She held up another shirt and looked at the slogan.

Diamond: vampire-free but we still sparkle.

She raised a brow. It felt more lackluster than anything, but she liked the creativity.

“Hi there!” a sweet voice rang out. Lily McCade stood next to her in pink scrubs, with a small basket dangling from her arm.

“Hi,” Whitney said. “How are you?”

“I’m well, thanks. Just getting off work. It’s nice to see you again.”

Whitney had met her briefly when she’d come into the BBQ a few nights before. She and Penny seemed to be BFFs of some kind.

“You settling in all right?” Lily asked. Her sunny hair and rosy cheeks gave off a glow no one else seemed to have. She wasn’t much older than Whitney, yet she was decades beyond her in experience. There was a maturity and patience in Lily that made Whitney feel at ease. It was the same kind of light she’d loved about her sister Kacey.

“Yeah, I was just looking for a T-shirt.”

“Oh, well those look like great choices.” Though her words were nice, her frown made Whitney think twice. Lily shook her head slightly. “I think those are too big for you, though.”

Whitney glanced at the shirt she was holding. It was, in fact, two sizes too big. “I like them a bit bigger.” She usually tied them up to wear during the day, and they could double as nightshirts to wear in the evenings.

She tapped the one in Whitney’s hand. “Well, this green here is a great color. Would look great with your skin tone.”

She glanced at Lily’s basket. It had a toy water gun, Cheetos, and peanut butter in it. Though this little shop on Main wasn’t a grocery store, it had odd knickknacks and a few essentials. They also had a bulk candy bin in the back that Whitney had her eye on. She’d need to stock up on Sour Patch Kids sooner than later. But it was small and quaint and seemed to be a place a lot of people frequented.

“I was just getting a little toy for Alex.” Lily sighed and held up the water gun. “He spends most of his summers in the water, and I assume this year will be no different.”

Whitney nodded. “How old is he?”

A proud smile lit up Lily. “Almost seven. I can’t believe how fast it goes.”

Judging by Lily’s youthful glow, she must have had Alex when she was young. The closer she looked at those big blue eyes, the more she saw not only patience, but sadness, like life had been hard on her a time or two. Whitney recognized that look. It was one worn by a person who had loved and lost.

Whitney couldn’t help but wonder who Lily had lost.

“You have anything planned for Saturday night?” Lily asked, reaching past Whitney to grab a bottle of tequila off the nearby shelf. She might be a mama, but apparently she also knew how to have a good time.

“Just working,” Whitney said. “I think I have the breakfast to lunch shift that day, though.”

“Yeah, Penny mentioned that Rocco would work the late shift so you two could come over.”

Whitney frowned. “Come over?”

“Yes, girls’ night at my place. You have to come. I hope you like margaritas and The Bachelor. Although…” She let out a long huff. “We can’t actually talk about The Bachelor much anymore because Autumn gets really mad. And it has nothing to do with pregnancy hormones. She starts going off on how all the men are jerks and that no one really likes roses anyway. But she’s still lots of fun!”

Whitney remembered Autumn—aka Auto—from last week. “She’s the pregnant supermodel, right?”

Lily laughed. “Yep, that’s her. Only she runs the mechanic shop.”

Whitney nodded. It sounded like fun, a night with girls. She hadn’t done that since…

Kacey was alive.

In fact, she hadn’t really made friends in the entire year she’d been bouncing from place to place.

“I don’t want to intrude,” she said, but Lily just frowned fiercely and put a hand on her hip.

“You aren’t. I invited you because I want you there. So do the other girls.”

Wow, Lily had the mom glare and tight language down. From the tone of her voice, she was bringing Whitney into the fold, and there was no chance to turn down the offer. Like Whitney was family, and that was that. Period.

“Okay.” Whitney caved instantly, unable to deny the bright-eyed, tough chick a thing. She knew how to deliver a command, that was for sure.

“Great!” She smiled, back to being Mary Sunshine. “Just come on over with Penny. It’ll be so fun. I can’t wait!”

“Can I bring anything?” Whitney asked.

Lily glanced at the bottle of tequila. “Just your liver and your gossip voice. Because I’m dying to hear more about Mr. Diamond and how he’s all riled up by you.” Lily winked and headed toward the register.

Whitney watched Lily walk out into the midday sun. God, what had Whitney done to deserve that kind of goodness? Usually she couldn’t wait to get out of town, but the city of Diamond was already working its way into her heart. Heck, at this rate, she might even enjoy her summer.

Construction noises rang loudly. She peered across the street and saw a massive, beautiful, old-looking building with men in hard hats going in and out. But what really caught her eye was a familiar red truck parked out front.

Ryder’s truck.

The sounds of sawing and banging rang out again, and Whitney caught a glimpse of the tall, chiseled man who made her knees wobbly walk from the building to his truck. He was covered in sweat and dust, and a tool belt hung low on his hips. She licked her lips, watching all his muscles bunch as he hopped up into the bed of his truck and looked through some supplies.

Whitney didn’t remember when, exactly, she’d put the shirts back and walked outside. She also didn’t remember when she’d started hovering behind an antique-looking streetlamp. Her eyes just stayed on Ryder, and she lifted to her tiptoes to get a closer view of the sexy contractor bending over. Damn, those jeans molded perfectly to the finest ass she’d ever seen.

It was a work of art.

He glanced up and—shit, shit, shit, caught her staring right at him.

She spun around, but it was too late.

“You know if you stop hiding behind the pole and come closer, you can stare at me even better,” he yelled.

She turned back, and he tossed her a wink. Great. Just great. He’d caught her, and now his ego was likely off the charts.

All she could do was fake nonchalance and strut over. So she did. In her best I totally meant for you to catch me walk. And she tried not to let the heat of embarrassment show on her cheeks.

He hopped down out of his truck just as she reached him.

“Well, hello there,” he said. “Mighty fine day we’re having.”

He wanted to comment about the weather? Fine, she could dish small talk.

“Yep,” she said drily.

“Enjoying the town and all it has to offer?” he asked in a husky tone. He lifted the edge of his T-shirt and wiped his brow, putting on display those impressive abs. Holy God of all things holy, the man was made of pure stone. Tan, lickable stone.

The couple of times she’d been with Ryder, she hadn’t gotten a good look at him, and that was turning into a big fat regret at the moment, because he was not only strong, he was ripped. She was suddenly desperate to touch what she’d finally gotten to see.

“Suppose I could be enjoying it more,” she said.

“Oh?” He let his shirt drop, and she checked the urge to pout. “Well, you let me know if I can help in any way. I’m mighty proud of this town and would be happy to show you whatever you’d like to see.”

She licked her lips for the hundredth time and glanced at his belt. She wanted to see a lot, and only Ryder could help her with that. But the other night raced through her memory. She remembered how horrified he’d looked after taking her against his truck. That recollection alone made her stomach turn to ice.

“I’ll figure it out on my own,” she said and spun to walk away.