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“Have a good night, Adeline. Give me at least an hour before you bug me again. I wanna eat dinner.”

“It’s eleven o’clock.”

“Evenin’ shift.”

Adeline appears excited again. “Did ya want me to call and keep you company?”

“Geezus Christ.”

I let her storm door go and slam in her face because this woman doesn’t get what she does to me.

I’ve had a crush on Adeline Kerrigan since I was eleven years old.

I’ve watched her grow up, become more and more beautiful by the year, and date every asshole in and out of town but me.

Well, guess what, I’m not going to be one of them.

Because if she hasn’t seen me yet.

She never will.

2

ADELINE

I’ve had a crush on Henry—Dodger—Abbott since I was thirteen years old.

And he’s never shown a lick of interest in me.

In fact, he’s treated me like a little sister since we were kids, so flirting with him makes things awkward sometimes.

Well, all the time.

I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t see me as anyone else but the girl he’s grown up with, or that he’s really never been interested, but I can never help myself sometimes with him. He’s easy to push buttons with; he’s serious, but then sometimes he’s not.

Dodger is the perfect specimen of a family man, always giving and contributing to the town because he loves it just as much as I do. But when it comes to anything between us, I’ve quickly become a bother.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not that desperate to keep calling him over to my new house because I need to grab his attention. On the contrary, my house is possessed, and living home alone for the first time has given me a bit of paranoia.

Which is wild because there’s no crime in Magnolia Ridge unless you want to count the Lawson twins, who are always tryin’ to scare the crap out of folks at night by banging on windows, making loud noises outside, and screaming outside your front door like someone’s being murdered. It’s quiet for the most part.

But I’m still a bit uneasy with the quiet. My sister, Everly, has quickly grown tired of staying with me because she believes I’m ridiculous and need to throw my big girl panties on. She’s right, and that can be applied to many things in my life right now.

However, I’m trying to iron out the kinks of being by myself, so I’m a work in progress with all that right now.

Plus, I can’t ignore the fact that Dodger makes me feel safe, secure, and a bit aroused when he’s around. He knows me as the prim and proper Adeline Kerrigan with a good head on my shoulders, a kind hand to give out when someone is in need, but not the woman who just wants to get thrown up against a wall and taken.

Respectfully.

“Adeline, I don’t got all day, woman. Let me eat.”

I rapidly blink away my inner thoughts when I take in Dodger on the other side of the counter.

Hazel eyes, light brown hair under his black cowboy hat, Dodger scowls at me because I’m taking forever on his order, and it’s the same thing every time.

Black coffee.

Chocolate chip muffin.