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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Discover More
  57. About the Author

I smiled back shyly. I would miss him. Unless. Unless I was wrong and Finn wasn’t a replica of all the other men I’d met on Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and Coffee Meets Bagel. I’d dismissed Kate when she said there were definitely emotionally available men from Manhattan seeking a committed relationship, but what if she was right and Finn was one of them? If so, it might not have to end.

A text message pinged on my phone, and all thoughts of Finn left the vicinity as my heart dropped to my knees. It was Derek.

Call me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

It was easy to slip away from the construction site without much fanfare, since lunch hour was up. I told Finn I had things to do back at the hotel and would see him later, then walked to the park.

I’d turned in a great story. It wasn’t what I pitched.

It was humorous and tightly written. It wasn’t what I pitched.

The wind got stronger as I approached the water, and it seared my cheeks like repeated slaps across the face. My mind was spinning. If Derek wanted to talk, why hadn’t he just called me? Why had he bothered with a text? Was he being respectful of my time, allowing me to call him at my convenience? Doubtful.

After I’d sufficiently exhausted myself with twenty questions only Derek could answer, I plopped on a bench, pulled up my big-girl panties, and called him. My pulse raced faster than a sprinter in the Olympics.

“I read your piece,” he said without preamble.

And? I waited for him to elaborate, until the awkward silence told me he wasn’t going to. “What did you think?” I chewed my lips way too hard.

“It was…cute. But it’s not what you pitched.”

“I know.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. “Here’s the thing. Pleasant Hollow is nothing like a Hallmark movie town.”

“I think I read that somewhere recently.”

It took me a second, and the boom of his laughter, to get the joke. I blamed it on my nerves. I chuckled too, keeping it light. “Yeah, so you can see how I can’t write an honest piece using the original idea. I think my substitute is entertaining and still appeals to the Hallmark audience—just turning expectations on their head.” I pulled my jacket tighter to my chest to block out the wind.

“There’s no emotional component. So Pleasant Hollow isn’t a Hallmark town. Who cares? Most small towns aren’t.”

Something apparently everyone knew, besides Kate and me.

“It’s not a story,” Derek continued. “And it’s kind of a diss, hostile even. What did Pleasant Hollow ever do to you?”