She remembered his bold jaw and the dark stubble covering it, the high cheekbones, the shape of his mouth, which was quite sensual even from a strictly objective point of view. “Yeah. Why?”

“I’m wondering if I know him…”

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing. It was just a sweet gesture, one that cheered me up when I needed it. It’s not as though anything will ever come of it.”

“I wish something would come of it,” Karoline grumbled. “That’s exactly what you need—and what Axel deserves.”

“Being angry with Axel isn’t going to change anything.”

“It helps. Trust me. You should try it.”

The door closed and Harper slumped back on the bed. But after the house had gone quiet and she knew everyone was asleep, she couldn’t resist pulling out her laptop to watch the YouTube video of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s latest concert.

He looked amazing.

His performance was amazing.

He didn’t seem to be hurting at all.

When Tobias arrived at the sixteen-acre tangerine orchard where he lived, there was a strange car in the driveway. He tried to pull around it to his usual spot near the small house he was renting behind the 1920s farmhouse closer to the road. But the old beat-up Chevy Impala was parked such that there wasn’t enough room on either side.

With a sigh, he shoved his gearshift into Park. He’d have to go to the door and ask the driver to move it. He couldn’t leave his truck out on the road. Someone coming around the bend might not see it, especially in the rain. And it wouldn’t do any good to leave it where it was, tucked behind the Impala. The driver would just have to knock on his door and ask him to move it later.

On the other hand, it had been a big step for his landlord to start dating again. Uriah had been married for fifty years before he lost his wife, and the old guy still wasn’t comfortable with moving on. So Tobias didn’t want to interrupt if he could avoid it…

He checked his watch. Uriah’s lady friends typically didn’t come over, except to bring him a meal or a piece of pie or something. If one ever did, she didn’t stay long. Uriah was nothing if not old-fashioned. He picked up whomever he asked out, took her on an official date and then drove her home.

Besides, he’d been a farmer all his life. He was in bed by ten and up at the crack of dawn, and it was almost ten now.

If Tobias just waited for a few minutes, whoever it was would probably leave.

But then, she might not. And he was dying to get in the shower.

“Better get it over with,” he muttered and climbed out, ducking his head against the wind and the rain.