Chapter Tweleve
200 Words
Grayhaven noticed everything.
Especially romance.
Especially impossible romance.
By noon, Piper walked into the inn carrying coffee and a grin sharp enough to cause injury.
“So,” she said brightly, “you and Rowan finally stopped pretending.”
Elena nearly choked.
“How does everyone already know?”
“Small town. Thin walls. Theo has a functioning mouth.”
Traitor.
Piper leaned against the counter.
“For the record, the entire town has been waiting for this since high school.”
“That’s horrifying.”
“It’s adorable.”
Elena groaned.
Later that afternoon, Rowan arrived carrying lumber for the porch repairs.
An older fisherman walking past tipped his hat.
“About time,” he called.
Rowan sighed deeply.
Elena burst into helpless laughter.
“You’re enjoying this too much,” Rowan muttered.
“You look emotionally cornered.”
“I am emotionally cornered.”
But despite the embarrassment, Elena noticed something else.
Rowan smiled more now.
Not the restrained almost-smiles she remembered.
Real ones.
The kind that reached his eyes.
And every single one of them made her fall a little harder. Harder than she thought was even possible. Love that she didnt think she would ever have.
- Writer
