Happily married to her college sweetheart, Poppy lived a blessed life with the husband of her dreams. Then everything changed. She is no longer a wife. She is no longer the envy of her single friends. Now, people look at her with pity as they whisper a single word behind her back.
Widow.
Years after her husband’s tragic death, years of pain and sorrow and wishing for the life she’ll never get back, Poppy decides to finish Jamie’s birthday list. She’ll do the things he wanted to most. Because maybe, just maybe, if she can complete his list, she can start to live again.
Poppy expects going through the birthday list will be hard. She expects it to hurt. But what she doesn’t expect is Cole. Could the man who delivered the news of her husband’s death and shattered her heart be the one to help her put it back together again?
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Turning to the door, I smiled, ready to greet my late-evening customer, but faltered as the door closed behind him.
Cole Goodman was walking my way.
My belly dipped as I took him in. His aviator sunglasses were perched on top of his chocolate-brown hair. A black polo stretched across his broad shoulders and pulled tight across his muscled arms. His pale-blue jeans molded to his Herculean thighs before draping down to his black, square-toed boots. The leather belt on Cole’s trim waist held both a shining badge and a holstered gun.
Cole smiled and locked his light-green eyes on mine as he crossed the room.
His straight, white teeth made my breath hitch—something that had happened last night more times than I wanted to admit.
Molly, who had turned around from her seat to greet our customer, spun around so her back was to Cole. Her cheeks flushed as she whispered, “Wow.”
Wow was right.
Cole Goodman was—simply put—gorgeous.
He could give a woman a speeding ticket and get a thank-you in return. He inspired women to attempt push-ups in a karate class just for the chance to watch him sweat through his gi. Cole made grown women blush like teenagers and giggle in corners, like those girls at the dojo last night.
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Devney is the USA Today bestselling author of the Jamison Valley series. She lives in Montana with her husband and two children. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her kids. She loves reading and, after consuming hundreds of books, decided to share her own stories. Devney loves hearing from readers! Connect with her on social media.
The front door immediately opened, and four girls trickled out. I tried like hell to get a better look at them all.
“Stay here,” Jeff ordered us.
Once the door shut, Josh let out a laugh. “Is it just me, or does Jeff seem like he’s lost his damn mind?”
“Not just you,” Brad stated.
I watched as one of the girls moved closer to Jeff. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head, and her back was toward us.
“I can’t get a good look at her, damn it,” I whispered.
“Me either,” Brad stated.
Josh practically crawled into the front seat. “Do you think that’s the sister?”
“Maybe.”
Another girl walked up and got between Jeff and the girl who might be Ellie. It looked like she had brown hair as well. She looked pretty from what I could tell.
“Shoot me right now. That girl has a fucking hot body,” Josh said.
“You better hope that is a friend of the sister’s and not Ellie herself,” I said with a laugh. “But you’re right. She does have a nice body. So does the one with her back to us.”
I knew that was Ellie. I couldn’t explain how I knew; I simply did. My chest was pounding with the idea of her walking up to the truck and Jeff finally introducing her to us.
“Yeah, so does the blonde,” Brad added. “Can’t really see the other one; Jeff’s blocking her.”
“She has red hair, and trust me, she’s rocking a hot body as well and is pretty as fuck,” Josh stated as he leaned farther up into the front seat. “Why do I feel like I’ve seen her before?”
“Dude, why don’t you just fucking crawl up here already?” I snapped.
“Why didn’t girls look like this when we were in high school?” Brad asked with a sigh.
All three of us laughed as a porch light turned on, lighting it up for us to get a good look at all the girls.
The girl who had her back to us, who I was guessing was Ellie, turned and looked at the truck.
She was beautiful. My heart felt like it dropped to my stomach.
Josh gasped. The fucker actually gasped. “Holy. Shit. No wonder the bastard has been keeping her away from us. She is hot as hell.”
“That she is,” Brad agreed.
My eyes strained to take her all in. I could see her, could tell she was absolutely stunning, but I needed to see her better. Study her face so I could remember it.
Jeff pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead. They took a few steps closer to the truck, and Jeff pointed. He leaned down and said something to her, making her look directly back at the truck again and smile.
My breath caught in my throat. She was stunning. I wondered what she looked like with the sun shining down on that pretty face of hers.
Ellie lifted her hand and waved toward us.
“I’m getting out!” Josh said, trying to scramble into the driver’s seat. I stopped him and pushed his ass back, forcing him to land next to Brad, who was laughing his head off.
I pointed to Josh. “Dude, he told us not to get out. Unless you want to get your ass beat, I suggest you stay in the truck.”
Crossing his arms, Josh looked away.
“Are you pouting?” Brad asked. “You’re freaking pouting. You pansy-ass!”
I couldn’t help but smile before turning back around and looking at Jeff and Ellie. As they moved a bit closer, Jeff stopped and turned to his sister. Her gaze went back to the truck, and it felt like I was having a déjà vu. A chill ran up and down my spine, and I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d seen Ellie somewhere else.
