Free Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance by Jean Oram

His voice trailed off and he pointed to the ice-cream
truck.
    "Thanks." She gave him a shy smile, feeling
guilty for flirting as a way out of her funk, but relieved that at
least someone still found her appealing. Oz was seriously not good
for the self-esteem these days. She glanced over her shoulder,
worried that maybe Oz had been coming back to spill his thoughts
and had seen her flirting. It seemed like whenever she felt the
sting of rejection with Oz she turned straight to Nash to let his
attention make her feel better.
    There was nobody paying attention other than
Mary Alice who was stuffing blue cotton candy in her yap. Great.
That woman could spread gossip faster than the flu in a whorehouse.
She closed her eyes hoping if word got back to Oz he'd know she was
just being a goof and not seriously after Nash. He was a city boy,
after all, with plans to return there. It was pretty obvious she
was just playing around. Wasn't it?
    Her gaze wandered over Nash who had joined
the ice-cream lineup in his crisp chino shorts, his athletic legs
bearing just the right amount of hair. Despite herself, she had to
agree with Gran: the man had a nice tush. And when was the last
time he had a girlfriend? Judging from the way he threw himself
into his work, it had probably been a long, long time which made
flirting with him all that much more fun.
    And dangerous.
    "Were you just flirting with Nash ?" Katie whispered as
she joined Beth in the grass.
    "What? No." She gave a little start and a
laugh. "I work with Nash. Like I would flirt." She made a
disgruntled sound.
    But oh, yeah. She would flirt. She would
flirt his shirt off and keep on going if she were carefree and
single. Which she wasn't. She scanned the crowds again, hoping to
spot Oz's broad shoulders heading back to her.
    "I happen to work with him, too," Katie
said, "but I don't expose flesh for him."
    "I was checking for sunburn! The UV index is
very high today."
    "Right, Roomie." She flipped Beth's strap
back onto her shoulder.
    Beth blinked back sudden tears. "I heard the
place above the laundromat is available next month."
    "What? Move out?"
    "I know exactly what I've missed every
single second Oz and I have been apart, Katie. But Oz doesn't. If
he hasn't figured that out in three months then I think the message
is pretty clear." The man was shoring up his courage before cutting
the last cord between them.
    ***
    "So, nobody got sunstroke? That must be a
first," Beth said, as she sauntered down Main Street with Nash.
While she knew she shouldn't be hanging out with Nash because of
the rumors they would start, a part of her wanted to prove to the
town, as well as Oz, that she could be friends with a man and not
have anything untoward happen. Besides, Oz was either going to see
them together and decide he really did miss her, or he was going to
see them together and decide he didn't. Either way something would
happen.
    The streets were still busy at four in the
afternoon and every so often they had to dodge clumps of
pedestrians, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the square where the
band had started up, the baseball games were still going, and the
mini carnival was making such a racket it was almost impossible to
speak without shouting—even while tucked under a tree watching
Katie play ball.
    "Nope." Nash tapped his pager. "And I'm off
call now."
    "You're almost like a true member of
Blueberry Springs. Going to a town event. Careful or our warm
country ways will get to you! You'll wake up and find yourself
happily married to a country bumpkin and driving a beat up old
truck." She gave him a teasing shove.
    Nash laughed and slung an arm around Beth's
shoulder, steering her into the ice-cream shop. Beth blushed as a
few people she knew looked the two of them over, their gaze
lingering on Nash's arm.
    He dropped his arm off her shoulder and
opened the fridge by the shop's entrance, saying, "I'm not the
country bumpkin lovin' type. And besides, I'm not going to start
anything