Flirting with the Past
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Kaylie Newell
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Prologue
Justin Frost stood at the window of his hardware store on historic Main Street, and looked out the window. The ocean churned in the distance, the morning fog cloaking the shops in silvery mist. It would burn off by noon, leaving the little town warmer today than it had been yesterday. But that wasn’t saying much—spring on the Oregon Coast was nothing less than frigid.
Roo, the scruffy black dog he had temporary custody of, walked over, her claws tapping on the hardwood floor, and butted her head into his hand. He looked down at her and rubbed her soft ears, feeling a strange sensation inside his chest. It wasn’t quite sadness—Earl Sawyer had lived a full life, after all. But he was still gone, leaving an undeniable void in his wake. Justin hadn’t intended to like him so much. But he had, and now there were promises that needed to be kept. Responsibilities that he couldn’t walk away from, no matter how tempted he might be.
He looked at his watch as the dog sat and leaned into his leg in that way big dogs do. She’d be here any minute. She’d pull up to the curb in some kind of fancy car, because he was sure she wouldn’t be driving anything practical. She was a celebrity. Or, at least, Christmas Bay’s answer to a celebrity, which didn’t amount to being very famous at all. She was on TV two nights a week, and that was all it took.
He felt himself slipping back to a place he hadn’t let himself go in a long time. Back to when he was eighteen years old, grieving the loss of his little brother, and so angry that some days he thought that anger might eat him alive.
But it hadn’t always been like that. Before the accident, before the anger, there had been other emotions. Feelings for a girl who hadn’t been his, but whom he could’ve loved if things had been different. But they hadn’t been different, and it was hard to believe he’d ever felt anything but bitterness toward her, and the life she’d gone on to live.
Right about the time the dog lay down on his foot with a groan, a sleek black car pulled up across the street in front of the antique shop that had been his friend Earl’s pride and joy.
Justin watched as the driver’s-side door opened, and a tall blonde stepped out. She was wearing off-white slacks, dark sunglasses and a long coat that was probably worth more than his entire wardrobe. She closed the door and locked it with her key fob. The car chirped like a giant bird.
Then she turned and gave a quick, uncomfortable glance toward the hardware store. He was sure she wouldn’t be able to see him standing there, since he hadn’t turned the lights on yet. It was impossible to tell what she might be feeling behind those sunglasses, but he could guess well enough.
She was back. And that was going to have serious implications for everyone.
Especially him.
