Moonlight Kiss

“Your dad always did do things top-notch.”

“They’re pretty sweet.”

Addison thought of having her own place, her own business. No cameras following her around. “Mia, my head is spinning.”

“So you’re giving it some thought?”

“Yes,” Addison said and Mia’s face lit up. “I’ll take a look.”

“Shut the front door!”

Addison tossed her head back and laughed. “Of course, I’d like to see the loft too.”

“Yes!” Mia smacked her hands down on the table so hard that the ice jingled in the glasses. “This is awesome!”

“I know I’m just looking, but even so, I’ve never done something this spontaneous. I feel as if I’m jumping without a net. My heart is pounding so hard right now!”

“Doesn’t it feel great?” With another laugh Mia stood up and danced in a circle with her nose up in the air.

“What in the world are you doing?”

“The Snoopy happy dance! Come on, get up and do it with me!”

“Mia! We’re in public!” Addison reminded her cousin with a laugh.

“Oh, believe me, I’ve created much more commotion in this restaurant than a mere dance.”

Sunny came over to check on them. “Hey, I know the chicken salad is good, but dang, girl.”

“No, I just found out that my sweet cousin Addison is going to move here.”

“Potentially,” Addison reminded her.

“Oh, you will,” Mia said firmly.

Sunny sat the pitcher of tea down on the table. “Well, now, Mia. That does call for celebration,” Sunny said, and started doing the dance with Mia. Sunny added finger-poking moves toward the ceiling. “Join us, Addison!”

“You guys are seriously crazy.” Addison looked around, but no one seemed to act as if dancing in a diner was out of the ordinary. With a grin she slid from the booth and started doing the happy dance with them.

“What are y’all drinkin’?” asked an elderly woman a couple of booths over. “Sunny, I’ll have whatever they’re havin’.”

“Just tea, Violet,” Mia answered with a laugh. “We’re just high on life.”

“You go, girl,” Violet answered, and raised her water glass.

Laughing, they sat down and Sunny refilled their glasses.

“That’s Violet, who owns Violet’s Vintage Clothing down the street,” Mia explained. “A totally sweet lady. I shop there all the time and she helps me run Heels for Meals, a charity we started for needy people in the area. Sunny, our waitress, helps out too, along with a few other ladies in town. I’ll have you on board too.”

“Wow,” Addison said, “it sure seems like you’re living a nice, fulfilling life here in Cricket Creek. I have to tell you I’m surprised that you and Uncle Mitch ended up in a small town in Kentucky. I remember being in awe of that huge house you used to live in.”

“I know.” Mia grinned. “Last week I never could have guessed that you’d be sitting across from me at Wine and Diner. Life is full of surprises, so get ready, girlfriend.” She did a little snap of her fingers and a head bop, making Addison laugh.

“Yeah, I guess Dad was right. I needed a change of atmosphere.”

Mia raised her glass. “Here’s to fresh starts.”

Addison touched her glass to Mia’s. “Well.” Addison grinned back at her cousin. “And there is one other perk of running a bridal boutique.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’ve sworn off men and marriage. Any guy coming into the shop will be someone’s fiance.” She held up her left hand. “That should keep a ring off my finger.”

“Maybe in the shop.” Mia crumbled some crackers into her soup. “But I wouldn’t be so sure. There are a lot of cute guys here in Cricket Creek. Not only baseball players, and, oh, those country boys in their Wrangler jeans can be pretty darned sexy. . . .” She paused and raised her eyebrows.

“What?” Addison thought about her image of potbellies in overalls.

Mia nodded toward the front door. “Don’t look now, but one just walked in. Hmm, haven’t seen him around here before.”

“Mia . . .” Addison warned in a low voice. “I’ve sworn off men. Remember?”

“He might just change your mind. Don’t be obvious, but look!”

“No way. I’m not looking.”

“Oh yeah. He’s heading to the stools at the counter, close enough so you can see him. Check him out,” Mia urged in a stage whisper. “Yeah, baby . . .”

“I’m not interested,” Addison insisted. She scooped up a bit of soup but turned her head to look nonetheless. The spoon paused halfway to her mouth. Oh my . . .

He was tall with brown hair kissed by the sun and just shy of needing a trim. A white cotton T-shirt tucked into jeans showcased his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. He walked slowly while looking down at his phone, and Addison wanted to but just couldn’t look away. Sexy stubble shadowed a firm jaw and when he licked his bottom lip while reading, Addison felt as if she needed to fan her face. Both Aiden and Garret were handsome men, but this guy had a rugged edge instead of glossy perfection and damn if she didn’t find it sexy as hell.

The waitress behind the counter greeted him. “Well, hey there. If it isn’t Reid Greenfield! Long time, no see, Sugar Pie. What brings you back to Cricket Creek? Family visit?”

Addison watched Reid swing one long leg over the stool and sit a very fine butt down on the red vinyl.

“Hi, Myra. Sure is good to see you too. Yeah, I’m here to help out on the farm for a while,” he answered in a soft Southern drawl that slid down Addison’s spine like smooth Southern Comfort. “I’d like a glass of your sweet tea, if you don’t mind, while I look over the menu.”

“Your sweet, sexy self can have anything your little ole heart desires,” Myra answered with a sassy sway of her hips.

“Is she really flirting with him?” Addison felt an odd stab of jealousy. “She’s got to be old enough to be his mother,” Addison grumbled, but kept her eyes on Reid.

Mia chuckled. “Oh, that’s Myra for you. She’s got that free-spirit, hippie thing going on like Uncle Paul and pretty much says whatever she wants. Even though she turned the restaurant over to her niece, Jessica, she still works from time to time, ever since Jess and Ty had a baby. She’s a trip, for sure, but she’s happily married to Owen Lawson, the groundskeeper at the baseball stadium and father-in-law to Noah Falcon, the hometown hero who built the stadium. As a matter of fact, Myra hired me as a waitress when I first arrived in town.”

“You were a waitress?” Addison asked absently. Most of her brain was still focused on Reid.

“For, like, a minute, until I caused a fight that landed Cam in jail. I actually jumped on the back of a guy and pulled his ears until he cried uncle.”

“That’s nice,” Addison said, but then blinked and finally tore her gaze from Reid. “Wait. What did you just say?”

Mia laughed. “It’s a long story that I’ll save for later. It gets better if I have a martini or two. Hey, speaking of martinis, we should go to Sully’s Tavern later and have a couple after I show you around. Stay with me tonight and we can walk from my place. We have a lot to discuss!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Addison agreed with a grin. It was difficult not to get pulled in by Mia’s enthusiasm.

“Maybe Reid over there will show up and pull you onto the dance floor and do a little two-steppin’.”

“I’m guessing that’s nothing like Dubstepping.”

Mia laughed. “No, thank goodness. And let me tell you, I’d rather be dancing the night away at Sully’s than any amped-up big-city nightclub.”

Addison would never have guessed that her globe-hopping cousin would have settled down in a small town. After taking another sneak peek at Reid she slipped the forgotten spoonful of soup into her mouth. While eating her lunch, she listened to her cousin chatter away about Cricket Creek, but snuck glances at Reid when Mia wasn’t