”

“Me either,” I admit.

We turn right, leaving Main Street and start heading down a neighborhood street. This town is idyllic—just like I remembered. Picket fences and apple trees, tree forts in backyards and kids riding bicycles down sidewalks. It’s the kind of dream town that I want to raise a family in, grow old in. The kind of place that feels like forever.

“That’s hard to believe,” Clive says.

“Likewise.” I swallow, not wanting to overshare, knowing that a man like Clive isn’t the loud and obnoxious type who would tell anyone else my history but also, I don’t want to scare him off.

We walk hand in hand a few more blocks, silently. And when he doesn’t offer up additional details about his life, I’m glad I didn’t either. In fact, maybe this is a mistake, thinking he’s a man who might understand me. Maybe he is just man candy—a sexy guy who will take me to a party—but nothing more.

But then he stops walking and turns to face me.

“Look, Maggie’s place is the next house. And I want to prepare you.” He clenches his jaw and I have an insane urge to push back the hair on his forehead and pull him close against me. My emotions feel like a rollercoaster when I am next to Clive and I don’t think that’s the sort of ride for me.

I don’t want a rollercoaster romance, I want a carousel. A romance that is safe and steady, but still magical.

“Hazel,” he warns me. “People there are gonna talk. They’ll want to know why I’m out with you. They’re gonna give me a hard time, give us a hard time.”

My eyes flash with confusion. “Is there something wrong with me?” I look down. I’m in a sundress and sandals, nothing out of the ordinary. But maybe he doesn’t think I’m pretty enough to be with a man as handsome as him.

He shakes his head. “What? No. You’re perfect Hazel. You’re... hell, you’re the reason I’m out at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t gone out in years. I haven’t met a woman that interested me enough. But you... I don’t know what it is, but you make me forget myself. I’ve talked to you only a few times but damn woman, you are...” he breaks off.

I inhale, not sure where this is going to go. I lower my chin, but he lifts it, forcing me to look in his eyes.

“Hazel, you are different than the rest. And that is a motherfucking compliment. I hate parties, but I wanted a reason to see you.”

I smile then, relief covering me. “You could have just asked me out, you know.”

He shrugs. “Well, now we’ve at least got to show our faces, otherwise, my sisters will hassle me about it for the next month.” He leans down, his mouth close enough to kiss. “You don’t mind that I’m not a party person?”

A laugh escapes me. “I’m not a party person either. I’m more of a roam the bookstore with a cup of tea person. Or sit around a campfire and look at the stars person.”

The look he gives me intensifies, but instead of kissing me, he steps away.

Okay, so that wasn’t the right thing to say and I don’t know why.

“You’re not a reader?” I try.

He runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not that.”

“Okay.” I press my lips together, not understanding this man. One moment he appears so into me. The next he’s as cold as the shower I took tonight.

“Hey,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Let’s go say hello and then get out of here. How does that sound?”

“Together? You still want to spend time with me?” I ask.

“I do, Hazel.” He clears his throat. “I get the feeling that hearing that from me is a surprise, and I don’t understand why that is.”

I exhale, deciding to be brave with him. “When you’ve had a life like mine you know to keep expectations in check, but at the same time, it feels as if I have turned a page in the story of my life.”

“You believe all that after just moving into town?”

I lick my lips. “I feel that way after meeting you.”

His hand is on my waist, he pulls me close. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long fucking time, Hazel.”

I close my eyes, knowing his hand holding me is the sweetest sensation I’ve ever experienced. His hands, though strong and tough, hold me like I am something fragile, something delicate. It makes me melt against him.

“Maybe it’s naïve, Clive,” I whisper. “But I choose to believe that this chapter is where my story takes a sharp turn.”

“Where will it lead?” he asks, his lips nearing mine, I can taste the kiss that is going to happen. It fills the air and makes me lose myself.

“For the first time in forever, there is a possibility for a happy ending. And I want that ending more than anything.”

He groans and presses his lips to mine under the light of the fading sun, against the backdrop of the summer breeze, deep in the heart of the place I want to spend forever.

His kiss is powerful; stirring emotions inside me I didn’t know I needed to let out. My body awakens against him, and I know his does too.

Our kiss is too hot for the sidewalk; our kiss belongs in a bedroom, behind closed doors. Our kiss is for our eyes only.