Beating Heart: A Small Town, Single Dad Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 4)
Chapter 12

I thought I’d be upset to be here on the Fourth of July, seeing as I rarely missed the party my parents threw back home every summer. It was tradition, and I loved it. Collin and I never missed it. Actually, Farah never missed those parties either. She’d call herself the third wheel and make endless jokes about it.

In hindsight, Farah was not the third wheel at all.

Apparently, she was the spare tire that had replaced the one that Collin was bored with.

I shook it off.

It was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that two of the most important people in my life were no longer in my life.

How could they be?

They’d betrayed me in the worst way.

And with my now-canceled wedding date looming above me like a dark cloud, it was hitting me all over again. One more week, and I’d be able to put the whole thing in my rearview.

I shook it off and turned my attention to Demi and Peyton, who were walking my way. I’d just arrived here, and the party was in full swing. I’d had second thoughts when I’d heard the music and the laughter, wondering if I should have just stayed home and felt sorry for myself, baked some cupcakes or cookies, and let myself get lost in sugary goodness.

But Nash had texted and told me to stop hiding and get my ass over there.

So here I was.

I’d gotten to know a lot of locals already, as everyone had come by the office to meet me over the last few weeks. They didn’t have kids, but that didn’t stop them from dropping by, and they’d all made me feel very welcome.

“Hey, girl, we’re so glad you’re here,” Peyton said.

Demi handed me a beer before clinking her bottle against mine. “I can’t wait for you to meet Romeo.”

“Well, my brothers will be very jealous. They’re super fans of his. They were obsessed with that fight,” I said.

“Says the girl who has a brother who happens to be one of the most famous hockey players in the league,” Peyton added, because once they’d found out that my brother was Clark Chadwick, they’d all freaked out. I was used to it. Clark was a professional hockey player, and he’d really made a name for himself the last two years.

I chuckled, just as Peyton waved at someone and told us she’d be right back.

We both glanced over to see where she was going.

“That’s my brother, Slade. I think she’s crushing on him, but it’s not something I want to talk about with her just yet.” She laughed.

I shook my head. “Trust me. No one gets that more than me. I’ve lived it my entire life with my family.”

A good-looking man walked over, and I assumed it was Romeo, as I remembered a photo my brothers had shown me.

“This is the infamous Dr. Chadwick, huh?” he asked, extending his hand as the other arm looped around Demi’s waist, and he pulled her close.

“Please, call me Emerson. You must be Romeo.”

“Apparently, you’ve got some fans in Rosewood River, Golden Boy. They were invested in the fight,” Demi said, glancing up at him, and my chest squeezed at the way they looked at one another.

Had Collin ever looked at me like that?

Like he couldn’t live in a world that I didn’t exist in?

Because that’s what I was witnessing right now.

“Yeah? That’s nice to hear. Thank you. And I’m a huge hockey fan, and Clark is a beast, so let him know he’s got a fan here in Magnolia Falls.” He wrapped both arms around his wife, her back to his chest. “My girl has been talking about you so much. We were hoping you’d show up today.”

“Thank you. She makes the best coffee I’ve ever had, so she’s stuck with me now. And she got me back on a horse after a few years of not riding much.” I smiled at Demi. “And I was happy to come. It seems like the place to be.”

“Just wait for the fireworks. King gets really into it, and it’ll be a great show,” Demi said.

Nash called Romeo over for something, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in a chair with Demi, Peyton, and their best friends, Ruby and Saylor. I’d met Saylor when I’d popped into her bookstore a few times, and I’d met Ruby when I’d gone out riding with them on Demi’s ranch. But today, I was getting to know them all better. I was enjoying myself and laughing endlessly, and it felt good.

Betrayal has a way of making you feel this need to protect yourself. Keep your guard up. And I’d been doing that for the last few months.

But today, my guard was down.

It was the first time in a long while that I was genuinely having a good time.

I wasn’t faking it or forcing it.

And it felt damn good.

Maybe this was all part of healing.

“So, you’re single, right?” Peyton asked as I sipped my beer. “Do you have your eye on any of our fine Magnolia Falls men?”

“Wow. You’re really smooth. How do you even know she’s single?” Ruby asked over her laughter.

“Please forgive her. She’s just nosy by nature,” Demi said, using her hand to cover her smile.

“Um, she can hear you. And I’m just getting to know our new bestie.” Peyton chuckled.

The word bestie had my chest squeezing. My lifelong best friend had completely betrayed me. Was I the worst judge of character on the planet? Could I even trust if someone was really my friend anymore?

“Direct talk and intense questioning is Peyt’s love language,” Saylor said with a laugh. “She did it to me, too.”

“That’s okay. You can ask me anything. I’m currently single. I was engaged, and we called the wedding off a few months ago. So I’m not looking for Mr. Right, because I just spent years with Mr. Wrong. I can’t be trusted.” I shrugged, as if I hadn’t just dropped a massive bomb on them.

They all gaped at me, Saylor’s and Demi’s eyes were as wide as saucers, Ruby’s brows were pinched together as she studied me, and Peyton had one eyebrow raised. Clearly, they all had different reactions to the news.

“Well, I’m not even hiding my curiosity now. I need the deets.” Peyton leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

“She just told you that she called off her engagement. That’s all the details you get,” Demi said, shooting her a warning look. “And, Emerson, I’m so sorry that you’ve been going through that.”

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t come to Magnolia Falls for the small-town charm. You needed an escape, didn’t you?” Ruby asked.

“Ruby’s basically a therapist. She knows these things,” Saylor said.

I took another pull from my beer and smiled at them. It felt good to talk about it, if I was being honest. My family, mostly my brothers, were so angry that any time the topic came up, they would tell me that they wanted to physically hurt Collin. And then I was calming them down.

My mother cried about it all the time, and then I felt the need to comfort her.

My father was so angry about it that he’d just wrap his arms around me and hug me every time he saw me, and I hated the pity.

My grandparents were crushed that the wedding had been called off, as it had been built into this grand event in Rosewood River. Two families that had lived there forever, tying the knot, so to speak.

Being here in Magnolia Falls felt different.

Safe.

I didn’t have to defend anyone in the process of sharing what had happened. Even after all Collin and Farah had done, I didn’t want to have everyone in town hating them for the rest of their lives.

It was me that they’d betrayed. Not the entire town of Rosewood River.

But small towns were funny that way. They may be gossipy, but the locals were fiercely protective and loyal.

And the rumor mill had been in full force ever since the wedding had been called off.

“I just needed to figure my life out. I needed a new plan, and I didn’t want to do that back home in Rosewood River or in the city where everyone knew my story.” I shrugged because it was the truth.

“What you actually need is to replace yourself an interim man. You know… a rebound. Give yourself the gift of having a fling. Cut loose. Otherwise, this escape was all for nothing,” Peyton said.

“I swear you have no filter sometimes, Peyt. Maybe the whole goal was to be alone.” Ruby reached for her drink and took a sip.

“Right. But she should still be pleasured.” Peyton waggled her brows at me, and Demi spewed her beer all over her lap. “Escape by orgasm is the best kind of revenge there is.”

“Peyton Francis, what the hell is wrong with you? She wasn’t asking for your advice!” Demi shrieked.

“And she’s a doctor!” Saylor said as she shook her head and winked at me.

“So what? Doctors need the dick sometimes, too.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. And I laughed so freaking hard that tears pricked my eyes. And then they were falling down my cheeks as I continued laughing.

They were the first tears I’d shed over the situation that weren’t sad tears.

“What’s going on over here?” Nash asked, and I nearly jumped out of my chair at the sound of his deep voice and his hand landing on my shoulder.

“You know, baptism by fire, Peyton-style.” Ruby chuckled.

“All right. Well, she’s laughing, so that’s a good sign. You aren’t running her out of town just yet.” He gave me a little squeeze. Maybe it was the three beers that I’d had since I’d arrived or the fact that I was more relaxed than I’d been in a very long time, but I melted a little at the gesture. Maybe all men weren’t evil after all. Maybe just the one I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with was evil. “Do we need another round of beers over here?”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Peyton shouted, and his gaze locked with mine before he agreed to go grab us some more drinks and walked away.

“You are really on one tonight,” Demi said, shaking her head at her best friend as a big smile spread across her face.

“Well, speaking of hot men in Magnolia Falls. You’re living next door to the most eligible bachelor in town,” Peyton said.

“Nash is definitely a catch.” Saylor took the last sip from her bottle and set it down at her feet. “And that could be perfect, since you aren’t looking for anything. He’s definitely all about raising Cutler, so I think he likes to keep it casual when he does get out, from what I’ve known of him over the years.”

“Have none of you heard the rule, don’t shit where you eat?” Ruby asked.

“I’ve heard it, but I can’t really wrap my head around the meaning,” Demi admitted, which was a call for more laughter.

“Agreed. It’s a stupid saying.” Peyton threw her hands in the air. “Plus, she can eat at home and go next door to take a shit.”

Hysterical laughter bellowed around us just as Nash walked back over with five beers between his fingers and one brow raised as he took us in. “You ladies are having way too much fun over here. Fireworks in fifteen minutes. Get ready for a great show.”

“Oh, we’re ready for a show, all right!” Peyton shouted as he walked away. “So we agree. She can shit wherever the hell she wants to. And as far as the eating part. I say, let the man work his magic between your thighs. Bon appétit, Nash Heart.”

Now it was Saylor’s turn to spew beer across her lap after she’d just taken a sip from the bottle that Nash had handed her.

I leaned forward. “The meaning of don’t shit where you eat is recommending that one doesn’t have a fling with their neighbor, who’s also the father of one of their patients.”

“Thank you,” Ruby said, flinging her thumb at Peyton. “I think this one took it a bit too literally.”

“Whatever. I know what it means; I just think it’s stupid. You live next door. It would be so convenient for a late-night booty call. And you’re Beefcake’s pediatrician; you aren’t the psychologist for a mob boss who just confessed to all the murders he’s committed. Pediatricians are allowed to mess around with the father of their patients, especially if he’s a hot single dad.”

“Ahhh… single dad romance is my absolute favorite,” Saylor said.

This conversation definitely had my mind racing. Obviously, I’d wanted to kiss him the other night.

But where would that lead?

We were neighbors.

Friendly neighbors.

I was his kid’s doctor.

I was moving in a few months.

I raised the beer to my lips and took a sip as they all waited for a response. “It’s too messy. Too complicated.”

“So you aren’t saying that you don’t want to do it? You’re saying it’s too…” Demi paused.

“Messy and complicated,” Saylor finished her words.

“Listen, I’d climb that man like a tree if he looked at me the way he looked at you when you were coming across the yard earlier.” Peyton’s voice was lacking humor now.

“Stop. You’re romanticizing things. He can’t stand me most of the time.”

“She’s not romanticizing this.” Demi leaned forward, and her gaze locked with mine. “She pointed it out, and we all turned and witnessed it.”

My heart raced at the thought. I’d noticed the way that he looked at me, and I knew the way I felt when he was around. But that didn’t mean we should act on it. “And how exactly does Nash Heart look at me?” My tone was all tease.

“Like he doesn’t care if it’s messy or complicated,” Ruby said. “And that’s not really his style. He’s aloof most of the time with women because his singular focus is Cutler. But his eyes were on you, and he smiled right when you stepped off your porch.”

“Nash doesn’t get excited about women. He has hookups, and then he goes back to his normal responsibilities,” Saylor said. “But something is different with you.”

“I’m just a newbie in town. I know how small towns work. I’ve got several brothers who love when a newbie comes to town. The shiny new toy. Trust me, it’ll wear off.”

“Don’t overthink it. You called off your engagement, right?” Peyton asked.

“Yes,” I said, unsure where she was taking this.

“Well, we all know the best way to get over a man is to get under a new one. And your neighbor is not only the hottest single guy in town—next to Hayes—but he’s also your neighbor. It couldn’t be more perfect.”

Thoughts of spending a night with Nash flooded my mind. Those toned abs I’d had a sneak peek of. Those muscular arms. The day-old scruff on his face. His wavy hair that I longed to run my fingers through.

Thick thighs.

Rough hands.

Did it just get hotter out here?

And then I remembered that I hadn’t been with anyone other than Collin. I’d never had a fling. I didn’t know how to separate sex from love.

I didn’t know if I was capable.

“Everything you said is true. He’s hot. He’s funny and nice and snarky all at the same time, and I like it. And God knows I haven’t had sex in so long, the lady parts are probably going to permanently close if I don’t do something about that soon.” I dangled the beer bottle from my fingers.

They all chuckled, yet I saw the empathy in their eyes as they looked at me.

“So, what’s the problem?” Ruby asked.

“I’m not a fling girl. I’ve never had one,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks flush. It was embarrassing, really. I’d only been with one man, and he hadn’t even been faithful to me.

“Well, hells to the yes. It’s the Fourth of freaking July. It’s a great time to try something new, and what better day for some fireworks of your own?”

And with those words, the sky lit up in bright reds and pinks and oranges.

Everyone cheered, and I glanced over to replace Nash’s eyes on me.

And even though I felt the strongest pull toward this man, I knew I shouldn’t act on it.

My life was already a mess.

No sense adding fuel to the fire.