Just Say Maybe: A Thistle Bend Novel Read Free Page A

stretched across Holly’s face before she could stop it. “Like Bryce. Tall and tan. Buff and kinda blond. Green-eyed and gorgeous.” Of course she was attracted to his looks, but it was more than that. She liked his personality, too. He’d come across as smart and playful, and there was that moment before he rode away when she’d swear they’d connected somehow. “He just seemed to get me.”
    “Your mountain man sounds irresistible, but you’re ducking the story that drove you to swear not to mix with guys like him.” Lindsey lifted her eyebrows and gave Holly a pointed look.
    They’d been friends for a year now and, so far, Holly had managed to avoid sharing that story. She bowed her head and sighed, toying with the ties at the neckline of her poet’s blouse. “There was a guy a couple of years ago…Max, a restaurateur from Charlotte. I literally ran into him on the slopes when I was snowboarding. Figured the least I could do was buy him a drink for plowing him down nearly flat.”
    Lindsey chuckled.
    “So there I was with this guy who looked like he’d just come from a photo shoot for an extreme-sports ad—all tousled dark hair and big brown eyes.” Holly figured she needed to tell this story quickly before she got buried by an avalanche of heart-wrenching memories. “We had drinks, we talked, we laughed.” She met Lindsey’s gaze with an I-can’t-believe-I’m-admitting-this look in her eyes. “And we ended up in bed in his swanky slope-side condo.”
    “No way!” Lindsey slapped her hand over her mouth. “I can’t imagine you having a one-night stand.”
    “I know, right? The whole thing was totally out of character for me.” Holly shrugged. “But he was so…everything. And it wasn’t just a one-nighter. It was two weeks of snowboarding and dinners by the fire and three a.m. promises that I was more than a vacation fling.” She pressed her lips together tightly, remembering how right it had felt to sleep in Max’s arms.
    “Oh no,” Lindsey said. “I don’t think I’m gonna like what’s coming next.”
    “Turns out he wasn’t lying. He went back to Charlotte, and kept in close touch—calls, texts, video chats, all of that. I even visited him for a week, which was just as amazing as the ones we had here. Met his family and everything. But that turned out to be part of the problem.”
    Lindsey held up her hand, palm out. “Don’t tell me—his mother was a beast and you couldn’t imagine ever being in the same room with her again, much less becoming her daughter-in-law.”
    Holly grinned. “Maybe that would’ve made things easier. Max’s family was as awesome as he is. Friendly and kind. They’d lived in Charlotte for years and ran hugely successful restaurants together. Max loved it.”
    “So what was the issue?”
    “He wanted me to move there, but I couldn’t.” Holly stared out at the flower boxes. “I have roots here that go soul-deep…and an established law practice. This community is like a big family. Look how quickly they came to love you.”
    “Even when I didn’t want to be here myself,” Lindsey said.
    “And I wouldn’t leave my grandpa no matter what. He’s done so much for me. I want to be here for him, especially now that he’s getting older.” She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “But I still have that picket-fence dream. I’d love to find a guy to share it with—in Thistle Bend. I want to stay here forever, just like Max wanted to stay in Charlotte.”
    A sturdy rap sounded on the open office door. Holly and Lindsey jerked their heads toward the noise as a crazy-good-looking man stepped into the doorway—definitely not a local because Holly would’ve recognized him. Standing tall and sturdy-shouldered, he wore a plaid shirt with the sleeves turned up, a nice pair of jeans, and cowboy boots that looked nearly new. The sun had streaked his longish light brown hair with blond, and a shadow of scruff darkened his face.
    Holly’s heart