Anthony couldn’t remember being so self-conscious. It felt like he was back in junior high, passing the girls’ tennis team on his way to wrestling. Overhearing giggles and whispers. Of course, all he could hear now was the occasional click of the camera when the music waned, but who knew what Kira was thinking on the other side of that lens?

She had done a fair amount of flirting, complimenting everything from the ink on his “buff biceps” to the “loose natural wave” of his “Banderas-like hair.” Kira Moretti knew how to reel a guy in, and Anthony couldn’t help but go along for the ride. Not that he wasn’t leery in love after his bad experiences, but he hadn’t sworn off it completely. Call it hope or youth or pure foolishness, but he was starting to wonder if Kira was the reason he’d been compelled to stick it out here in Cobble Creek. After all, Mr. Moretti had been disappointed when—after Kira finally made it out there to apprentice for him—Anthony had been off chasing Elsie. “If you would’ve just stuck around, she might not have left,” he’d said. And while his voice had carried a teasing tone, Anthony got the impression that Angelo had truly hoped the two might hit it off.

“Wow, you are off in another land, aren’t you?”

Anthony shook his head, then ran a hand over his face before setting his gaze on Kira. “Another land?”

She lowered the camera and grinned. “Yeah. What’s holding your thoughts?”

“Just …” He shrugged. “Remembering the time you came out here to see about taking over for Angelo. How I was gone during that time.”

Kira cradled the camera base in her palm as she lifted the strap up and off of her neck. She strode over to an open metal case. Black foam padding filled the bottom layer, save for a space the size of the camera carved out in the center. “Yeah.” She nestled the body of the camera into the protected spot and draped the strap over top. “Gramps was pretty upset that you were gone.”

“He was?” Anthony had lost track of how many times Angelo had talked about Kira, but he hadn’t known if the man ever talked to Kira about him.

She closed the case and hoisted it into a nearby cabinet. “Oh yeah. I always got the impression he was hoping to set us up.”

Anthony felt that one in his toes; turns out it wasn’t just in his head. He shot her a wink. “Smart man.”

“Very,” she agreed.

Anthony couldn’t decide which he liked best—the way Kira agreed so quickly, or the smile she wore in the process.

“Well …” she said, padding over to the studio lights and clicking them off. A shallow pop bounced off the hardwood, one after the next. “I’m starving. Want to get a bite to eat?”

“Sure,” he said. “Sounds good to me. If you’re up for some pizza, I know of a nice place in Duckdale Hollow next to the bowling alley. We could play a few games too, if you’re up for it.” He gulped, hoping the offer wouldn’t scare her away.

“Bowling? Man, I haven’t knocked pins since I was, like, sixteen.”

Anthony shot her a look. “Knocked pins?”

“I mainly had guy friends in school. That’s what we always called it.” She ran a hand along the back of her neck, nodding. “Well, if you don’t mind following me to the duplex, I can pull on a pair of jeans before we go.”

“Not at all,” he assured. “We can take my car from there, since Duckdale’s about thirty minutes from town.” He patted at his pockets before remembering the jacket he’d removed. “Want any help closing things down in here?”

Kira spun slowly in place before setting her eyes back on him. “Nope. Think we’re ready to rock.”

* * *

Yep, she still had it. Kira had gotten a gorgeous guy to ask her out on her second night in town. And not just any gorgeous guy. One who might possibly be the real Italian deal. She tugged on her favorite pair of knee-torn jeans before snatching her tan cowgirl boots off the floor. At the window, she pried the metal blinds to see Anthony’s shiny black truck waiting in the driveway, the sight visible thanks to a nearby streetlamp.

A quick shirt change allowed for an extra layer of deodorant, just in case, and soon she was out the door and wondering why she hadn’t bothered to grab her jacket. Already the sun had set, and night had already proven to bring a layer of frost with it.

Anthony hopped down from the truck as she stepped along the narrow walk. “You look nice,” he said.

“Thanks.”

He reached to open the passenger door for her, and the words that’s not necessary worked their way up Kira’s throat so quickly they’d almost snuck off her tongue. But she bit them back; Gramps would be furious if she stopped a guy from acting like a gentleman. Even if she could open her own door just fine.

Climbing up was a different story. The tires were nearly as tall as she was. Kira accepted Anthony’s hand as she climbed onto the running board and grabbed the handle inside to steady herself. Once she was seated, Anthony closed her door and walked back to his side in the glow of the headlights. A longhaired James Dean with muscled arms and cross tattoos.

“So,” she said once he was settled behind the wheel. “Couldn’t find the T. rex tires?”

He glanced over while shifting the gear into reverse. “What was that?”

“I mean they must have been out of the T. rex, since you got the rare giganotosaurus wheels.”

“Ah …” He tipped his head back. “But if I had smaller tires, I wouldn’t get to help a lady into my truck, now, would I?”

Kira rolled her eyes, secretly loving his accent; it sounded good on him. “So were you born in Brooklyn?” she asked, recalling what Gramps told her.

“Yeah,” he said. “But we didn’t stay there for long. My mother wanted to own a small-town diner. Serve up good old-fashioned American food. My old man, who was running an Italian sub shop, wanted to make her dreams come true. So he put the place up for sale, gave up his own dream to help her accomplish hers.” He flicked on his blinker and took a right at the end of Chapel Street. “She wanted to be as far away from Brooklyn as she could get—not sure why. She had her heart set on living in the country. Own a couple horses. I don’t know, just have a different life, I guess.” He shrugged.

“My old man was the pleasing type, you know? He wanted her to have it all. So he found the perfect place. Had everything she could’ve wanted and more. But I don’t know, I guess it wasn’t what she wanted after all.”

Kira felt a frightened prick in her heart. It was something she’d feared about herself. Was she the type of person who would never be satisfied, or would she be able to settle down and be content with life here in Cobble Creek? Only time would tell. “So what happened?” she asked, her voice soft.

“About two years into it, I’d just started elementary school, I believe, she suddenly wanted something else. A whole new life … again. This time she wanted to move outside of the US and live on an island. Go off-grid, as they say, without modern technology and all that.”

“Wow,” Kira said. “And did she do that?”

Anthony’s jaw tightened. His dark brows turned hard. “Yep. And if that didn’t stick, she didn’t bother letting us know. We lost track of her. I wasn’t even able to get hold of her for my dad’s funeral.”

“I can’t imagine that. I’m sorry.”

“My dad used to say she must have picked Cobble Creek for us. She may not have taken to country life, but he couldn’t picture a softer place to land.” Anthony shrugged. “When he died, I was lucky to be surrounded by good people. In addition to your granddad, I had folks from church and the diner. Gordon Graham, the pharmacy owner. Chuck and Don, couple of old guys who sneak out for a greasy morning breakfast before they golf together Saturday mornings.” He shot her a look. “I say sneak because their wives would have a conniption if they knew they were eating bacon and sausage behind their backs. And they refuse to entertain our low-calorie options. Sounds like they get enough of that at home.”

Kira chuckled. “Guess we’ve all got our secrets.”

“Do we, now?” Anthony lifted a brow.

She tried to squelch the smile that spread over her lips at his insinuative tone. “Oh, you can just stop it right there, Sparky.”

“Sparky?”

“I can see right where you’re going with this, but it won’t work. I’m not dishing any dirt.”

Anthony stretched an arm over the back of the seat, kept a light grip on the wheel. “First you tell me you’ve got a secret, and then you say you’ve got dirt to dish, and if I put those together I can only assume you’ve got a dirty secret.”

“I don’t,” she assured. “Just a bunch of … dumb ones, really.”

“Dumb secrets are my favorite,” he said, earning another laugh from her.

A deep sigh followed. Anthony’s issues were different; being abandoned by a mom, losing a dad, those were hardships brought on by circumstance. Things he couldn’t have avoided. And here he was, making the best out of it. Kira, on the other hand, had made her own messes.

“I don’t even think you could call them secrets,” she said. “My stuff’s just … out there.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m listening.”

Dread washed over her like an acid bath. Why ruin her chances with the guy before he had a chance to fall for her? But then a thought came to mind. “Hey, why were you gone during that time? When I came and stayed with Angelo?”

“Ah—I guess if I have a dark secret that would be it. Or at least, it’s a mistake I wish I hadn’t made.” He looked over and seemed to inspect her for a bit before setting his eyes back on the open road. “How about this? We put the heavy talk on hold, skip to something lighter while we eat, then put this back on the table at the bowling alley. Deal?”

Kira nodded, relieved that she wasn’t the only one with an imperfect past. Already, it made Anthony more real than he’d appeared a moment ago. “Deal.”