Julian had been hosting half of the town, who now knew his life story two or three times over, for a couple of hours now. So when a knock at his door happened, he was petrified it was more women. When he saw just which woman it was though, that terror evaporated to be replaced by relief.

  While he had yet to admit it to himself yet, the young woman he met by accident had been heavy on his mind most of the afternoon and now here she stood on his doorstep, holding a delicious looking pie. “Ms. Pearce.” His grin widened when her cheekbones dusted over in a soft shade of pink. She was a gorgeous woman! Ushering her and her friend in, he retrieved the pie and controlled himself from licking off the little peak of meringue dead center. He loved pie.

  “Mr. Hollis.” Marit smiled, that little flush he had been intrigued with just now was in full bloom. His crystal blue eyes flicked to the side, his smile shifting for the brunette who looked ready to burst. “Hi there. I’m Julian Hollis.”

  “Andrea Pearce. I’m Marit’s cousin.” Andrea introduced quickly, noting the subtle change in his demeanor that became more formal with her whereas his interaction with Marit had been friendly. Oh my god!!!

  Marit could practically hear Andrea’s inner dialogue but ignored it for the time being and motioned to the busy house. “I see you’ve met…”

  “Everyone.” Julian finished for her, that deep rumbling chuckle of his washing over Marit’s senses and setting her face on fire. “Yeah, I did.” Holding the pie in one hand and putting the other on Marit’s lower back he motioned Andrea to take the lead. “Let’s head on into the kitchen. Can I offer you some supper?”

  “Oh we were…”

  “Yes!” Andrea cut in, “That’ll be wonderful.” Without another word, the brunette turned and sauntered her way into the living room where the gaggle of women were hard at work cataloguing the entire contents of the house. Ten minutes later and the house was deserted.

  Julian watched in amazement at Andrea’s effective clearing of his house. “Wow. Now that is skill.” He whispered into Marit’s ear so that the gaggle of women wouldn’t hear.

  Marit jumped slightly at the proximity and turned to gaze up at the man beside her. “You have no idea.”

  That handsome smile that made her weak at the knees came out of hiding for only a split second before Julian turned to put the pie on the counter.

  Much like all the farm houses were built in Terrace Creek and the rest of the surrounding towns in the county, the kitchen was a massive square with countertops spanning the circumference and a solid wooden table in the center. Most of the downstairs was taken up by the living room in the front, while the stairs were at the end of the hallway toward the back of the house beside the kitchen. Most rooms were upstairs, with usually one being downstairs. That was often times the master.

  Marit had the master at her house and it was her own little oasis away from the world. She was a bit envious that Julian had this whole farm house to himself. “So, you said you got moved in?”

  “Well, some of my stuff.” Julian motioned to the surroundings and sighed. “A lot of this stuff is old and outdated. I’ll keep and refinish what I can, but the rest I’ll sell. That and everything that I’ll never use.”

  There would be a lot he would never use. Marit could already tell. “We have a county wide garage sale going on in a few weeks. I can have my cousin Trinity get you put on the list.”

  “That’d be great.” The smile was back, and Marit couldn’t help but mirror it. The man certainly had an infectious personality. She had expected him to be very stuck up, but he was amazingly down to earth. “I don’t suppose you know any guys who can help me move things out to the lawn.”

  Marit smirked and took the plates Julian handed her to set the table. “I know plenty of people.”

  “Then you must be the girl to know.” He winked, setting a random assortment of food out on the table.

  “So they say.” The woman mused with a hint of irritation. Julian noticed it almost immediately but couldn’t ask about it because Andrea had made her way back into the kitchen like she owned the place.

  “So….” Marit knew that tone. She all but pinned the woman down with a glare that told her she had better not do what the two of them knew she was planning. So much for the glare. “I’m going to step out. Need to go get packed up and make a few calls. I’ll be at your place around 7 cuz.” Before Marit could even stop the overly energetic female, the girl was gone and Marit was alone with Julian.

  Wait… how was she going to get back? Not that she couldn’t walk, but Andrea didn’t walk when she didn’t have to. “Daddy’s out front. Love you bye!” And then she disappeared without a trace save for the sound of her heels clacking over the wooden porch beyond the door.

  Great. Now what?

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  **

  Julian could tell that Marit was nervous to be alone with him, which was new considering most women threw themselves at him, but he was aware enough to try to ease her discomfort. He also didn’t want her to leave. It was nice to have a conversation with someone other than about makeup, hair, nails and an agent.

  “What would you like to drink?” Julian asked, stepping to the refrigerator where nearly all of the contents spilled out at him. Catching one of the old dishes, he got ahold of another, but not the third which was quickly careening for the floor.

  Marit was quicker than gravity somehow and caught the milk glass casserole dish with ease. “Let me repack that fridge.” She offered, the shyness in her gone now that she had a task. Julian could work with that.

  “Thanks. I’m not exactly a housekeeper.”

  “I can tell. I guess you had servants?” Marit asked, nudging him out of the way with her full curves before setting to her task. Thankfully Marit wasn’t facing him otherwise she would undoubtedly be pissed to see him checking her out like she was on the dinner menu.

  “No. But I did have a cook and a housekeeper.” He murmured, transfixed by the way her legs lengthened when she stretched to gather things on the top shelf. She wasn’t the average woman he went after, but then in Vegas with the circles he followed, women didn’t look like Marit.

  They were overly thin, fake breasts and more nips and tucks than the tabloids could keep up with. Marit wasn’t. She was tall, round and well built. There was some extra to her, and he liked it. This was a woman he could enjoy the company of and if she would let him, he would satisfactorily wrap himself in her every night before falling to sleep.

  Damn dude, get yourself together. She’s not one of the girls back home. You are not getting laid. She deserves more respect than that. Julian was disappointed in his wayward thinking. After all, he was here to turn over a new leaf, not hop into bed with the first woman who caught his eye.

  “You ok?” Marit was staring at him in concern, the fridge closed behind her.

  Shaking out of his thoughts, the dark haired man nodded, running a hand through his hair as he stepped away from the table and gathered the glasses. Marit already has a pitcher of tea in her hand. “This must be Mrs. Madison’s.”

  “It is.”

  “This woman makes the best tea. When we have our summer fair she’s always got a booth selling tea and lemonade.” Marit’s eyes were bright with memories as she remembered back to the fair that they had just had. One of their best with a few solid names on the roster for concerts.

  Settling down the glasses and drawing out a chair for Marit, the woman seemed confused until Julian motioned for her to sit. “Umm.. thank you.” Her features were pleased despite being heavily disturbed at the same time.

  “What? Your boyfriend doesn’t pull out your chair for you?” Certainly this woman had someone in her life.

  Marit laughed. “No. No boy does this anymore. Just my Uncles.” Sobering up, she corrected Julian’s misinterpretation, with that wry note back in her voice. “And I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  Julian could tell that changing the course of their conversation would be detrimental to keeping the woman with him in a good mood. Whoever had been her boyfriend hadn’t done a good job of it. Which was something that irked the out of towner more than he was willing to admit. Giving Marit a wink he said, “So, what should I eat and what shouldn’t I eat.”

  Effectively distracted, Marit pointed out each dish and its contents and then went over the ones in the fridge that she already knew by heart. “All of it’s good. These women can cook. I would suggest you try it all, and if you don’t like it, lie and say you do when they come to collect their dishes.”

  “What if they make me more?”

  A small smirk covered Marit’s lips as she began to dish up both of their plates with a little bit of everything. “That’s where the hot line comes in.”

  “Hot line?” Like a phone line?”

  Marit nodded. “Yeah. Whenever anyone in the family gets something they don't like but they know someone else likes, we call and pass it on. Like me, I do not like Mrs. Haberds green bean casserole,” She motioned to a dark purple dish, “But I love Mrs. Laurence’s creamed corn.” This time she pointed to a white dish full of creamy, yellow corn. All of it smelled delicious to Julian.

  “But my Uncle Beau loves the green bean casserole. So he and I switch.” She concluded before remembering that Julian had no family here, not anymore.

  Before the realization could settle into the other man’s mind, Marit recovered quickly and quietly murmured, “Since you’re our neighbor, I think we can bring you into the fold.”

  “Yeah? You don’t mind?” Those blue eyes twinkled with curiosity masked by amusement, but deep down the proposition flirted with Julian’s feelings again. He had never been welcomed somewhere without showing or giving something in return.

  Marit’s hazel gaze glanced up, and that sweet honest smile of hers curved her lovely lips. “Of course. A family usually adopts a newcomer around here anyway until they’re settled. We can take you on.” It was hard on families to move into a town so close knit, and while some didn’t appreciate the overly suffocating welcome, those who did stayed and became another staple of the town.

  “Well…” His deep voice rang out with a touch of humbled relief, and in the next moment, Julian reached over and took Marit’s smaller hand in his. Squeezing gently. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Marit murmured before they both fell into their meals and before she knew it, it was a quarter past seven. “Oh shit! I have to go.”

  Jumping up, Julian was on his feet and quickly followed the slightly frantic woman to the door. “I’m really sorry.” She murmured, grabbing her things from beside the front door before turning and offering her hand.

  Julian took it without a second thought and smiled. “It’s no problem. Thanks for everything.”

  “No problem. I can come down tomorrow with my Uncle Langston and the boys.”

  “The boys?” Julian questioned, trying not to sound concerned. Bringing ‘the boys’ somewhere usually didn’t bode well for him.

  “Yeah. My other cousins.”

  Releasing a breath, Julian chuckled and propped himself against the wall, just in front of Marit while she toyed with the handle of the screen door. “How many cousins do you have?”

  Her eyes scoured the ceiling while she made the internal count. “I have three boy cousins and three girls. The boys all hang out together and the girls all hang out together. Most places just call us, the boys and the girls.”

  “But you’re grown?”

  “We’ve been running around together since we were kids.” Her male cousins were all older than her and all married, but they still liked to go out and raise hell. The oldest was 33 and the other two were 32, one born in January and the other in March.

  Marit’s demeanor eased as Julian led her into simple conversation and before she knew it it was nearing 8. “I really should go.” Her smile was a bit sad with the admission.

  Julian felt the same. It had been nice to have company, and more importantly company who wasn’t asking him favors or asking for money. Deciding to help the woman follow her own objective, he moved his broad body closer to hers and held the door open. “Let me walk you to your car.”

  That flush was back, and Julian was positive that it was becoming one of his favorite things about Marit. “Have a nice night.” Shutting her door, he waited until she was down the drive, her long arm sliding out from the rolled down window to wave goodbye.

  He was damned sad to see her go, but he had the distinct feeling he would be seeing more of her. A buzzing in his pocket caught his attention and as he neared the front porch he finally dug the phone out and took notice of the screen.

  Penelope.

  “Nope.” That was the last name, next to his mother’s, that he wanted to see. He was in no way about to entertain his hot mess of a hopefully soon to be ex-wife. Firing off a text to his friend and lawyer, he shut his phone off for the night and headed back into his house.

  His very quiet house.