Page 24 of Prime Time Romance

My eyes follow hers to the sidewalk across the street, where there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly notable going on.

“Huh?” Her eyes focus back on mine, as if she didn’t hear my question.

“What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. Why?”

“You just stopped talking in the middle of a sentence.”

“Oh.” Brynn blinks. “Uh, right. I was thinking we should probably split up.”

“What are you talking about? You literally just said that we would stick together.”

She opens her door and steps out onto the sidewalk, and I scramble after her, once again utterly confused.

“I, uh…meant it metaphorically. But yeah, we should definitely split up. That way, we can cover more ground. It will be easier to find Sheldon this way. You can go back to the Bronze—that’s the name of the bar where I’m pretty sure you woke up. And I will cover”—she gestures to the area across the street—“over there. And then we can meet up in a little bit and share what we’ve found out.”

Something’s up. My spidey senses are overloaded, seeing as this whole day has been weird, but I’d be an idiot not to notice that there’s something she isn’t telling me. Not to mention the fact that I have no desire to set foot in the place where I woke up this morning. What did she call it again? The Bronze?

“Yeah, I’m not going back to that bar.”

Brynn throws up her arms. “Why? It’s just a bar. If anything, it should feel like home to you.”

It does. That’s exactly the problem.

“Can’t I just come with you?”

Brynn glances across the street again. “I really think it’s better if I go off alone. Just for a little while. Sloan’s the town sweetheart. It might throw them off to see her with your whole…” She makes an erratic gesture at my body as she starts to inch backward.

I shake my head. “But what if I run into someone? I don’t know anything about this place.”

She folds her arms across her chest. “How about I give you a crash course?”

She pulls me over to one of the benches under a giant maple tree. “I obviously can’t catch you up on all five seasons, but the good news is that you’re Fletcher Scott. You’re broody and aloof, so if you don’t recognize someone, you can make a smart-ass comment and no one will notice, but you do need to know your friends. First up is Sloan Edwards. She’s Carson’s Cove’s sweetheart. Practically perfect in every way. She was orphaned at sixteen and then emancipated. A virgin…although it’s been fifteen years, so who knows.” Brynn shrugs. “Up next is Spencer Woods. Dreamboat. Golden retriever energy. Lives next door to Sloan. They’ve been BFFs since primary school.”

This guy I do remember from last night. “He’s the one with the hair, right?”

Brynn doesn’t try to hide her smile. “Blond and beautiful. You’re catching on.”

“Yup. I think I got it.”

Brynn holds up her hand. “We’re not quite done yet. There’s also Poppy Bensen. Sloan’s other best friend. Fiery redhead. Her hair matches her personality. You’ll understand what I mean when you meet her. Poppy’s queen of everything. Cheer captain. Class president. Four-time Ms. Lobsterfest winner.”

“Impressive,” I say. “And not cliché at all.”

Brynn gives me a flat look. “Then you’re going to love this. Poppy has a nemesis: Luce Cho. Certified mean girl. If someone is in Poppy’s way, it’s usually Luce.”

I think I got it. “So, Spencer, Sloan, Poppy, and Luce. Is that it?”

Brynn nods. “Only one you’re missing is Fletcher Scott.”

“That’s me?”

Brynn smiles. “America’s favorite bad boy. Beloved by fans, not so much by the citizens of the Cove. Fletch is the town’s black sheep. He works part-time at his aunt Sherry’s bar, the Bronze. It’s a bit of a dive. Not really that busy from what I can remember.”

A pit forms in my stomach. All of this is hitting a little too close to home.

“Don’t worry.” Brynn reaches up and squeezes my shoulder. “You are going to be fine. No one really expects too much from Fletch.”