Sophie Oak: Lost in Bliss

“It’s a bit more than that,” Rafe said.

“This isn’t some reunion, Laura. This is serious.” This wasn’t how he’d expected this to go. Cam didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t sitting in some tea room meeting all of Laura’s new small-town friends. It sure as fuck hadn’t included meeting her fiancé. Now she was treating them like they’d just breezed into town for a little chat and they would breeze right out. She was going to be terribly disappointed.

“How serious?” Holly asked.

The dark-haired woman next to her was gesturing wildly. Both Holly and Laura watched her.

“No, Nell, a serial killer isn’t coming to Bliss,” Laura said with a long sigh.

Holly shrugged. “Sorry, she’s taken a vow of silence, and I think you know why, future Mrs. Wolf Meyer.”

“You two are totally invited to our wedding,” Wolf offered.

“What’s this about a serial killer coming to town?” Teeny asked as she set down the tea. “Did they hear about the T-shirts? I don’t care how big that Zane Hollister is, if we attract serial killers because of his smart mouth, I can put him over my knee. Has anyone told the sheriff yet?”

“No one needs to tell the sheriff,” Laura said.

Rafe held a hand up. “Actually, we probably do need to liaise with the sheriff. Does anyone know where he is? There’s a sign on the door that claims he’s out fishing.”

The brunette brought her foot down. Despite the elegant dress she wore, there was a pair of hippie-dippy sandals on her feet. She gestured around the room, her arms flying about and a wild look in her eyes.

“Sorry, she wants you to understand that she believes that the Rio Grande is overfished in this part of the world,” Holly explained.

The brunette’s arms went wide.

“In every part of the world,” Holly corrected. She shrugged as though in apology. “Well, every part that the Rio Grande is in. Nell doesn’t appreciate the sheriff’s frequent fishing trips. Even though most of the time he catches and releases.” That didn’t seem to satisfy Nell. She put her forefinger in her mouth like a hook and flapped her body around.

“No, Nell,” Laura said. “I wouldn’t like it either. It would definitely cause some psychological damage. You should talk to Nate about it, when you’re back to talking.”

“Okay,” Cam said, knowing it was a bad idea to ask the question, but he was so damn curious. Everything about this small town was starting to intrigue him. It was nothing like the tiny town he’d been born in. “Why won’t Nell talk? Have we offended her in some way?”

It wouldn’t be the first time Cam had offended someone, though usually the offended party yelled at him rather than refusing to speak.

Nell chose to start dancing.

Laura’s eyes lit up. It was so different from the tight expression that had owned her face since the moment he’d laid eyes on her again.

Laura smiled, a light creasing of her lips that softened her whole face.

Her shoulders relaxed, and she just watched Nell with great affection.

She turned her head slightly as she spoke with a wry tongue. “She’s taken a vow of silence, but she can communicate through interpretive dance.”

“Seriously?” Cam asked.

“Oh, Nell is always serious about interpretive dance,” Holly explained.

“She says she can’t talk in a world filled with lies,” Laura said as Nell twirled around the room. “So many lies when only the truth should be spoken. She says that lies never work and only get people in trouble. She’s very judgmental.”

Nell stopped and stared.

Laura shrugged. “It’s called interpretive dance for a reason. I’m interpreting judgment.”

“She’s got you there, Nell.” Holly nodded along with her friend.

Nell stuck her tongue out, turned, and walked away.

“And that’s my cue to change,” Holly said with a wave.

“I’ll come with you,” Laura said, moving forward.

“Hey, bella , we aren’t done here.” Rafe had his hands on his hips, a sure sign that he didn’t like the way things were going.

“Don’t call me that.” The words came out quickly, and Laura’s mouth closed as if she wished she could call them back. She smoothed the peach-colored dress over her curves. “I need to change.

Then we can all go back to my place where we can discuss this in a private setting. But you two need to put on those T-shirts or a very nice man is going to get tranquilized by the town doctor.”

She turned on her heels, those superhot fuck-me shoes she’d always worn, and left as though her words made a lick of sense.

“So, gentlemen, what should we talk about while we wait for my bride-to-be?” Wolf grinned as he sat back in his chair.

“You better behave,” Teeny said, shaking her head as she walked off.

Cam was left with a T-shirt and a bunch of questions. What was happening with Laura? Why was this town filled with crazy people?

But there was one question that burned through his gut—why wasn’t she wearing an engagement ring?

Laura could barely breathe. She stumbled her way into the dressing room after telling Brooke she had an emergency and needed to leave.

“Calm down, sweetie.” Holly’s hands were on her back, tugging the zipper of the tight dress down.

Twenty minutes before, Laura had loved the dress, but now it felt like a cage hemming her in. She pushed the spaghetti straps off her shoulders and started shoving the dress down her body until she was only in her bra and panties. She let her back find the wall behind her and slouched to the floor.

They were here. Rafe and Cam were here in Bliss.

Nell got on her knees while Holly closed the curtains. God, she’d gotten naked in the middle of the Trading Post. Not that anyone would care. Well, Nate might write her a ticket for public nudity.

Public nudity tickets had paid for the new park, but otherwise no one would give a crap.

Nell’s big brown eyes stared down at her. “Are they the reason you came to Bliss?”

Holly sat down beside Laura, leaning her head on Laura’s shoulder while Nell stroked her hair. They were so affectionate. It had taken Laura awhile to get used to how Holly and Nell hugged her and held her hand. Now she couldn’t imagine life without it.

“I thought you weren’t talking to me.” Laura hadn’t been surprised by Nell’s sudden vow of silence. She’d known the instant Teeny had left the room that she would go straight to Holly and Nell to tell them the news of Laura’s “engagement.” And she’d known Nell would disapprove. Nell was a woman who would rather say nothing than allow a lie to pass her lips. But she would dance to show her feelings.

“I thought it best to be silent around the people you’re lying to,” Nell admitted. “I’m not very good at lying.”

“Unless you actually fell madly in love with Wolf in the twenty minutes we were gone,” Holly added.

Laura sniffled. It was hard to be strong around Holly and Nell.

She didn’t have to. They didn’t care if she cried. They didn’t give a crap if she wasn’t professional and tough. They loved her. “Nope. But he did come in handy.”

“So these agents are assholes.” Holly squeezed her hand. “What are we going to do to them? There’s only one reason Laura would announce her engagement to a man she’d just told she wasn’t that into. One of those men broke her heart, and she couldn’t stand the thought of him knowing she hasn’t moved on.”

“It has to be the gorgeous man of South American heritage,” Nell said. “He’s very international.”

“He’s half-Cuban, Nell, and he was born in Miami. He speaks very little Spanish.”