“I don’t want to trick him into wanting me.”
‘Girl, I’m half sure that he does want you.” Stella grinned at me. “There’s no way that he would be popping into your cupcake store that often for nothing.”
“Um, free cupcakes and coffees.” I sighed. “Half the officers come into the store every day.” I made a face. “Free cupcakes can’t be beat.”
“Maybe.” Jules looked thoughtful. “If I’m honest, I have kinda wondered if Jeff likes you. He always seems to be around these days.”
“But if he liked me, would he be manning the kissing booth at the Bachelor Auction?” I made a face. “I don’t want to see him sucking face with half the women in Canyon Beach.”
“Yeah that, would suck, unless …” Jules paused for a few seconds and grinned. “What about if you also did a kissing auction?”
“What?” I frowned. “How can I enter the kissing contest? It’s for the Bachelor Auction.”
“Well, I’ve always thought the Bachelor Auction was quite sexist. What about a Bachelorette Auction?” Jules said.
“People would feel like it was sex trafficking,” Stella said. “Can you imagine the outcry?”
“Well, isn’t an auction in and of itself a bit weird, when you think about slavery and stuff? Selling human beings and all that,” I said thinking about the discussion that had surrounded the auction the previous year.
“I think that it’s a bit weird, overall,” Jules admitted. “But it’s for a good cause, and if we’re going to have one, we might as well have one for women as well.”
“Would you enter?” I asked her pointedly. It was all well and good saying there should be equality in the dating auction block, but who really wanted to put themselves out there like that? I couldn’t think of anything more intimidating.
“Well, maybe if I wasn’t dating Nolan …” Jules sounded unsure.
“We’ll all do it,” Stella said, giving her cousin a look. Her expression was determined now, and she smiled at me. “We advocate for a Bachelorette Auction, and we all enter. Betsy will run the kissing booth. Let’s see how Jeff likes that.”
“I don’t know. That means I have to kiss a lot of randos as well.” I made a face. “Some guys cannot kiss. I remember when I was in college and went out with Slobbery Pete, ugh, he was awful.”
“I remember that.” Jules laughed. “Pity, because he was so cute.”
“Cute doesn’t mean anything in the bedroom.” Abby screwed up her pert little nose. “In fact, I think the better looking they are, the worse in bed.”
“I disagree.” Jules grinned. “Nolan is hot, and he’s amazing in bed.”
“Julia Gilbert!” I shouted at her. “Stop!”
“Look, I’m sure you will want to tell me about banging Jeff when it happens.”
“I’m not banging him anytime soon.” I pouted.
“Ha ha, you never know.” Stella laughed and flung her long dark hair back. “This time next week, you might be riding the baloney pony.”
“Oh, hell no, you didn’t just say baloney pony.” I giggled. “We’ve had too much wine.”
“No such thing,” Jules said. “In fact, I saw another bottle on the countertop. Can I open it?”
“Of course.” I nodded. “So, Stella, please tell me what’s going on with your love life? And yours too, Abby.”
“Nothing.” Stella made a face. “All the guys in Canyon Beach suck.”
“Tell me about it.” Abby groaned. “Sometimes I really think I should move to Los Angeles already and just go for it.”
“Well, you’d have a better shot at becoming a star there,” Stella pointed out. “But there’s no way I’m letting you move. What would I do without you?”
“I think you’d survive.” Abby grinned. “Plus, you could also move with me.”
“Yeah, right.” Stella shook her head. “I couldn’t afford a pot to piss in in LA, let alone my own bookstore.”
“True.” Abby sighed. “But fine, I’m in for the Bachelorette Auction. Maybe I’ll meet someone new.” She paused. “Hopefully, my dick of a boss will give me some time off.”
“Jack still being an asshole?”
“When isn’t he?” Abby rolled her eyes. “He gets on my last nerves.”
“Oh, no, is he horrible?” I asked. Abby’s boss, Jack, had moved to town the previous year and taken over the local veterinarian clinic and the animal shelter. I didn’t know much about him, but I’d seen him around town a few times. He was a handsome man, somewhat older than us in his mid-thirties, and I knew that he wasn’t in town often because he had some other businesses elsewhere. “He’s not in Canyon Beach often, though, is he?”
“Not often.” Abby looked away as if she didn’t want to continue the conversation. Interesting. What was going on there? I was about to ask another question, when the doorbell rang. Stella, Abby, and I all looked at each other in surprise.
“Who’s that?” Jules sauntered into the living room with the new bottle of wine. “Did you invite someone else?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I was going to invite Lily but figured she needed her sleep.”
“Is Lily back?” Jules’s eyes lit up. “I thought she was still in England.”
Lily had been our partner in crime all through high school. She had gone to college and law school and then worked in a law firm for a year in London, but had decided to move back home because she’d missed Canyon Beach.
“Nope, she got back yesterday.” I smiled. “But I’m sure she has jetlag.” The doorbell rang again and I stood up. “I guess I should check who it is.” I stood up and the girls got up behind me.
“So, what’s Lily going to do now?” Jules asked me as we walked to the front door. Whoever was there was now knocking loudly.
“Wow, do you think that’s Jeff come to seduce you?” Stella asked.
“Not sure,” I said to Jules and then looked over at Stella. “And I wish.” I winked at her and we both giggled. I flung open the front door and there standing outside the door with a scowl on his face was my older brother,
