Burned by Nikki Duncan

would appear to be the high-maintenance one, while Aimee, with her preference for jeans and T-shirts, struck people as the low-maintenance one. They made the perfect case for not judging books by the cover.
    Carmen’s big dream was to find a funny man to settle down with. She wanted laughter in her life. Aimee worked hard, and Hauk had said more than once in the month she’d been at the pub, how good she was, but she preferred to find the neatly cobbled path to an easy life.
    “How is it the single men in this town are, in fact, single?” Carmen asked.
    “They’re resistant. Or maybe it’s that they only fall in love once.” She thought about her friends who’d recently gotten married and smiled.
    Aimee dropped into the styling chair Carmen used. “You mean ever?”
    “It seems so. Take Brody.”
    “The sheriff?”
    “Yeah. He fell in love with Andie when we were in school. Even when she left town, he never gave up on her.”
    “Really?”
    “It was quite romantic to watch.” Vic grinned, remembering the schemes the grandfathers had pulled to get their grandkids married off. It had been so easy for them. “Trent and Katie were the same way. Resistant to what they couldn’t avoid.”
    “Are all the men like that?” Carmen’s voice sounded dreamy as she clearly imagined herself on the receiving end of such devotion.
    “Eh. Sometimes it’s the woman who knows and refuses to back down.”
    “Like Dr. Dani?” Carmen pulled Aimee’s hair from its ponytail and brushed it out. “I love her story.”
    Aimee laughed. “I love her husband.”
    “She was determined to catch his eye.” So much so she hadn’t allowed pride to hold her back. “They’re going to be fun to watch grow old together.”
    “You think it will last that long?”
    Vic walked to the window and looked out on Main Street. With its cobbled streets and the changing colors of fall, people bustling around to prepare for the coming festival, and tourists milling in and out of the shops and stuffing their faces with local foods, there was a mood about the place. “There is magic in this town. I absolutely believe they’ll last that long. We have our rough spots and dark times… There is always a bright side, though. And someone to support us.”
    She and Hauk had both known the sadness of loss and they’d always supported each other as much as the town gathered behind them. They’d shared almost everything the successfully married couples had. The only thing missing was a deeper love and an open commitment. Hell, any commitment.
    “Are we still talking about the same thing?” Carmen teased.
    “Lasting love.” Vic turned away from the window and watched Carmen weave her sister’s hair into an intricate braid. “No matter who we are, there is love in this town and we’re never alone.”
    Though she couldn’t help feeling lonely without seeing Hauk every day. It was something she was going to change. This evening. She’d promised to help plan the musical entertainment for the festival and she wasn’t going to let Byron down. Neither was she going to miss the lesson she’d learned from Dani.
    Sometimes a woman had to take drastic measures to catch a man’s eye. She wasn’t going to miss the chance to spend more one-on-one time with Hauk.

Chapter Five
    “How are you and Vic comin’?” Byron asked as he slid onto a stool as the setting sun shot through the open pub wall.
    “Excuse me?” Hauk whipped his head around, wondering how the old man could possibly know what had happened between them.
    Another nodule of tension formed in his neck, pressing on the nerves in his spine. Every time he’d thought of her, of what they’d done, of how he wanted to do it again, even though he shouldn’t, his tension grew.
    “With the music.” Byron shot him a funny look and motioned for a tumbler of rum. “You come up with any singers yet?”
    “Oh. We’re working on it.” Hauk passed Byron the tumbler and then popped the top on a