Free Truce or Dare (Sweet Fortuity Book 1) by Rica Grayson

would’ve been a conversation I didn’t really want to have.
    The bell jingled, signaling a new customer. I looked up and saw Eva, who just entered the shop with her dog, Peaches. She perked up when she saw us both, and beelined towards us. “Sierra! Sherr!” She sat on the other side of me. “Just went to walk Peach.”
    I bent down to pat the golden retriever. She licked my hand. Aw.
    “Is it true?” she turned to me, excitedly. “You’re really staying?”
    I was about to answer when Wes stormed in, carrying an impressive bouquet of roses. He looked like a man who came in with a mission, and he forged on, determined.
    We all watched the scene unfold with fascination, my laptop forgotten.
    He stopped before the woman behind the counter, waiting as she passed a cup of coffee to a customer. She looked around my age, if a little younger. She was curvy, her dark hair dyed in streaks of purple. I liked her already.
    She stood in front of the counter in shock when he presented her with them. She took the bouquet, looking lost, almost as if she didn’t know what to do with it. As if she hadn’t been on the receiving end of it much.
    Then Wes murmured something, his voice gentle and teasing. Warily, she nodded once to what he said. Then Wes said something else, leaning closer. And her expression shifted from a guarded one, to anger.
    Oh boy. Not a good sign.
    Her grip tightened on the bouquet. Then without warning, she whacked him with it, pissed. I winced. The bouquet fell to the ground, red petals scattered over the ground, like droplets of blood.
    Wes stood in shock. Not that I blamed him. I don’t think he got that reaction much, if ever, from women. Recovering, he picked up the now-ruined bouquet.
    Luckily, it was still pretty early, so there was a smaller audience. That was little consolation. Wes stood at the same spot for a while, then looked up, and saw us. Surprise hit him. I waved, and he came over.
    He plopped down on the seat opposite me, dejected, placing the bouquet on the empty seat next to him. We didn't say anything about its pitiful state.
    I've never seen him look like this. I'd seen him around with a lot of women throughout the years, but I had a feeling if only he found the right person, it would end his constant search. Maybe this woman was the real deal. I eyed her inconspicuously as she shot the customer a smile. But there was sadness there, and something else… Like she had dark secrets, the kind that burdened her. A part of me was pleased. She was going to make him work for it. No woman gave him a hard time, not that I blamed them, because of the way he looked. Dark hair, a crooked nose that women seemed to love, and a killer smile.
    I pushed my laptop lid down the whole way. This whole writing thing wasn’t going to work in the café. Besides, I was curious about what that was about.
    With his broad shoulders slumped, he placed both his elbows on the table, with his forehead resting between both his hands. “She won’t talk to me.”
    As if sensing his mood, Peaches went over to sit by his feet.
    "Hey there, Peach,” he said, giving her fur a stroke.
    "What happened?" I asked, curious. He hadn't mentioned anyone recently. And people loved to gossip, so it was a little surprising.
    “Hell, I have no fucking clue,” he growled, his temper barely contained.
    “Talk us through what you did," Eva urged.
    "I met her last week through a mutual friend. I asked her out yesterday.”
    “No," I said dryly, feigning disbelief. "You, the serial dater?"
    He scowled. "Why does everybody say that? It's not like those women didn't know what they were in for."
    "The problem, Wes, is what would make her think she's different from everyone else?" Sierra said.
    He looked thoughtful. "She just is," he said simply, and the admission stunned us all into silence. He let out a deep breath. "I don't know what to do."
    It was kind of adorable, the way he panicked over a woman. When he hadn’t so much as batted