Free Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set by Stacey Joy Netzel Page A

seen since I was a teen too introverted
to socialize.
    I didn’t realize how visible my shyness had
been in high school until after the third person commented on how
much I’d changed. It felt good to accomplish what I’d set
out to do, especially since I felt Josh’s gaze more than once
throughout the evening.
    He was one of the people who’d changed. For
the better, on all counts. I had to keep reminding myself how I’d
felt seeing him against the school lockers lip-locked with Lyssa
when he’d brought me to the dance all those years ago,
otherwise I feared I’d find myself encouraging his attention.
    About an hour after dinner, during which
Josh sat on my right and I did not drop shrimp into my lap,
Dave Bensen’s cell phone chimed from an incoming text message. His
wife chastised him for leaving it on, but when he read the message
and looked at me, I was glad he had.
    “Your front right tire is flat and the
alignment is all out of whack. You want my guy to tow it to M &
M’s?”
    Marty Brunski had opened Marty and the
Mechanics back when my Dad was growing up. He’d passed on and Aaron
Smith ran it now—or at least he had when I was in high school—but
the name would always be M & M’s.
    “I guess that’ll work,” I agreed. “My rental
insurance should cover it and tonight I’ll catch a ride with Jenna
and Doug.”
    I was staying with them anyway, so I didn’t
expect a problem. Dave punched in a quick message on his phone as I
glanced around the bar area and added silently, if I can find
them . It’d just occurred to me that Jenna and Doug had
disappeared shortly after dinner and I hadn’t seen them since.
    It was closing in on ten p.m. when I finally
received Jenna’s reply to my text message: Where the heck are
you guys?
    Jenna: Sorry! Doug kidnapped me 2
take advantage of the kidless evening. Were gonna come back after,
but…
    Their twin daughters were at Doug’s parent’s
house and since I knew they didn’t get many nights to themselves, I
replied: Yeah, I really want to stay there now.
    Jenna (after a ten minute wait): Oh, plz.
Come over whenever u r ready. Front door unlocked, guest room made
up. BTW, still hvn fun?
    Me: Yeah, but getting tired after the
flight and drive. And I have no ride home! I didn’t text that,
though I did try to remember if Silver Falls offered a cab service.
I didn’t want to ruin Jenna’s impromptu honeymoon re-run with my
car troubles.
    Jenna (after another couple minutes): Josh still eyeing you like chocolate cake after Lent?
    Heat crept into my face. A quick glance
around the bar confirmed no one paid me any attention as I slid off
my stool and headed for the end of the bar, all the while texting
like mad.
    Me: Talk about oh, pluuease.
    Jenna: Seriously, he’s
interested.
    I hesitated a moment, located him across the
room talking to Dave, Randy Knutson, and Randy’s new fiancé Beth,
then sent: Is that such a bad thing? After the undeniable
attraction I’d felt for him at his house and throughout dinner, I
was truly looking for guidance with that question.
    Jenna: Yes!
    Me: Remind me why?
    A full minute passed before my phone dinged.
It suddenly dawned on me I didn’t want to imagine what was going on
in between my cousin’s texts.
    Jenna: Um…he left u high and dry and
never spoke 2 u again?
    Me: There is that. And yet…
    Jenna: Stay away from Josh
Nelsen!
    A chin propped on my shoulder and delicious
masculine cologne hit my nostrils a second before a deep voice
rumbled in my ear. “Why the frown face?”
    I jumped and fumbled my phone. Josh’s quick
grab saved it from the floor. He handed it back, but not before I
saw him glance at the lit screen. If he actually read Jenna’s last
message I couldn’t tell, because his half-teasing, half-concerned
expression didn’t change. Hoping he hadn’t read the text, I
answered his question with the next best thing to the truth.
    “Jenna and Doug snuck home for…well, I’m
sure you can guess…but I