The Mariner’s Arms seemed nice enough on the outside.

It was a typical Australian pub with all the trimmings—bar, bistro, gaming machines, a TAB for all your small-town betting needs, and built-in playground because it was better to dump your kids on a plastic slide than leave them in the car outside.

I nursed my beer, the sound of pokie machines bleeping and ringing in the background. Above, the TV was tuned into some greyhound race on the other side of the state, while a group of weathered old men scratched their salty beards and picked at a bowl of peanuts. One guy cursed as his dog ran second to last, and I shifted so I was facing the bistro.

A group of guys were eating dinner and throwing back beers like there was no tomorrow.

“She’s always on my back about getting married,” one dude said. “You’re not getting any younger, she says.”

“I don’t want to get married,” another guy said. “Why get stuck with one pussy?”

“Yeah,” the third guy added. “There are too many birds out there waiting to be fucked.”

I snorted and downed half my beer. I’d ventured out for this? Slot machines and morons with small dicks? I was one to talk—I’d fucked with the best of them. A different hole for every night if I wanted. I’d used so many women, I didn’t even know where to start counting.

Looking at those guys, I saw myself—a womanizer, no-hoper, dirty, and downright stupid. Did I have a saving grace, because right now the hole was so deep I couldn’t see the top.

Thinking about Juniper, I downed another mouthful of beer as my cock twitched. I wasn’t here for a conquest. I shook my head, but it didn’t matter. She was firmly lodged in my brain and there was nothing I could do to shake her.

Glancing at the bistro again, I realised I didn’t belong here, either. Not with myself, not with those arseholes talking about easy pussy, and not where I’d come from.

“You know who I’d love to see wrapped around my cock?” the guy closest to my position said. “That sweet little Juniper Rowe.”

I tensed and tightened my grip on my glass, forgetting my shame spiral. Juniper Rowe.

“Man, she’d never let you anywhere near her pussy,” the marriage phobia guy declared.

“Wanna bet? Before summer rolls around, I’ll blow my load in her.” His arsehole friends started to laugh. “You don’t think I can do it?”

“No fucking way.”

“You’re screwed in the head, Robbo. You’ve got better odds sucking your own cock.”

Rage pooled in my gut as I zeroed in on Robbo and memorised his face—tallish, built, shit brown hair, sloppy jumper with a surf logo on it. Couldn’t be a day over twenty-five. If he kept talking about her like she was a thing to be abused, then he wouldn’t be looking like that for long.

“She’s into books and shit,” someone said.

“So?” Robbo asked. “Don’t need a book to find where to put my dick, arsehole.”

“She’s too good for you, man. She owns her own business. What do you do?”

“Shut up.”

Once, I would’ve followed that arsewipe Robbo outside, put my fist in his face, bloodied him up, and warned him off what was mine. Now, I just sat there knowing if I got into a fight, I’d be outed and my latest indiscretion would be splashed all over the tabloids. Missing rocker Sebastian Hale arrested for assault.

I stared at the beer in my hand and rubbed my thumb over the condensation on the outside of the glass. She likes books and owns her own business. There was a bookstore on the main street, wasn’t there?

“Let’s bet on it,” Robbo said. “I bag Juniper by the end of winter, or...”

“You have to eat your own cum,” one of his friends said. “A whole tub of it.”

I rolled my eyes and finished my beer. He’d be eating more than his own sperm before I was through with the guy because now he had competition. The spark when I first saw her on that fucking beach had caught me, and I couldn’t let it go. What if she was the fate I was looking for? She didn’t know me; I didn’t know her. Everything would be real, right?

I needed all of those things right about now.

First thing in the morning, I was finding Juniper Rowe.

My palms were itching. People always said it was a sign you were about to get lucky, and considering I was standing outside a shop called the Page Break Bookshop, I hoped it was a good fucking omen.

My heartbeat sped up and I glanced up and down the street like a fucking weirdo. I was nervous. Sebastian Hale, fucking rock star, was nervous over a girl. Pussy.

Pushing open the door, a bell rang above my head, and I stepped into a pocket of warm air. I unbuttoned my coat and glanced around, pausing when I saw a woman behind the counter glare at me. Her blonde hair was pulled away from her face, giving her a severe headmistress look, and something told me I was about to get a warm welcome.

She knew who I was. I could see it written all over her face and I hesitated. If she knew, then Juniper probably knew, which threw a wrench into my screwed up fantasy.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “Do you work here?”

“Nope,” the woman declared, “I hang out here. There’s a difference.”

Great, another mouthy blonde. She reminded me of Vix, the balls to the wall road manager who rode with Beneath when we were out on tour. The same Vix I flipped off on my way out a week ago. This had to be karmic retribution.

I bit my tongue and glanced around the shop. Books lined every available space and the air had that musty used paper smell. She likes books... I was here now, so I may as well just go for it.

“I’m looking for Juniper,” I said.

“I’m Vanessa,” the woman said. “And Juniper isn’t here right now.”

“Is she coming back?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know. Is she?”

Like I said. Mouthy.

Movement under the counter drew my gaze downward and I grinned as Ziggy poked his head around the corner. Kneeling down, I held out my palm and the little dog bounded forward, his tail wagging behind him.

“Traitor,” Vanessa muttered as I scratched him behind the ears.

“Hey boy,” I murmured. “Been for any more swims?” His big brown eyes stared back at me and part of me wished I’d been born a dog rather than a human. Life seemed so uncomplicated when it was all about sleeping, eating, and bodysurfing.

Behind me, the door opened and I heard the bell ring. I looked over my shoulder and found Juniper staring at me and Ziggy, her mouth slightly agape.

I rose to my feet, my gaze raking over her body. She wasn’t wearing her coat today, and her tight knit jumper left little to the imagination. Her style seemed my kind of cool—grey acid wash jeans, black lace-up boots, and a black jumper.

I swallowed hard and tried not to let my eyes linger too long on her breasts before meeting her gaze. Freckles dusted over her flushed cheeks, and her green eyes punctured right through my mask and into my soul—well, it felt like it anyway. It was like she was searching for something, but that made two of us.

Her cheeks were a sexy shade of red—crimson, scarlet, ruby—and a lazy smile crept onto my lips. She was attracted to me and the thought was electrifying. It wasn’t anything new, but this time it was different. I looked at Juniper and wanted to be with her, not in her for a limited time.

“Hey. Wanna go for a walk?” I asked, my gaze locked with hers.

“I, uh...”

Vanessa clucked her tongue and shoved her friend forward. “She’d love to.”

I rose my eyebrows at the blonde. One second she was roasting me, the next... Who knew.

“I’ll just grab my coat.” Juniper bit her bottom lip before turning to the rack and plucking a leather jacket from the hook at the back.

Ziggy yipped and danced back and forth, thinking he was about to get lucky.

“Ziggy, no,” Vanessa said, wrapping her fingers through his collar. “They need some alone time.”

Ignoring her, I held open the door for Juniper, my eyes firmly locked onto her every movement. She stepped past me, the breeze fluttering her hair and sending her sweet scent in my direction. She smelled like some kind of flower, mixed with the tangy hint of oranges.

Outside, we stood on the footpath and for the first time in my miserable fucking existence, I didn’t know what to do. Give me a guitar, a stage with thirty thousand people in front of it, and I was in my element. Put me in a small town with a beautiful woman, and I was undone.

When I didn’t move, she turned and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, so let’s walk.”

She stepped out onto the road, not even checking for traffic, and walked towards the beach. I’d call her a thrill seeker, but I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen a car drive past. Beyond the main street was a line of green, some scrappy shrubbery, then the open ocean. That’s where she was heading.

The wind was tearing up over the dune as we returned to the scene of our first meeting—albeit at the opposite end of the cove—and the moment my boots sunk into the sand, I felt this incredible sense of freedom.

Glancing at Juniper, I smiled.