Page 17 of Fools in Love

“Most.” He set her crutches against the railing and sat down. “That’s the benefit of being a cop in a small town. You grew up here. Don’t you know most everyone?”

She thought about it. “I know a lot, but not everyone. A lot of new people have moved into town with the new housing development.”

“You know the Jordan clan, right?” he asked, motioning towards Sara, who was heading towards them with a tray of waters.

“Sure,” she said quickly. “They’re basically family.”

“Evening,” Sara said with a smile and a hug after setting the tray down. “I had heard you were back in town, Kate. Have you seen Suzie yet?”

“Yes,” Kate answered easily. She’d run into Suzie at the book shop the other day. Kate used to work at Suzie’s shop and, out of all the Jordans, had been the closest to her growing up. “How are the twins doing?”

“They’re great. They grow up too fast,” Sara said, putting a hand over her growing belly. “Then again, we’ll have another one soon enough to keep us busy again.”

“I’d heard. Congratulations,” Kate said cheerfully.

“Your usual?” Sara asked Tom, who nodded.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. Tom didn’t just know everyone in town, he was friends with them as well.

After ordering and getting their drinks, they were left alone, and suddenly Kate realized that most of the other people on the deck were couples out on dates.

Suddenly, she felt awkward. She hadn’t meant for this to be a date. It was true that, out of everyone in town whom she wasn’t related to, Tom was the easiest to get along with. For some reason, she felt closer to him than anyone else at the moment. Including her family.

Maybe because she could see something behind his dark eyes that she hadn’t seen in anyone else. There was a story there. One that he was hiding from everyone he knew.

“So,” she said after taking a sip of her lemon water, “where did you move from?”

The corner of his lips curved just the slightest. “Making small talk?”

She shook her head. “Getting to know my brother’s partner,” she corrected.

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll answer, but only if we do a question for a question.”

She thought about her dull life. How she had basically only been eating, sleeping, and breathing ballet for the past… well, all of her life… and nodded.

“That’s fair.” She motioned to him with her water glass.

“Las Vegas,” he answered. “When did you move to New York?”

“When I was thirteen,” she answered. “Do you have family?”

His eyes darkened. “Yes. Where did you live when you were in New York?”

“SAB’s housing. Brother? Sister?”

“SAB?” he asked instead of answering.

“School of American Ballet.”

“So, you lived at a school the entire time?”

“No, not the entire time. When I could afford it, I moved into a small apartment just down the street. I wanted”—she shook her head—“needed my own space.”

“And now you’re forced to live in your parents’ place, indefinitely?” he said.

Her heart sank slightly. “I plan on changing that soon.”

“Oh?” His eyebrows shot up. “Where would you go?”