Finding Me (Snowy Ridge: Love at Starlight, Book 3)

by Kris Jett

  “I'm not jealous. I’m not jealous. I'm not jealous. Okay, I'm totally jealous. And talking to myself,” Luci muttered.

  Luci was happy for her sisters. Really, she was. They were both awesome and deserved great loves. It was just starting to get difficult being around all these heavy romances while being incredibly single. Jessie worked so hard and had always been hesitant to let her guard down with guys. So, this thing her and Cade had found together was truly magical. And Wynn had been through so, so much. Terrible relationship after terrible relationship. Cheating, stalking, crazy exes you name it. That Wynn could even trust Bryce after everything she’d been through was a miracle. And it was obvious the two of them were having a massive amount of sex. Wynn could hardly keep her hands off of him and her skin looked amazing. It was also really sweet how Bryce was with Melody. Luci sure hoped nothing went wrong with this relationship. Wynn deserved calm and stability.

  Luci couldn’t help feeling a little left out though. She had always been the Foster sister with guys falling all over her. And now she was the one always available to close up the pub each night because she had no other plans than maybe a glass of wine, a bath, and a rousing game of candy crush on her phone. She was only twenty-six but she was acting like she was fifty-six. That wasn’t right. Her mom was having more fun than her. Maybe after she helped her mom find a date she should start looking for herself again. Or, perhaps she should find a friend she could go out to lunch or a movie with. At least she had her writing.

  Chapter Six

  Evan was on his way into work when he decided he’d get that morning’s coffee at MoonBeans rather than the pot Bets always had going in the office. The sky was gray and the air was biting. He hadn’t heard any reports of snow, but it felt like the threat was there. It was one of those days where he’d wished he could stay home in bed but responsibilities forced him up and out the door. Maybe he’d get himself a fancier coffee drink that morning to brighten the day a bit.

  He pulled into a parking space in front of the café and headed toward the door. He reached out for the handle and stopped when he noticed Luci sitting with her back up against the large picture window that faced Main Street. She was doing something on her phone. He knew it was none of his business but he took a step closer and peered in at her phone screen. A picture of an older man with gray hair and a gray cropped beard was on the display. He looked like he was on a sailboat in the water somewhere. Luci swiped right on the picture. Another picture came up. This time it was a bald gentleman who had to be in his sixties at the very least. Luci swiped left. This new picture was a man who had salt and pepper hair and was wearing a maroon vest over a champagne colored shirt and tie. Luci swiped right.

  Evan took a step back. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. Luci was on a dating app full of old man. She was some sort of grandpa-chaser. No wonder she had no interest in him. Suddenly full of relief that he still had his good looks and charm, and that it was actually Luci with the problem, Evan decided to go in and march right over to Luci’s table to tease her about her dating app activity.

  Evan appeared in front of Luci with a huge grin on his face. His dreary mood from just minutes ago instantly lifted with the thrill of being about to call her out.

  She looked up in surprise and quickly pulled her phone to her chest. Her hair hung free and framed her face and she wore a soft navy sweater that complimented her blue eyes. “Oh. Hi. Evan, right?”

  “Yes, Evan Monroe, Bets Monroe’s nephew and fellow realtor. We’ve met a couple of times now, though you don’t seem to recall our initial meeting,” he replied quickly.

  Luci tilted her head and gave him a questioning look.

  But Evan ignored it. “How are you? Are you busy? Mind if I sit?”

  “Oh,” she replied, startled. Her eyes darted around the coffee shop, undoubtedly counting all the empty tables that Evan could occupy rather than share the one she was using. “Um, sure. Have a seat.”

  “Great, thanks,” he said, slipping into the seat closest to Luci.

  She gave him another curious look.

  “I heard you tell Bets that you were a writer. Are you working on something now?”

  Luci looked at the bubble screensaver running across her laptop screen and back at Evan. “Yeah, I was just taking a little break to check my e-mail.”

  Ha! Yeah, right, Evan thought. He smirked to himself.

  “Is something about that amusing?” Luci questioned.

  Evan nodded and decided to just go on ahead and call Luci out. “Yep. I saw what you were doing through the front window on my way in. Looking for dates from the senior citizen home?” Evan grinned, waiting for Luci’s reaction.

  She turned around and looked at the window and then back at Evan, alarm in her eyes. “That’s so weird. You were spying on me?”

  “Yes…I mean, no. Of course, not. It’s just that I noticed…I mean, you’re right in front of the window.”

  Luci stiffened in her chair and all the friendliness in her face suddenly vanished. “Why is it any of your business?”

  “It’s not, I mean…” Ugh. Evan was beginning to feel hot under the collar. Maybe he should have thought through what he wanted to say before swooping in on her like that. He was coming off like a total dick right now and he knew it. Evan bit his bottom lip and glanced around the room before returning his gaze to Luci. She didn’t look pleased. “Sorry,” he said slowly, “I, I shouldn’t have charged over here like that. I mean, we don’t even know each other. It’s only I thought it was odd you were swiping right on all these old dudes. They have to be at least two or three times your age or more. Not that it’s any of my business,” he added, putting both his hands in the air in surrender. He cleared his throat and brought his hands back down to his lap and wiped his palms on his dark blue trousers. “I just meant to tease you but, yeah, sorry.” Evan stood up. He wanted to get out of there before he embarrassed himself any further. He felt Luci’s hand on his forearm. Her touch was soft and he noticed her nails were painted a pale pink with a tiny white daisy on only the pinky nail.

  “Wait,” she said. “Sit.”

  Evan hesitated and then sat back down in the chair, his eyes focused on the table. He heard Luci giggle and turned to look at her. “What’s so funny?”

  “You thought I was swiping right on ‘old dudes.’ It just sounds funny. I’ve never even gone on any of those dating apps for myself, have you?”

  “Me?” Evan said, surprised. “Well, no. Not yet anyway. Though maybe I should. We could double. Hit the bingo circuit.” He grinned at her and she swatted at his arm.

  Luci shook her head, still smiling. “Stop it.”

  “I really have thought about going online though. Maybe one of those matching websites. It’s worked out well for a couple of my friends.”

  Luci scrunched up her nose. “Not me. I’m unlucky in love. I don’t think a site could help.”

  “Hmm,” Evan said and the two sat musing. He wondered how this beautiful woman sitting next to him could be unlucky in love. Sure, his first impression of her was that she was a giant pain in the ass. But, that was when he was looking at her as a potential client and he was pissed off that she had wasted his time. Sitting there, just chatting with her, she seemed sort of sweet. He could see lots of men being interested in her. Finally, Evan broke the silence. “So…what were you doing then?” he asked, a teasing smile crossing his lips again.

  “Oh,” Luci said and her eyes lit up, “I’m looking for a date for my mom. She wants to get out into the dating force. She hasn’t dated in, geez, maybe thirty years? My dad had to be the last person she really dated. He died almost seven years ago and she’s had no interest in seeing anyone else. Until now. So, I’m trying to give her a hand.”

  “I’m sorry about your father,” Evan said.

  “Thanks,” Luci replied quickly, like she didn’t want to expand on it. “But anyway, Mom is intent on finding Mr. Right and doesn’t think she’ll casually bump into hi
m around Snowy Ridge so we’re searching the surrounding area. She did fill out one of those online forms and I told her I’d check Tinder for her. I’m finding it all a bit strange though, to tell you the truth.”

  “I can imagine,” Evan said. “Do you want some help?”

  Luci gave Evan a quizzical look. “You want to help me choose men for my mom?”

  “Sure,” he replied with the same enthusiasm as if she’d asked him if he’d wanted a hundred-dollar bill.

  Luci grinned and Evan noticed how pretty her smile was.

  “Don’t you have to get to work?” she asked.

  “Nah. I mean, yeah. Eventually. My first appointment isn’t until ten though. I have some time.”

  Luci shrugged. “Okay.”

  Evan slipped his coat off and tossed it over an empty chair at the table.

  Luci glanced at it and then turned to Evan. “Wait a minute. Is that a romance book in your jacket pocket?”

  Evan’s eyes darted to his jacket. Shoot, he thought. His book was partially sticking out. “What? No.” He reached toward his coat but Luci was quicker.

  Luci snatched the book and examined the cover while Evan grabbed at the corner and tried to pull it back.

  “It is a romance book,” she squealed. “There’s a guy with no shirt on dipping a girl in a corset back on to a bed. You read bodice-rippers!”

  “Shh.” Evan said, giving the book another tug and then shoving it back into his coat. He could feel his face growing flushed, and he looked around the coffee shop to see if any of the other customers had heard. “It’s not a bodice ripper,” he said, shaking his head. He mustered up the most serious tone he could and then looked at Luci. “It’s historical fiction.”

  “Uh-huh.” Luci said and then dissolved into giggles. She put one hand over her mouth and one at her stomach.

  Evan sighed and a small smile crept over his face. “Fine. Whatever. It’s all Aunt Bets has to read at her house. She’s got hundreds of them. But this one has a rather good story to it. He's a powerful baron with a painful past and she’s a determined young beauty seeking revenge for the massacre of her family. Neither thought they'd ever love again until they, of course, find each other and well, did I mention that I minored in English?”

  “You sure are explaining a lot,” Luci said.

  Evan shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. Fine you got me. I read romance books. Now, let’s find your mom a date.”

  Luci flicked her phone back on and scooted her chair closer to Evan so he could see the screen. Her leg brushed up against his as she held the phone up between them both to view the next available suitor. A shirtless man with a small beer belly and a massive amount of gray hair that moved up his chest and trickled over his shoulders appeared.

  Evan and Luci exchanged looks.

  “Left,” Evan said.

  “Definitely,” Luci agreed.

  Chapter Seven

  Luci kept her hands in prayer pose as she expertly slid the sole of her left foot up her inner right thigh and held it in place for tree pose. She loved this pose and found she easily slipped into it at various times throughout the day, especially when she was writing and needed to concentrate. A few minutes in tree often helped her refocus and calm her mind.

  That morning’s coffee with Evan was certainly interesting and completely unexpected. Luci had been clipping away on chapter ten of her novel and was a thousand words away from the daily word count she aimed for each day when she’d taken a break to peruse Tinder on her phone. She had personally never looked for men on the popular app before but she’d had friends who had. She hadn’t recalled that any of them had found successful matches more than a quick fling, but she was sure that was a matter of location. That was all the dating scene in New York City had time for was a quick fling. Luci was certain that Wisconsin Tinder was very different from New York Tinder and that there was a good chance of finding a companion for her mom conveniently on her phone. Besides, what other options did she have? Her sisters and she had already agreed that finding someone in Snowy Ridge was out of the question so she had to carry out her search online.

  It was curious, however, why Evan had decided to sit with her and help her scroll through older gentleman after older gentleman, searching for the perfect fit for her mom, though she was grateful for his assistance. She’d jumped when he first approached her, so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn’t hear him walk up. And then she was slightly embarrassed, considering he’d actually seen what was on her phone. To think he had thought she was the one looking for a date. He must have thought she was searching for some sort of sugar daddy. Evan didn’t seem to have the best impression of her given his expression the other day when he’d recognized her. Though, he was quite a bit nicer that morning. She even sort of had a good time with him. It felt like he was an old friend she was gabbing with over a cup of coffee. Maybe they would eventually become friends, who knew? It wasn’t like she had an abundance of people her age to hang out with in Snowy Ridge. And she wasn’t about to turn to Tinder for herself. She hadn’t reached that point yet.

  “All right class, as you come out of your final child’s pose, I want you to slow your breath and begin to clear your mind,” the yoga instructor said in her soft, soothing voice.

  Luci counted to five as she slowly breathed in through her nose and then again as she breathed out. She loved child’s pose and would sometimes stay in it for fifteen or twenty minutes when she did her practice at home. It was very calming.

  “Slowly move into Savasana. Empty your thoughts and relax. You did great work in class today so take this moment for yourself and enjoy,” the instructor said.

  Luci laid on her back with her hands loose at her sides, palms facing up. She tensed and relaxed each set of muscles starting from her toes, up her legs, and through her arms. And she tried to picture just plain whiteness, like an empty room. Luci was a committed yogi and while she adored so many different poses for various reasons, Savasana had to be her favorite position even though it appeared the simplest. She truly felt rejuvenated each time she came out of it. It felt like hitting a reset button.

  Five minutes or so passed and the instructor’s voice broke into Luci’s mind. “We’re going to begin to come out of Savasna now. Turn slowly onto your right side into a fetal position and when you’re ready, sit up and get into lotus.”

  Luci did as she was told and glanced around the room as she moved into position. Everyone had the same peaceful expression on their face.

  “The light and the heart in me honors the light and the heart in you. Namaste,” her instructor said.

  Luci placed her hands in prayer in front of her and slightly bowed her head. “Namaste,” she whispered in reply.

  The class came alive as someone turned the lights back on and people begun putting on their shoes and rolling up their yoga mats.

  “Smoothies?” a tall brunette said to two nearby women: one pudgy with a short blonde bob and the other, another blonde bob, seemingly older than her two friends but in better shape.

  “Definitely,” the pudgier one replied.

  “Sure,” the older one said, “but I only have half an hour or so. The twins have a half-day today.”

  Luci tried not to pay close attention to their conversation but she couldn’t help it. They were standing right next to her. The ladies in class were always making plans to go out for smoothies, grab coffee, or get together for weekend girls’ nights. And they never asked her. She always felt like she was intruding just by being present. Like, because they were a group, they owned the room. But she had every right to be in the yoga class too. Snowy Ridge yoga classes were another thing that were so different than in New York City. In a city yoga class, everyone was sophisticated, single, and always on the move, fitting yoga in on lunch breaks. And their workout clothes were to die for: all high end, expensive stuff, in amazing styles. The kind of clothes that would cost Luci her entire week’s paycheck when she was working at a local juice bar th
ere. Luci guessed that all of the ladies in this class were stay-at-home mothers in their mid-thirties to forties, girl scout leaders and PTA board members, and attending yoga to fill in some time before after school pickup. To them, Luci was invisible. It wasn’t that she really wanted to hang out with these women and hear about their kids’ soccer games or car pools or whatever it was they talked about over smoothies, but it did hurt her feelings a bit that they never even asked her to go.

  Luci quickly rolled up her yoga mat and kicked her feet into her Uggs. She didn’t need to stick around. She wanted to get home and see her mom anyway. She had some news for her.

  Luci pulled her mom’s car into her driveway and parked. She grabbed her things from the backseat and let herself into the house.

  “Auntie!” Melody squealed as she launched herself toward Luci when she walked through the front door of their home.

  Luci dropped her yoga mat, water bottle, and bag on the ground, and jut her arms outward just in time to catch her little blonde giggly niece. “Hi, Sweet Pea! How’s my favorite girl?”

  “Me good,” Melody replied. “You?”

  “Me good, too.” Luci squeezed her niece close and kissed her forehead.

  “Book?” Melody shoved a Dr. Seuss book at Luci, pressing it into her chest.

  “Are you asking me to read to you?” Luci asked.

  Melody nodded.

  “Well, that’s the best invitation I’ve received all day. Okay, give me a minute to go talk to Grandma and then I’m all yours.” Luci put her niece down and headed for the kitchen to find her mom.

  “Hey,” she said as she entered the brightly colored room. Wynn had recently decided the room needed a new look and one weekend painted the walls a soft pumpkin orange. Their mom didn’t love it at first but Luci did. It felt so inviting and happy each time she walked in.