The Rebound by Noelle Adams

Author:Noelle Adams [Adams, Noelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town romance, no strings attached
Publisher: Noelle Adams
Published: 2020-06-25T18:30:00+00:00

THE FOLLOWING DAY, Ken strolled into Anna’s in the morning for breakfast, just like he did every day. There were about six people already eating today, and most of them waved at or greeted him as he entered.

He’d lived in Azalea all his life. He knew about half the people in town well, and the other half he at least recognized to say hi to. It was one of the perks of living in a small town. That and very little traffic.

One of the downsides was that everyone knew your business. It was a miracle that he and Madeline had been able to keep their relationship secret for so long.

“Hey, Sheriff Harley,” the waitress called out to him from across the room. “Your usual?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He glanced around, trying to decide where to sit. He normally sat at the counter so as not to take up one of the booths. But Jacob Worth was sitting near the window with Matthew Jenkins.

Ken like Jacob a lot. Considered him a friend now. And Matthew was Madeline’s brother. He lived in Richmond and worked as an architect, so Ken wasn’t sure what he was doing in town this morning. Madeline certainly hadn’t mentioned it. But it would be rude not to go over and say hello.

He headed over, and Jacob grinned and moved over to make room for him at their table.

After normal greetings, Ken asked Matthew, “What brought you to town?”

Matthew was older than Madeline by a couple of years, so he was probably twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He had the same coloring as his sister, paired with a square-jawed face and an athlete’s body.

“He’s helping me with plans for the downtown buildings,” Jacob said. “I want to get a start at fixing more of them up.”

For a long time, Azalea’s downtown area had gone the way of a lot of other small towns. A lot of empty storefronts and run-down buildings. But Jacob had recently inherited all the buildings on one of the central blocks in town from his grandfather, and he’d been slowly working on renovations and bringing in more businesses.

“Ah. That’s great news.” Ken eyed Matthew discreetly, trying to match him up with Madeline. He had the same serious demeanor as Madeline—a pose that hid sharp intelligence and a lively wit. Madeline was close to her brother. Ken knew they talked and texted regularly. But he doubted she’d told him about her relationship with Ken.

Matthew’s gaze was polite. Friendly enough. But it didn’t appear to be covering any knowledge of Ken’s significance.

Not that Ken was particularly significant to Madeline. He’d just been her sex partner for a month.

It felt like more to Ken. It felt like everything. But it obviously didn’t to her, and he’d been doing pretty good at controlling unrealistic expectations.

“I stopped by your place yesterday evening,” Jacob mentioned after Ken accepted the coffee Brenda brought over for him.

“Oh yeah?” Ken grew still, his heart jumping slightly. He made sure he sounded unconcerned. “Did you need something?”

“No. I was running, saw your house, and just stopped by to say hello.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.