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

by Kris Jett

  He hesitated at the counter. Should he go over? Things were so weird between them when he ran into Luci and her friend Becca the day before. Evan felt like an idiot for having thought something was happening with him and Luci when she obviously only thought of him as a friend. What else would explain her pushing him to date her friend?

  “Come here,” Luci called out, a huge smile spread across her face.

  He couldn’t help it, he returned her smile. If nothing else, they were still friends, right? He crossed the coffee shop quickly and slipped into the seat across from Luci. Her laptop was perched open and she had half a glass of tea to her left. “Hey,” he said, shrugging off his coat.

  “I have exciting news.” She bounced a little in her seat, like a kid who was about to get an ice cream cone. It was completely endearing.

  “Tell me.”

  Luci drummed her fingers on the table and took a big breath. “I just wrote ‘The End.’” She said excitedly. “I did it. I finished the first draft of my book!”

  Evan’s eyebrows rose and his mouth opened in surprise. “Luci, that’s great.” He leaned across the table and gave her a hug. His nose ended up between her neck and hair and he breathed in. She smelled sweet and citrus-y.

  After they’d pulled away, Luci did a small clap in front of her chest. “I’m so happy! When I woke up this morning, I felt like today was the day. I got here, like, four, maybe five hours ago, determined that I would finish my book and I did! It’d been a while since I’ve finished a story. I didn’t know if I’d ever do it again, quite honestly. All the rejection had really taken a toll on me. But I did it. And it’s not half bad,” she added, sheepishly. Luci took a big, happy breath and sat back in her seat.

  It was hard not to catch her enthusiasm. “We need to celebrate,” Evan announced. “Let me take you out to dinner tonight.”

  Luci’s face changed from happiness to contemplation. She was clearly mulling it over and wondering if it meant anything.

  His mind flashed to the scene outside of the YMCA the day before with Luci and her friend.

  Before Evan had a chance to think about it, he blurted out, “It wouldn’t be a date. Just two friends having dinner to celebrate. Come on,” he urged. “It’s a big accomplishment.”

  “Okay,” she finally said.

  “Great. What time can I pick you up?”

  “Eight o’clock at my house.”

  “Perfect. I’m going to grab my coffee and then I need to run through some paperwork with the Hatches. I just sold them a cabin,” he said with a grin. He was really proud of it too. It was his own sale without any assistance whatsoever from Aunt Bets. He did it all on his own.

  “You did? Evan, that’s fantastic! So, we can celebrate you and your sale tonight, too.”

  He nodded. “Sure. Double celebration. I’ll see you tonight.” Evan reached over and patted Luci’s hand on the table. “And congrats again.”

  “You too. See you.”

  Evan stole a quick glance over his shoulder as he walked to the counter to retrieve his coffee and he saw Luci touch the spot where he’d just patted her hand with her other hand.

  At 8:15 Evan parked his mustang outside of Rosita’s and helped Luci out of the car. She was wearing a black coat that came to her knees and a pair of tall, dark heels that made her legs look amazing.

  They walked into the restaurant and Evan took Luci’s coat and checked it in. He had to catch his breath when he saw her in her dress. She was gorgeous. The dress was strappy and made her shoulders and collar bone look exquisite. He suddenly had the urge to kiss her there and then continue his way up her neck.

  “Wow. You’re stunning,” he told her.

  Luci blinked a few times and her cheeks pinkened.

  He noticed the deep blue color of the dress made her eyes appear an even richer shade of blue.

  “Thanks,” she said. Just then her phone begun to ring from her small clutch.

  Luci rooted around in the bag, pulling out item after item. She was balancing her license, a couple of credit cards, and some bills in her hand while the other hand slipped into the interior pocket, trying to free the phone. A tube of lipstick flew out and landed on the floor in front of Evan.

  “Whoops,” she said, bending over to retrieve the tube.

  When she bent over, her loose, strappy dress fell open and Evan had a full view of the top of her breasts and a flash of her right nipple. He probably should have done the gentlemanly thing and retrieved the lipstick for her but he was like a deer in headlights. He silently thanked God for whoever designed Luci’s dress, which was apparently incapable of pairing with a bra.

  Luci stood back up and smiled, holding up the lipstick. “Got it,” she said before shoving it back in her purse. Her phone had stopped ringing and Luci looked at the screen. “Just my sister, Jessie. I’ll call her later.”

  Evan licked his dry lips and had thoughts of throwing everything he had in his pockets on the ground to get Luci to bend over again.

  Her dress was a light silky fabric and it lay on her breasts just perfectly, displaying an adequate amount of cleavage. Now that he knew she wasn’t wearing any kind of contraption under the dress he was completely fixated on her nipples and he could see them poking through the fabric. Was it his imagination or were they getting harder as the two of them stood there?

  Evan suddenly coughed and turned slightly away, forcing himself to break eye contact with Luci’s chest. Even if Luci’s nipples weren’t getting harder something else was and would be on full display if he didn’t cool off soon.

  “Um,” Luci said nervously and laced her fingers together.

  This seemed to create an effect that pushed her breasts even further out. Evan didn’t know how he’d make it through the night without ripping that dress right off of her.

  “Monroe?” the hostess called out.

  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Evan silently thought to himself. Food will distract him. Hopefully. “Shall we go?” he said to Luci. He placed a hand at the small of her back, to guide her as they followed the hostess. The fabric of her dress was so thin he could feel everything. Especially her lack of panties. Oh God, he thought. I’ll never make it through this meal.

  Evan helped Luci into her seat and then took the seat opposite her at the small table. There were two tiny red roses in a bud vase and a trio of flickering white candles in the center. Luci’s eyes seemed to glow in the flickering of the candlelight.

  He glanced around the restaurant and took in the quaint New York Italian theme that surrounded him. The walls were a red brick and strings of big white light bulbs were strung back and forth across the ceiling overhead. Black and white photos of the city were framed and hung around the room and soft orchestral music was coming from speakers hidden in the corners of the room. It created a cozy, intimate atmosphere that Evan appreciated.

  Evan stole glances of Luci as she read the menu. He couldn’t believe how gorgeous she looked that evening or lucky he was to be there with her, even if it wasn’t for a real date.

  Luci’s eyes flicked up and she caught Evan staring at her.

  “I’m sorry. You’re so beautiful, it’s hard to look away,” he said honestly.

  Luci’s cheeks flushed again and she looked down at the menu again.

  Evan cleared his throat. “I think I’m going to order the fettucine.”

  “That sounds good. I’m going to try their zucchini noodles,” Luci said, closing the menu.

  After the waiter took their orders, Evan and Luci stared at each other across the table.

  “So, tell me what’s the next step with your book. Do you have a plan?” he asked.

  “Well, I’m going to read through it a few times and then work on anything that needs to be revised. When I feel like it’s as good as I can get it, I’ll start sending it out to literary agents.”

  “You know you have to send me the entire book to read, right? I only got that three-chapter teaser and I’m dying to read more.”


  Luci bit her lip and stared at him. “Well, maybe. I’m kind of weary of just emailing the entire thing. Not that I think you’d do anything with it of course. It’s just, I don’t know, I guess I’m nervous.”

  “I understand that.” Evan felt disappointed and hoped it didn’t show on his face.

  “I’d be okay with you reading it from my laptop, though.”

  Evan’s face lit up. “That’s fine with me. Name the time and place and I’ll be there.” He was glad she was going to give him the chance to read her whole book. And it would give him another excuse to see her.

  “Okay,” Luci said slowly. “I have the early shift at Starlight tomorrow but I’ll be done by 5. How about we meet at MoonBeans then? Unless you have plans with someone else, of course…” she trailed off.

  Luci’s eyebrows were raised and he could tell she was waiting for a response from him. Was she trying to find out if he had scheduled a date with her friend, Becca yet? Evan couldn’t figure out what was going on with Luci. Sometimes it felt like they were into each other but then why would she be pushing him off on Becca?

  “Nope. No plans for tomorrow night,” he replied.

  “Perfect,” she said, smiling. “It’s a date.”

  Evan gave Luci a quizzical look.

  Luci waved her hand in the air at him. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

  No, clearly, he didn’t. But he wasn’t going to let her know that. “Of course,” he said instead. “Hey, speaking of dates, how did your mom’s date go?”

  “Ugh,” Luci said. “Not good. Jake was a disaster too.”

  “Oh no,” Evan said, sounding genuinely concerned. “Snow-plower Jake was a bust? But I thought they got to know each other first over the phone. What happened?”

  “They did. Several times. That’s what made it worse, I think. My mom really had her hopes up that he’d be the one.”

  Evan frowned. “What went wrong?”

  “To begin with, he looked nothing like his picture. She said he had to be at least fifteen years older than the picture he used on his profile. He had a lot of hair in his ears and nose and she said he was a good fifty pounds heavier.”

  “That’s kind of sad though. So, it was all because of his looks? His personality didn’t carry the date through?”

  Luci shrugged. “I guess it did for a while because my mom stayed for the lunch. But, she said he kept talking about gambling wins and going on and on about wanting to take her to different casinos. My mom hates gambling. He totally lost her at that point.”

  “Aw, man. Yeah, I could see that.” Evan had an aunt who left her husband over his excessive gambling. He’d run through their life savings with his gambling addiction. He’d promise over and over again that he would stop but he never did so she divorced him. Evan understood Diedre not wanting to date a man so into gambling.

  “She was pretty down on the whole Internet dating thing and said that she’d never meet anyone as good as my dad so why bother trying anymore. And that she might try a painting class next. It was kind of sad.”

  “It sounds like it,” he said.

  “I know I wasn’t on board with her wanting to date at first, but I don’t want her to grow old alone either. There has to be someone out there for her. Everyone needs someone.”

  Evan nodded. “Maybe we can try one more time?”

  Luci shook her head. “Not with Tinder. She won’t do it. No, I think if she’s going to date again, it will have to be someone she finds herself. Maybe she’ll bump into him at a grocery store or a trip to the museum. You never know.”

  “No, you don’t,” Evan agreed with a somber smile.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Three hours and four coffees later, Evan looked up and across the table at Luci.

  “Well?” she said tentatively.

  “I love it. I’m serious. Your book is fantastic. I would snap this up off of a bookstore shelf in a minute. It would be an insta-buy for me on Amazon. People are going to love it, I promise.”

  “Really?” Luci asked, trying not to sound too excited, but it was hard. Evan was the only person, aside from herself of course, to read the book in its entirety. It was a relief to know that someone else enjoyed it. “You think so? It’s already been rejected three times.”

  “What?” Evan asked, sounding surprised. “How? You only finished writing it yesterday. And just last night you told me that you had to polish it first and then you’d start sending it out to agents.”

  Luci dropped her face into her hands and shook her head. After a moment, she looked up and locked eyes with Evan. “I know. I’m so impatient. I sent out queries and a sample last night after you dropped me off. I knew I should have waited, edited some more, asked you for notes, I don’t know. I was just so, so excited. I jumped the gun and queried three big New York literary agents. I got form rejection letters from all three already this morning. Story of my life.” Luci covered her face again with her hands.

  Evan reached out and gently removed Luci’s hands from her face. “No, that isn’t your story. You don’t know why it was rejected. It could have been anything. They may not have even read your sample. Those agents might not even be taking on new clients. Stay positive. This book is going to get an agent, and a publishing deal and it’s going to be in bookstores. Trust me. I can feel it.”

  “You can?” Luci blinked several times, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Evan’s unshakeable support. She’d never had anyone so solidly in her corner before when it came to her writing. It had always been a solitary passion for her. Being able to talk about it and share it with someone else was a new experience and she found it comforting.

  “Of course,” he said. “But don’t send any more queries out to agents. Not yet. Let me help you polish it up first. And how’s your query letter? Do you want me to give it a look too?”

  Luci nodded. “A second set of eyes would probably be a good idea. Okay, I won’t send out any more queries until I’m one hundred percent sure that the book is ready. But it will be ready really soon, don’t you think?”

  Evan laughed. “Yes. I don’t think there is a lot of work to do. We can work on it now if you want. And I do want to see the letter you’re sending out. You want to position yourself and your book in the most attractive light possible to garner interest.”

  “You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Luci said.

  “Well, I know how to sell. It’s not so different selling houses and books,” Evan said with a wink.

  Luci cocked an eyebrow.

  “Okay,” Evan said. “Huge difference. But the principles of the sale are still there. I’m sure I can help.”

  “I really do appreciate your time and efforts. Truly, I do.”

  Luci felt happier than she’d felt in a long time. Things finally seemed to be going her way. Her book was done and sure it had a few rejections already, but all was not lost. She trusted Evan’s opinion and this book would go somewhere. Some literary agent somewhere was going to sit up and take notice of Luci Foster.

  Luci looked at Evan. He was scrolling through pages of her book and highlighting phrases and adding new comments on the screen. A warm feeling swept over her as she watched him work. This kind, smart, wonderful man was willing to spend huge chunks of his time helping her. And more than just with her book. He helped her when she was looking for dates for her mom and he’d spent lots of time talking with her and just listening to her. Being there for her. She didn’t even know she needed him, but somehow, he’d become a dear friend in such a short time. If Luci didn’t know any better, she might be falling for him.

  Luci shook her head hard. This wasn’t right though. She couldn’t be falling in love with Evan. They’d made it clear that theirs was just a friendship. Besides, he was going on a date with Becca in a couple of days. Becca had been texting Luci about it nonstop. She was asking her all sorts of questions about Evan’s likes and dislikes and what she should wear and say and do. Luci wanted no part in helping
Becca out. She had already felt pressured into setting them up in the first place and she certainly wasn’t going to be forced into landing Becca a new boyfriend. Especially not such a great guy she herself had feelings for.

  Luci felt so confused. How did she even get herself in this situation?

  “Everything okay?” Evan asked.

  “Hmm?” Luci said, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

  “You look like you’re struggling with something,” he said.

  Luci smiled. “Inner turmoil. All of the great writers have it.”

  Evan returned her smile. “Well, bring your inner turmoil over here. I want to show you a few things.”

  Luci pulled her chair next to Evan’s and sat back down, their shoulders touching.

  “Okay,” he begun and pointed at the screen., “I love this scene. Really, I do. I want to marry this scene and have a soccer team of babies with it,” he joked, “but, there’s too much telling. If you reworked this whole thing with dialogue between Patrick and Gretchen, minds would be blown. The reader needs to feel her agony and desire for him building. Don’t cheat us from it. Take us along for the ride.”

  Luci leaned closer to Evan and breathed in deeply. He smelled of a heady masculine mixture of cinnamon and leather and she wanted to bury her face in his chest.

  He turned toward her and asked, “Do you see what I mean?” The warm air that accompanied his words made her cheek tingle.

  “Uh-huh,” she squeaked out.

  “They’re not major changes that I’m suggesting,” he continued. “The integrity of your book will remain. I just see a few spots to make it better.”

  Luci rested her hand on Evan’s shoulder.

  Evan quickly glanced down at it and then returned his gaze to hers.

  “And I appreciate it. I really do,” she said. “You’ve been so wonderful helping me like this.”

  Evan shook his head. “It’s nothing. Really, I’m enjoying it. Maybe I should have become an editor or something.”