“She got hit by a car.” A pang of sadness moved through her.

The sounds of girls giggling trickled down the hall, soothing that longing and filling Roni with happiness.

Another text from Quincy rolled in, and they both read it. Time’s running out to make your move.

Angela lifted her eyes to Roni’s and said, “You’re not going to let him get away, are you?”

Roni’s chest constricted at the thought of losing their connection. “I don’t want him to go away, but I’m too nervous to go out with him. Can’t we just be texting friends forever?”

Angela’s face contorted in confusion. “Let me get this straight. You want to be friends without benefits, and you don’t want to really get to know him? Like acquaintances who text silly pictures and ask about each other’s days?”

“Suits me perfectly! I have to go teach my class.” Roni hurried out of the room, trying to ignore the sour aftertaste of her lie.

QUINCY LEANED ON the counter at Luscious Licks, his friend Penny’s ice cream shop, staring at his phone.

“A watched pot never boils,” Penny said as she wiped down the counter, eyeing him curiously. Her hair was piled on her head in a messy bun, held in place with a straw and a tiny clip, as per usual.

“Trust me, this pot is burning like an inferno.” He shoved his phone in his pocket as amusement rose in Penny’s big blue eyes. People thought Penny looked like a lighter-haired Zooey Deschanel, but when Quincy looked at her, he saw a treasured friend he’d protect with his life, the girl who had taught him everything he knew about friendship. “I just can’t figure out why she’ll text at all hours, but she won’t go out with me.”

“Ah, we’re talking about Roni, the only other girl in Peaceful Harbor besides me who doesn’t want to go out with you, aren’t we?”

Quincy wasn’t immune to the single moms and young women at Between the Pages, the bookstore where he worked, or half of the other women he saw around town, vying for his attention. He just didn’t give a shit about them. At six foot three with a hard body and a face that was easy on the eyes, he was going to have women chasing him whether he wanted them to or not. But as a person in recovery from a drug addiction and someone who ran Narcotics Anonymous meetings, Quincy knew the importance of self-care and surrounding himself with the people who supported his recovery. Fucking random women wouldn’t do a damn thing for the man he strove to be besides reminding him of the guy, and the life, he’d left behind. Roni was a whole different story. She was the only woman he’d ever felt a connection with that ran deeper than friendship, and it wasn’t even something he could pinpoint or explain. He felt it in his bones, as if they were meant to be together.