Meant to Marry Me: Nashville Country Dreams Part 1 novel Chapter 10

"Is this seat taken?"

Trent looked up to see a beautiful blonde with long, straight hair and a gorgeous smile standing next to him, a full tray in her hands. "Uh, no." She reminded him of Bree--sort of. She wasn't quite as pretty as his friend, but the hair was similar, and she had a nice smile.

"Thanks. It's crowded in here."

Trent looked around the cafeteria. Apparently, he had picked a busy time to swing by for lunch. Normally, he had an accounting class right now, but the professor was sick. "Guess so."

She set her tray down and waved across the way at a brunette who gave her a thumbs up. "You don't mind if my friend sits here, too, do you? All the other tables are really crowded. I'm sorry--it looks like you were trying to read or something."

Dropping his phone into his jacket he assured her it was fine. "I was just on social media."

"Oh. Cool." She sat down. "I'm Heather, by the way."

"Trent. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, I think I've seen you around. Do you live in Dowdy Hall?"

"I do." It was a men's only dorm, so he wondered how she knew that.

"My ex-boyfriend lives there."

"I see. Sorry."

"I'm not." She rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich before she said, "He's an asshole."

"Well, then, I'm not sorry."

She giggled. "Are you seeing anyone, Trent?"

The way she asked was a little more suggestive than he would've expected. "Uh… no." He couldn't help but feel for the phone in his pocket. He had thought a few weeks ago that maybe he would be by now. But he'd tried to call Bree and gotten no answer, and she hadn't ever called him back. He'd sent a text or two as well. It had occurred to him that maybe she'd changed her number since high school, but he wasn't sure who to ask about that, and it seemed weird to contact her on social media. She had left, after all. He'd finally kissed her, and she'd gotten in her uncle's truck and rode away. If that wasn't an answer, he didn't know what was.

Heather's smile was sweet, and he got the impression she wanted him to ask her out. Maybe he would….

"My chick flick?" Bree asked, tipping her head to the side to study him. "You picked it, not me."

"Yeah, but I thought you'd want to see it."

Bree giggled. "I prefer action adventure or horror movies, Sam. But it wasn't bad."

"Seriously? We just sat through that for no reason?" He tossed his head back and laughed. "Do you want to go get some ice cream?"

"Do you want to go get some ice cream, or are you just asking because you think I want to go get some?" She smiled at him, hoping he knew she was just joking around.

"I love ice cream. I am an ice cream fiend. But if you'd rather not…."

"Ice cream would be awesome."

Sam slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the door, and Bree walked alongside him, glad to have such a nice guy with her. It might not be perfect, but it was easy, and she could get used to a guy like Sam.