Anything but Love by Beth Ciotta Read Free Book Online

to Valentine’s Day,” Helen said. “Doubly depressing.”
    “Have you thought about Ellie Tate?” Judy asked.
    “You know,” Daisy said. “Bert Hawkins’s granddaughter. She recently moved back to town, fresh out of college. Doubt she’s ready for anything serious.”
    “Young. Unfocused. Right up your alley,” Casey said.
    Heart pounding, Luke gawked. Oh, hell, no. This same crew has been trying to match Sam up with a soul mate for weeks. Luke had caught a glimpse of that hell and wanted no part of it. “Can we get back to my status in the club, please?”
    Rocky took pity on him. Sort of. “We’re not kicking you out, Luke. Just…”
    “Don’t make any more cupcakes,” Daisy said.
    “Unless supervised,” Chloe, his ever-kind someday sister-in-law, added.
    “Speaking of Valentine’s Day,” Monica said to Rocky, “your wedding day is around the corner. Are you excited or what?”
    And just like that the conversation turned to wedding plans—gown, flowers, honeymoon. As if that wasn’t bad enough, someone brought up bridesmaids’ dresses, which spurred mention of special fittings for Chloe, who was six-months pregnant, and Monica, who was newly pregnant and eating for three.
    Baby talk
.
    Luke eyed Dev’s expensive wine rack, jonesing for a cheap beer and sports talk. He should have joined a damned bowling league.

FIVE
    “Thanks for picking me up, Sam.”
    “No problem.”
    “You didn’t tell anyone I was coming, right?”
    “You asked me not to. Won’t take long for word to get out though. You know Sugar Creek.”
    Yes, she did. A tight-knit community. The tourist element notwithstanding, everyone knew everyone’s business—mostly. Amazing that she’d maintained her ruse for an entire year. Then again, Rae had worked very hard at being invisible. She was done with that now. Ready to attack life as Reagan Deveraux. She intended to use her semicelebrity status and money to help the Cupcake Lovers and to resurrect Sugar Tots. But that wasn’t the only reason she’d returned to Sugar Creek.
    Rae pulled up the fur-trimmed hood of her down-filled coat, shivering as a gust of frigid air blasted her face. February in Vermont.
    “Colder than Los Angeles,” Sam teased as he relieved the pilot of her baggage.
    “Just a little.” Juggling her purse and a rolling tote, Rae followed Sam across the tarmac to his truck. When she’d flown out of LAX, it had been in the low sixties. When she’d landed in Burlington it had been a brisk twenty-eight degrees. From there she’d rented a plane and pilot to take her to Starlight Field—a small airfield about thirty miles outside of Sugar Creek. It was dark now, after eight, and she’d wager the temperature was closer to twenty with a windchill of less. She didn’t mind the cold or the snow. She only wished she’d arrived during the daylight so she could’ve been welcomed by the beauty of the surrounding mountains.
    “Let me take that.” Sam placed her tote in the backseat of his extended cab along with her two burgeoning suitcases.
    “I’m sorry I made you miss the CL meeting tonight,” Rae said as Sam opened the truck door and helped her climb in.
    “I’m not. I needed a break.” He shut the door and rounded the hood then climbed in, revved the engine, and cranked the heat. He did not, however, shift into gear.
    Rae squirmed in her seat, shoved off her hood, and fastened her seat belt. “You’re staring.”
    “Yeah. Sorry. Your hair.”
    “Really short and really red. I know.”
    “I like it.”
    “Thanks.” She dragged an anxious hand through her cropped do and tried to acclimate to her new relationship with Sam. It had been easier long distance.
    He’d been the only Cupcake Lover to write her back. Then again, she hadn’t included a return address on any of her letters and hadn’t openly invited a reply. It had been her way of putting the past to rest and moving on. Sam had gone out of his way and had finally obtained her PO