Addison Murphy is the funny friend, the girl you grab a beer withâthe girl voted most likely to start her own sweatshirt line. And now that one of her best guy friends is getting married, sheâll add âgroomsmanâ to that list, too. Sheâll get through this wedding if itâs the last thing she does. Just donât ask her to dive for any bouquet.
When Tucker Crawford returns to his small hometown, he expects to see the same old people, feel comfort in the same old things. He certainly doesnât expect to see the nice pair of bare legs sticking out from under the hood of a broken-down car. Certainly doesnât expect to feel his heart beat faster when he realizes they belong to one of his best friends.
If he convinces Addie to give him a chance, they could be electricâ¦or their break-up could split their tight-knit group in two.
Hiding the way he feels from the guys through bachelor parties, cake tastings, and rehearsals is one thing. But just asTucker realizes that Addie truly could be the perfect woman for himâhe was just too stupid to realize itânow sheâs leaving to follow her own dreams. Heâs going to need to do a lot of compromising if heâs going to convince her to take a shot at forever with himâon her terms this time.
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He took hold of her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles, and corresponding zips fired up her arm and twisted through her core. âBut youâre a softie, Addison Murphy.â
âSay somethinâ like that again, and Iâm gonna push you in for reals.â It came out too breathy to effectively scare him. Not that she thought many of her threats scared him anyway.
His low laugh danced across her nerve endings. âWouldnât you miss me too much?â
Obviously he was kidding, but her eyes met his and her thoughts turned literal. Sheâd already missed him for two years, and if she ruined their friendship by pushing for more, itâd almost be worse than missing him, because sheâd have to do it while living in the same town. âI really would.â
Using his grip on her hand, he drew her in for a hug and she let herself relax into it. As much as she could, anyway, considering her whirring thoughts and racing heart.
The quiet crept in again, neither of them moving. As if both of them were scared of what might happen if they said or did the wrong thing. Or maybe she was alone in that. The more she thought about the complications that would come about if she told him her feelings for him were growing strongerâand in a totally not platonic wayâthe tighter the band around her chest became. Fear took over, whispering how crossing lines could ruin everything between them, and then sheâd lose him all over again, but for good this time.
It probably makes me a coward, but I canât risk it. Too much could go so very wrong.
Addie broke the hug, glanced at the water, and steered the conversation down a side street. âA few years ago, we went to visit some of my momâs Yankee cousins, and one morning while we were there, I woke up to a scream that made me shoot right out of bed. I seriously thought I was rushinâ toward a crime scene. My cousin had gone to take a shower, but there was a spider in one corner. I grabbed a tissue and killed it. Then I told her at least you could smash a spider; if you stepped on an alligator all he got was mad. She seriously looked at me like I was from the backwoods.â
âYou are from the backwoods.â Tucker swung his arm, encompassing the lake and the shadowy trees along the shore. âExhibit A.â
âWell, counselor, I prefer to think of it as the front woods.â She shivered as the breeze kicked up a notch, and Tucker rubbed his hands up and down her arms. He noticed so much, and she couldnât help wondering if he could see right through her. If he already knew sheâd been warring with her feelings for him.
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1 Comment
Sue G.
5/28/2019 12:57:59 pm
I just loved this book!
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