“Okay, so tell me how I’m impressive?” While he decorates his rock with orange paint, I continue to snack on pretzels—dipped in peanut butter, of course.

“For one, you’re painting rocks for the Children’s Hospital on your day off. You are loyal, hold strong to your morals, look for the good in people, and don’t take shit even from one of the most popular baseball players in Chicago.”

“Doesn’t seem impressive to me. Seems pretty average.”

His hand connects with my chin, and he gently turns my head to look him in the eyes. “It’s impressive, Myla. Not many people can say they hold strong to what they believe in, or that their loyalty is impenetrable. Very fucking impressive.”

I will tell you something right now. When I woke up this morning and decided to paint rocks, the last thing I expected was for Ryot Bisley to sit across from me, taking time to help me see the value I offer to this crazy world.

But on top of that, with those dangerously handsome eyes of his, I never expected for my heart to flutter, my mind to whirl, and my soul to take charge—and that this would be the moment I start to fall for Ryot Bisley.

* * *

“Okay, so where are you from again?” I ask as I cuddle up on the couch with Ryot only a few inches away from me. We painted three rocks together, ate half a bag of pretzels, and guzzled two glasses of water. An eventful afternoon if you ask me. And for some reason, after we cleaned up, I didn’t want him to leave, so I asked if he wanted to stay for dinner. He said yes with one of his nipple-melting smiles, so we ordered Chinese for delivery.

“Bright Harbor, Maine. It’s a small town on the coast. Have you ever seen those Lovemark movies, the Christmas ones that everyone raves about every year?”

“Uh, have I heard of them?” I raise my hand. “Avid watcher over here.”

“Aw, then you would be happy to know, the neighboring town is Port Snow, where many Lovemark movies have been filmed. Sometimes, the filming has overflowed into Bright Harbor.”

“Really?” I excitingly ask. “That’s so cool. Have you ever seen them film there?”

“No, didn’t happen until after I left. But my sister, Nola, and my parents have stood on the sidewalk while they’ve filmed.”

“Nola, I love that name. So just two siblings? Nola and Banner?”

“Yup,” he answers. “Nola is the oldest, Banner is the youngest, and I’m the dedicated middle child. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any childhood complexes of growing up as the middle child. My parents were pretty cool about splitting up their time equally.”

“And your parents still live in their original home you said.”

“Yes. They were thinking about an old community where people their age live, but the thought of an old-person community village made them cringe.”

“I can only imagine the kind of trouble that occurs in the village. I used to volunteer at a senior center in Phoenix, and if the thirteenth ever fell on a Friday, the staff knew the willies were coming out.”