“How sad.” Then I remembered something. “I haven’t seen many pets around Pleasant Hollow. I was beginning to think there was a town-wide dislike of furry friends.”

Chase looked horrified. “There are definitely dogs in town, although not as many as I’d like. I volunteer at an animal shelter in Goshen once a week, and the number of dogs who don’t find even temporary homes tears me up inside.”

I grabbed onto his muscular forearm. “Wait. You have a full-time job, yet you volunteer at the firehouse and an animal shelter?”

“Yes.” He smiled shyly.

I squinted at him. “Is it to impress women?”

He laughed. “No, but if that happens, I’m okay with it.”

In almost slow motion, I swiveled toward Kate and widened my eyes in disbelief. Forget Garrett, Chase was a romance hero come to life.

She gave me a thumbs-up with her free hand and held out her glass to Finn for a refill with the other.

Only Finn didn’t see her. He was too busy giving Chase a once-over. The pinched expression on his face indicated he didn’t like what he saw. I did a slick appraisal of my own and tried to see Chase through Finn’s eyes.

By all definitions, Chase was an attractive guy—a very attractive guy. Yet there were no butterflies in my belly, my temperature hadn’t risen, and my heart was beating at a steady pace. In other words, I felt nothing. I refocused on Finn and had the opposite reaction. Seeing him jealous should have made me feel victorious. Instead, I was frustrated and confused.

“Can you excuse me a second, Adina?” Chase said, interrupting my subtle scrutiny. “Aaron just called me over for birthday shots.”

“By all means. Cheers!”

“He seems nice!” Kate said, joining me with Finn on her heels.

“You have no idea.” I told her about his volunteer activities.

“No way.” Her eyes grew wider with each word. “I knew it. I can already see Trevor Donovan in the role.”

“Totally.” I’d been working hard not to acknowledge Finn, whose lips were clamped together in what appeared to be suppressed amusement, but I couldn’t take it any longer. “What’s so funny?”

He pressed his fist to his mouth. “Nothing.”

I glared at him. “You could have fooled me.”

He dropped his arm to his side and clucked his tongue. “I think it’s great you’ve found yourself the ‘romantic and straightforward’ boyfriend of your small-town dreams. Kudos,” he said, clapping his hands. “But I’m confused as to how it’s going to work.”

“Meaning?”

“Are you planning to move to Pleasant Hollow? Or will this be a long-distance relationship where you bus it here every weekend? You can probably get a frequent rider pass from ShortLine.” His eyes danced with undisguised mirth.