* * *
Hailey greeted him in the back of her shop. She was dressed casually in a pair of cropped pants and a pretty tank top, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail. He didn’t love the way his heart actually jumped toward her every time but he was getting used to it. It was easier to acknowledge it, accept it, than worry about it.
“Hey.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him. He had to admit, he wouldn’t have thought the chemistry between them would remain so … charged.
“Everything good?” He kissed her back then opened the door to his truck for her to slide in.
She nodded, waiting until he joined her in the vehicle. She’d been doing some inventory and ordering. He knew she’d lost a couple lunch contracts, which had upset her, but the rush of spring breakers through March had kept her busy enough to refocus.
When he pulled into the traffic, heading toward her cousin’s, he felt her gaze.
“Guess what?”
He smiled over at her. “Like really guess or are you just starting your story that way?”
She laughed. “You’re so literal. I’ll just tell you. We have a meeting tomorrow morning before any of the shops open. We received an email from a new owner. We’ve been bought and—” She paused.
When he stopped at a light, he looked over. Her smile was enough to flip everything inside him upside down and shift it back into place. “And?”
“The rent is being dropped. Not only that, the new owner—a Genevieve Montroe—is willing to put a rent freeze on for two years for any shop willing to commit to contributing to a community lunch or breakfast program.”
Wes’s heart squeezed painfully tight, stealing his breath. “That’s amazing. On all accounts.”
Staying hyperfocused on the road, he clenched his fingers on the wheel as he listened to her excitedly explain some of the ideas she had for how to help and contribute.
“I know you and your brothers decided not to invest but maybe it’s for the best.”
He nodded. “Things sometimes work out as they should.”
Hailey’s hand came to his neck, her fingers playing at the base of his skull. Just like that, with a simple touch, his fingers relaxed.
“Sometimes they absolutely do.”
Her cousin lived on the outskirts of San Verde in a beautiful residential neighborhood with wide tree-lined streets. It looked like the kind of place neighbors held block parties, where kids grew up together. The house itself was two stories with a detached garage and a large yard. White with gray trim, it was a quintessential family home.
Growing up, Wes and his brothers used to be able to hide for hours from his parents because their house was obnoxiously large. Despite being full of fine art and Italian furnishings, it felt empty. He’d always preferred his grandparents’ brownstone. After the divorce, his mother had bought a similar one. They spent a lot of time there and Wes could remember being … happy. Without all the arguing, a weight had lifted from his young shoulders. But as the boys got busier in their teen years, his mother started to travel. He wished they’d held on to that time a little longer.
“This is it. Piper and Nick are awesome. They’re really excited to meet you,” Hailey said.
“I hope I pass,” he said. They got out and he came around to the passenger side to take her hand. In his other, he had the bottle of vintage wine he’d purchased from a local collector.
Hailey gestured to it. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You wouldn’t show up at my family’s place with nothing.”
She stepped into him. Just breathing in the scent of her hair and her calmed the storm inside of him. He was tying himself up in knots over some of his recent choices but when she was close to him like this, everything quieted. He liked it. He was happy.
“I’m really glad you’re here. Have you met a girlfriend’s family before?”
He shook his head, laughing. “Not since my prom. Hopefully, Nick won’t give me the evil eye and a lecture about his gun collection.”
She nudged his hip, letting them into the house. “We’re here,” she called out. She turned to him, whispered, “Nick doesn’t have a gun collection.”
Children’s voices rang out along with the sound of feet running overhead. When Nick and Piper appeared in the hallway together, Wes did his best to not appear nervous.
“Yay! I’m so glad you’re here,” Piper said, pulling Hailey into a hug.
Wes shook Nick’s hand, passed over the wine. Piper hugged him like they were long-lost friends. The kids, Jason, Alyssa, and Cassie, were bundles of energy that talked from the second they saw Hailey and Wes. Jason took Wes’s hand while the girls took Hailey’s, leading them through the house to the backyard. Wes missed Nick’s comment on the wine as Jason explained how he was learning to dive in the deep end of the pool, but he saw the man’s appreciative expression.