Tangled Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #2) by Robyn Neeley Page A

each other. “I guess I’ll see you around.” She turned to walk up her pathway.
    “Hey, Abby.”
    “Yes.” She spun around and pulled her hair to the side. Did he not want their date to end either?
    “Why don’t we make a pact to go after what we really want both professionally and personally? Starting tomorrow. No excuses.”
    Go after what she wanted. She thought earlier this week that was exactly what she was doing when she cast Brandon out of her life, but now that he was standing here smiling at her, what she wanted wasn’t so clear.
    “Do we have a deal?” he asked.
    She matched his smile with a genuine one of her own. “Deal.”

Chapter 6
    B randon rounded the corner , settling into his pace. It’d been a couple days since he’d managed to find time for a decent run, so he elected to take a path that led him along the lake.
    He’d gotten a late start this morning, which probably had something to do with going to bed well after 2 a.m. every night since Friday. During his walk back home from Abby’s, the ideas swarmed in his head. Maybe it had to do with all the talking they did about his book, or perhaps it was the wine. All he knew was his muse was back and ready to write.
    He’d raced home, powered on his laptop with a fresh cup of coffee nearby, and attacked his manuscript. Four hours later, he drifted off to sleep. Saturday and Sunday were more of the same—writing until the late hours.
    Picking up his stride, he flew past Abby’s cottage. What a fun night they’d had. Not what he’d expected when he agreed to the Sugar & Spice date. When he first found out that he’d be forking over one thousand dollars to spend the evening with Abby Stevens, he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit of disappointment. There had to have been over a dozen women he’d rather bring back to his place instead of Emma’s cousin.
    Not that Abby wasn’t gorgeous because with her long red hair and blue eyes, she was a knockout. He’d just never thought of her in that way. Maybe he should. He slowed his pace, eager to stop and do a little stretching.
    “Jason would kick my ass if I started messing around with her,” he said. Somehow saying the words out loud made it clear that trying to get together with Abby wasn’t a good idea. Besides, his assignment started soon. Tina had called earlier with instructions for his first date. He’d be meeting up with a woman named Rachel later tonight for a drink.
    She’d mentioned that they might also be breaking a record but didn’t give any details.
    Brandon reached the lake’s edge and jogged in place while taking a second to decide if he’d go around to the other side or maybe take a different direction that would lead him through town.
    “Hey, Brandon.”
    Brandon turned to see Adam Reed wave from a deck below. “Hey.” He headed over to Adam who was standing on a porch of an enormous three-story gray house with cream-colored shutters.
    How had he missed this house before? It had to be the largest one on the lake.
    “Did you enjoy your Sugar and Spice night with Abby?”
    “Both the company and dessert were worth every penny.” Brandon joined him on the deck to catch up. He liked that about living in Buttermilk Falls. Everyone knew everyone. He hadn’t lived here long enough for that to be a bad thing.
    Adam loosened his tool belt. “It’s probably a good thing I didn’t win. Abby’s brother, Josh, has had a strict “no dating my sister” policy ever since we were in high school.”
    Brandon glanced around the wraparound deck, his gaze resting on the house. “Is this your place?”
    “No. It’s been empty for years, but we thought we had a buyer last spring. The town contracted my dad’s company to redo the first and second floors, add on a new deck, and maintain the grounds.” He pointed to his tool belt. “I noticed a plank was loose. Probably some kids hanging out where they shouldn’t.”
    Brandon’s gaze lifted to the boarded up third-story