He isn’t as he appears. I know a professional when I see one. I’m not sure why he’s settled here in Snow Hills. I do know that his interest since he hit town is Liza. Her family is clean cut. I’m not sure why a professional would be here for them, unless he too has come to Snow Hills to lay low.
What are the odds of two men that come from the same type of world pick a small town like this one? I don’t believe in coincidences.
I picked the town because it was one of a handful of memories I can recall of my birth parents. They’d brought me here as a child. I remember laughing and having fun with them. We’d come for a long weekend, I believe. I was so young at the time that the memory is hazy, but when I got out of my line of work, knowing if I didn’t I’d end up dead sooner rather than later, this town had popped into my mind.
I’m not sure what Crane is up to, but I’m sure in time I’ll figure it out. I haven’t done too much poking around about him. The last thing I want to do is to alert him to me, but I suppose he and I will likely come face to face tonight at some point. He’s here for the very same reason I am: to get our girls, Liza and Eve. My Eve and Liza thought it would be cute to have a bachelorette auction at the annual holiday party to raise money for a charity. An idea that had been Eve’s.
I grit my teeth thinking back to the town hall meeting when she’d shouted the idea across the room. I might not attend the town hall meetings usually, but you bet your ass I see them all. I don’t miss an opportunity to see Eve.
It would be over everyone else’s dead body before I let another man win her for a date.
I don’t think Eve has any idea what she’s gotten herself into, but she’ll be finding out soon enough.
This year I’ll be treating myself to something special. Eve.
2
Eve
What the hell have I gotten myself into? I tried to pull a fast one on my best friend and ended up getting myself roped into this. The auction sounded like a wonderful idea when I shouted it across the town hall meeting. The second I’d seen the way Crane had been staring at my best friend Liza and the way she was blushing up a storm over it, I knew there was a spark there. I thought I’d have to nudge my friend along, but I was wrong. The two of them are already a thing.
Now I’m stuck being up for auction. I mean, don’t get me wrong, so is she, but she has Crane, who will bid on her and win. No way he’s letting someone else get a chance with Liza even if it’s only for a few hours of a date. Who am I going to get stuck with? Next time, I’ll learn to keep my mouth shut. I don’t even have someone in this town that I’m kind of interested in.
Lie.
Okay, maybe there is someone but he doesn’t count. He doesn’t know I’m alive and can barely be considered a resident of Snow Hills. Marco Marone. The man is every girl's wet dream come to life. Including that wicked scar that cuts through his eyebrow, which only makes him more mysterious and sexy.
I’ve crossed paths with him a few times. He never speaks, and when he does, it’s more of a grunted yes or no response to someone’s question. That’s if a person works up the nerve to ask him one. Again, that only adds to the whole mysterious thing he’s got going on.
Not gonna lie, I have tried to get his attention before when I’ve crossed his path at the grocery store. I thought once I’d caught his eye, but the man stared right through me. I don’t know why it bugged me so much. Why do I care? The man is almost twice my age. I’d know because working for the mayor, I have access to all of the town records. Since he bought a house here on a giant piece of land, I had some information on him but not much.
“You okay?” Liza nudges me with her elbow. She’s stunning tonight.
I still can’t believe I talked her into that dress. She and Crane might be a thing, but another nudge and the two of them are going to be done for. This dress is that final kick in my little plan. Liza still has a small fear in the back of her mind that Crane is only all over her because she picked up a creepy stalker, but I know Crane is all over her because he wants to be. Stalker or not.