Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Sloane didn’t get a second to herself until Saturday morning. Hailey had kept her busy all day on Friday. It had been great just having the time together and getting to fuss over Layla, but in the back of her mind, she desperately wanted to get out and try to find Will. Sure, she could have asked her sister if she knew who he was, but this was something she wanted to keep to herself for the time being. After all, maybe it wasn’t just Ashlynn who worried about what would happen if she properly met him.
And that’s why she avoided mentioning anything about having his name or the next town festival.
So, on Saturday morning, she parked her car in front of Books & Beans and went inside. Hailey had to head out early to her yoga studio to teach a couple of classes and interview two potential instructors. She had apologized a dozen times because she hated leaving Sloane alone and even invited her to come and take some classes, but she had sweetly declined.
She had other plans.
Unfortunately, she had no idea where she was supposed to start on her search to find Will, but she figured coffee and a muffin might help. And for some reason, she did her best to be a little…incognito. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore a baseball cap and a pair of big sunglasses.
All she was missing was a trench coat.
“I’m being completely ridiculous,” she murmured as she walked up to the door.
Inside, she looked around for a minute and didn’t recognize anyone working behind the counter. Billie had mentioned that she was taking time off, but she assumed Jade would be here.
“Hey! Welcome to Books & Beans! What can I get for you?”
Sloane stepped up to the counter and immediately realized this was Jade’s mom, Cora. Actually, they both seemed to recognize each other at the same time.
“Oh! You’re Sloane, right? Levi’s cousin?”
“That’s me! How are you, Cora?”
“I’m fine! Thanks for asking. And you?”
“I’m good! I’m in town for a quick visit, but Hailey had to teach some classes this morning. I thought I’d take advantage of the time alone and explore the town for a bit. After grabbing a little breakfast,” she explained with a wink.
“Smart girl! And there’s so much to see around town! I swear, I never thought I’d see the day that Sweetbriar Ridge was such a thriving place! You’ll find all kinds of little shops to explore. But first, what can I get you?”
Glancing at the bakery case, she considered her options. “Um…how about a blueberry muffin and some coffee? I’m not fussy about what kind, so…surprise me!”
Within minutes, she sat at a table by the front window and happily sipped her coffee. She was just getting ready to take a bite of her muffin when a small group of guys walked in. She’d taken off the sunglasses, but she pulled her cap down a bit—just enough to hide part of her face, but not enough to block her view.
None of them were Will.
They were standing close enough that she could hear their conversation without straining too hard, and they all were wearing matching shirts that said Sweetbriar Ridge FD. She figured that they worked with Ashlynn’s husband, Reid, but that was neither here nor there.
“So what are you going to do?” the one guy asked. Sloane had no idea who they were, so she was going to call him Hot Firefighter Number One.
Hot Firefighter Number Two—equally hot and resembled the first guy enough to be his brother—said, “I’m not sure. It could be worth fixing, but…do I really want to put the time and effort into it?”
And then there was a third Hot Firefighter—clearly no relation, but hot nonetheless—who added his two cents. “That car is a classic. How could you just let it go? If for nothing else, fix it up and sell it.”
Ugh. Cars. There was almost nothing that made her eyes glaze over faster or bored her more than the topic of cars. What was the big deal about them? And why did guys have to talk about them so much? Giving up on listening to any more of their discussion, she took a bite of her muffin.
“Devin said he was pretty swamped at the shop, but Will could look at it,” Hot Firefighter Number Two said, and at the sound of Will’s name, Sloane’s ears perked up. True, it was a common name, but what if they were talking about her Will?
“Are you sure you’re comfortable with that?” Hot Firefighter Number One asked. “Will’s a good guy and all, but…he’s easily distracted.”
All three guys chuckled.
“Still…he’s a brilliant mechanic. I’ve seen some of the work he’s done on his own cars. He’s had several classic cars over the years. If you can get him to focus on work and not the next festival, you really can’t go wrong,” Number Three chimed in.
But before she could eavesdrop a little more, the men were walking out.
Well, damn.
Sighing, Sloane went back to finishing her breakfast, quickly cleaned up, and then simply stood and looked out the window at the town. Where was she supposed to start? Was she supposed to just drive around or walk around or…?
“Have fun exploring the town!” Cora called out. “And tell Hailey I said hello!”
“Will do! And thanks!” That was clearly her cue to get moving, and, fingers crossed, she’d find exactly what she was looking for.
Out on the sidewalk, Sloane noticed a truck drive by and then stop, but she wasn’t paying close attention—she was still lost in her own indecision about how to go about trying to find Will. She shook out her hair—hating the tightness of the ponytail—and sighed. “Clearly I should have thought this through a little more,” she murmured just as the pickup truck backed up and pulled into the parking spot beside her.
It took all of three seconds for recognition to hit.
Holy. Shit.
Will slid out of the truck and simply stared at her. The intensity of his gaze had her feeling a mixture of apprehension and arousal. Every time she had seen him, it was at a kissing booth and he was joking and laughing and smiling.
He wasn’t doing any of those things right now.
“It’s you,” he said.
Sloane nodded, knowing exactly what he was referring to. “It’s me.”
Will stood next to his truck facing Sloane while she stood next to her rental car. Part of her wished he’d just come around the truck and…what? Touch her? Shake her? Kiss her? At the thought of kissing Will, she subconsciously licked her lips. His gaze homed in on her lips before looking her in the eyes again.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “There’s no festival this weekend.” And yeah, okay, there was an edge to his voice. Clearly finding her here wasn’t as pleasant of a surprise as she’d been hoping for.
“Um…I was…I wanted to…”
And then he moved. Slowly, Will stepped away from his truck and came around the hood of her car and didn’t stop until he was merely a foot away. “You wanted to what?” he snapped. “See if you could play another round of kiss and run?”
Okay, she deserved that.
“Is that what you’re doing? Driving through town hoping to find another way to run away from the next festival? Mapping out your escape route?Is that how you get your kicks?”
Okay, not quite sure she deserved that one.
“Or maybe—just maybe—were you driving around thinking of new ways to mess with my head?”
Mess with his head? Wait a minute…
“Okay, hold on,” Sloane said, holding up a hand to cut him off. “How about you actually let me answer a question or two before you steamroll along any further? How about that?”
Will seemed taken aback by her response, and then he literally took a step back and motioned for her to continue.
Unfortunately, she had no idea what to say. They stared at each other for a minute and when Will quirked a brow at her, she actually blushed. How had she never noticed how dark his eyes were? They were so blue they were almost black. He had a strong jaw that right now had a bit of stubble on it, and she knew it would feel just a bit scratchy if she grabbed his face and kissed him.
No! Bad Sloane! No kissing right now.
“You were saying,” Will prompted.
Oh. Right. She was supposed to be explaining herself. Clearing her throat, she met his gaze and said, “I was hoping…I was looking for you.”
Will’s eyes went a little wide, but he didn’t say anything.
“I drove into town and stopped here to grab something to eat and then I realized I had no idea where to go or how I was supposed to even go about looking for you.” When he still didn’t say anything, she gave a mirthless laugh. “I certainly didn’t expect you to be driving by and find me here.”
“Looks like I made your search a little easier,” he said after an awkward silence. There was a little less of an edge to his voice—which was kind of deep and gravelly and very sexy.
Sloane nodded. “I suppose I should thank you.” She smiled shyly at him and almost sagged with relief when he seemed to relax and gave her a small smile. Holding out her hand, she said, “I’m Sloane.”
Will didn’t hesitate to take her hand in his. “Will.”
She almost said, “I know”, but decided against it. “It’s nice to meet you, Will.” He was still holding her hand and she was in no rush to take it back. They already knew each other, but not really. All Sloane knew was that she liked the way his hand felt, and she had to fight the urge to step in closer to him.
“So, where were you going to start?”
She looked at him oddly. “Start?”
“Looking for me,” he said, his smile growing.
“Oh…um…I was sitting here staring up and down the street trying to figure that out. Should I just drive around? Or walk around? I really had no idea. Which is crazy because I’d been planning this for a few days and…”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why were you planning this? You’ve been coming to the festivals for three years. Why come to town looking for me now?” he asked, still holding her hand in his.
“Honestly?”
“I always find it to be the best policy,” he said teasingly, his head tilting toward her.
She sighed. “I heard about the upcoming festival and…I felt bad.”
Will looked at her curiously. “You felt bad about Meet in the Streets? Why? Don’t you like carnival rides? Food trucks? Supporting small businesses?”
She chuckled. “That’s not what I meant. I felt bad because of the way I’ve been behaving. You seem like a really nice guy and you kiss like a dream, and when I think of the Sweetbriar Ridge festivals, it’s you I think about—you who I’m really coming to see. And I feel like an idiot for taking a stupid dare and kissing you—repeatedly—without taking the time to get to know you.”
“I kiss like a dream, huh?”
And then she let out a hearty laugh, her hand slipping from his. “That’s what you got out of that entire speech? I’m kind of pouring my heart out here and confessing everything to you, and that’s the one thing you heard?”
Will laughed with her, and he had a really great laugh. “I heard everything you said, Sloane. I just wasn’t sure how to respond to most of it. I kind of tend to take the humorous approach to things. You’ll learn that once you get to know me better.”
She definitely liked the sound of that. It was…well…it gave her hope. “You think so?”
He nodded. “Definitely.”
“So…what were you doing today?” Sloane asked. “You know, before you spotted me trying to spot you.”
He laughed again. “I was just going out for a drive. It’s my day off and I didn’t really have anything planned.”
“It’s the weekend,” she commented. “Most people have the weekend off.”
Will shook his head. “Not me. I’m a mechanic here in town, and I normally work every other weekend.” He shrugged. “It goes with the territory and I don’t mind it. Not really. What about you? What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a social media manager with an ad agency down in Fort Lauderdale.”
“Fort Lauderdale? You come all the way here from Florida?”
She nodded.
“Isn’t that a bit far?”
That was an understatement. “It is, but…I have some family here in Sweetbriar Ridge.”
Now it was his turn to nod. “And what exactly does a social media manager do?”
“Oh, um…I’m responsible for developing strategies to increase followers, creating and overseeing social campaigns, creating content, reviewing analytics, and communicating with the client or the person responsible for social media in their company,” she explained.
“That sounds interesting,” he said, smiling.
She shrugged. “It can be, but…”
“It’s not right now?” he finished for her.
“Exactly.” Then she sighed. “I want to do more. Design more. Create more! But my boss isn’t too interested in my ideas. But…it’s a job. We can’t all have jobs we love, right?”
Will looked around and seemed to think about something. After a minute, he faced her. “Tell you what…why don’t we go into Books & Beans and have some coffee or something? I really want to keep talking to you and hear all about your life and how you ended up at all the Sweetbriar Ridge festivals for the last three years, but I’d rather do it while we’re sitting and relaxing instead of standing in the middle of the street.”
She was just about to agree when Cora stepped out of the shop. “Hey, Will!” she called out and waved. When she saw who he was talking to, she grinned.
And then Sloane had an idea. “Hey, Cora?” she asked. “Can you vouch for this guy? Is he the decent and respectful sort?”
Cora burst out laughing. “Will? He’s one of the best, sweetie! Honest to a fault.” Then she studied them for a second and then gasped before turning her attention to Will. “Is this…? Is she…?”
Will nodded.
Sloane wasn’t too sure about the exchange, but when Cora turned to her and said, “You be gentle with him and everything will be just fine!” With a wink, she knew exactly what she was going to do.
Turning to Will, she said, “How about we go for that drive instead?”
He still couldn’t believe his luck.
What were the odds of being out driving at the same time Sloane was getting ready to go out driving to find him?
Sloane. Hell, even her name was beautiful. And as much as he loved driving, Will loved being able to look at her—really look at her—even more. Now he could see the tiny flecks of gold in her green eyes and how her lashes were ridiculously long, how her skin was lightly tanned, and how her cheeks turned an adorable shade of peach when she blushed. Her lips, though…he sighed. Those were simply beckoning him to lean in and kiss her.
It almost seemed wrong that they hadn’t done it already. After all, it was their thing.
So as Sloane settled in on the seat beside him, Will decided to be bold. He leaned over and cupped her cheek in his hand and couldn’t help but smile when she just as easily leaned into him. And then…damn. He’d kissed her close to a dozen times and yet this time it hit him like it never had before. Maybe it was because he could actually touch her and she was closer than she had ever been. Or maybe it was because they were alone. Either way, it didn’t matter because as soon as her tongue touched his, he was lost.
Her lips were so damn soft, and the way she sighed and melted against him had him cursing the fact that they were in his truck in a public parking lot. Over and over, he slanted his lips over hers, and they each kept inching closer and closer to each other. And when he felt those lush curves pressed up against him, he knew he was in trouble and needed to bring things to a halt.
Lifting his head, he was pleased that she was just as dazed as he was. Smiling, his thumb caressed her cheek. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “It just seemed like that’s our thing and I couldn’t wait any longer. Sorry. I probably should have asked first.”
And there was that blush that he was really starting to love. “It’s okay. I was kind of hoping you’d do that.” She paused. “Actually, I had been trying to figure out how to do it without appearing to be too forward.”
Will lifted his head and looked at her. Was she for real? It was almost as if she were too good to be true! “Sloane, any time you want to kiss me, you don’t have to ask. I will gladly oblige.”
She smiled and… wow.
He forced himself to settle back behind the steering wheel and started the truck. “So, you’re not from around here,” he began. “Would you like to see the town first, or are you up for just driving around aimlessly?”
“Um…I’m kind of familiar with the town already from all my trips here. It’s changed a lot over the last several years, though. Is there any place in particular that you’d like to go and see?”
Will shrugged. “Not really. There are some beautiful country roads, but once you get out of the town limits, it’s just a lot of trees. You know, forests and mountains.”
“Where were you going to drive to?”
“Honestly? I was heading to Richmond.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really? I’ve never been there before. Were you going someplace specific?”
Another shrug. “Not really. Just killing time so I wouldn’t be tempted to sit around the house. I was thinking of hitting the Harley Davidson dealership. Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
“Nope.” And she shook her head firmly as she said it.
“I’m guessing it’s not something you’re interested in.”
“You would be correct.”
Well, now he was stumped. If they didn’t go to Richmond, and they didn’t drive around town…
“Can I ask you something?” Sloane asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Sure.”
“What did Cora mean before when she asked, ‘Is she?’”
Damn. Not quite the conversation he wanted to have. He had no way of knowing if Sloane would find it sweet or creepy that he’d been actively looking for her after each of the festivals.
Only one way to find out.
“Well…after the third time you showed up and…”
“Kissed and ran?”
He nodded. “I started asking everyone in town if they knew who you were.” He put the truck in drive and just figured they’d sort of go the aimless route for now. With yet another shrug, he added, “I honestly thought someone would know who you were.”
Sloane remained silent.
“And then after each festival, I’d start asking all over again. People started to think I was a little…off. Then it sort of became a joke. When it was announced a few days ago that there was going to be a new festival, I was pretty psyched. Then my boss started making fun of me for it. Hell, Sloane…I was already working out a plan so you couldn’t just walk away again.”
“I’m so sorry, Will. I really am. I guess I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
He could understand that. He really could. After all, they’d never exchanged more than a handful of words. How could she possibly know that he had gotten addicted to her kisses and wanted to get to know her more? He could barely believe it himself.
He took the turn that would lead them up to Summit Ridge. It was the logical choice considering they’d already driven through town, and going all the way to Richmond wasn’t exactly reasonable. Sloane obviously knew where they were going because she immediately started asking a bunch of questions.
“I’ve only ever been up to Summit Ridge for the festivals. What do they offer when it’s not ski season or a non-festival weekend? Do they just close everything up?”
Laughing softly, Will shook his head. “Not at all! You can still ride the alpine slide, the mountain coaster, walk the trails or ride the ATVs, and even go on the ski lift for an aerial tour of the property. It’s kind of cool.”
“Oh, that’s right. I remember hearing about that. And the hotel’s open? And the restaurants?”
“They’re all open. Would you like to grab lunch while we’re up there? You know, maybe after we walk around for a bit.”
Looking over at him, she smiled, and it made his heart kick hard in his chest.
I’m in trouble…
There were a million questions swirling around in his mind, but he was afraid to ask the wrong one and make things awkward. So, he decided to keep things light, just like he always did.
“Tell me something funny about you,” he said.
“Funny? Like…funny how?”
“What’s something quirky that you enjoy doing?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I enjoy coming to small-town festivals in Sweetbriar Ridge and kissing the cute guy working the kissing booth.”
She was teasing and he knew it, but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, something other than the whole kissing booth thing,” he clarified.
“Hmm…that’s a bit harder. But if I had to pick one thing, it would be how I follow a bunch of dogs on Instagram.”
Glancing over at her, he said, “Uh, yeah. I’m going to need some more information. Why dogs? Do you know their owners?”
Now it was her turn to laugh. “No! Don’t you ever just scroll on Instagram and see funny animal reels and videos? Some of them are adorable! My sister and I are a little obsessed with a couple of pugs who are pretty famous on social media.”
“Pugs? They have the flat faces, right?”
“Some do. Not all of them. Anyway, every time I watch one of those videos, it just automatically makes me smile. I work in social media, and I seriously wish I had a dog that I could train to do all those cute things.”
Will smiled, but all he could think about was how that was the weirdest thing he’d ever heard of. Sure, it was kind of cute, but it wasn’t what he was expecting her to say.
“What about you?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Okay, something quirky…hmm…I enjoy really bad movies,” he finally said. “You know, campy, B-movies. The more ridiculous the better. Once a month, I get together with a bunch of friends and we’ll pick a movie—we each take turns—and have a crappy movie night. We get pizzas, drink beer, and eat a bunch of random snacks, make all kinds of random comments during the whole movie, and make a night of it.” Looking at her, he grinned. “Weird, right?”
She readily agreed. “Definitely. I think there’s some sort of TV show with that same premise—they watch really terrible movies and make jokes about it the entire time.”
“That was our inspiration for movie night! Have you ever watched that show?”
“My dad and my brothers love it. I’ve watched it with them every once in a while, but between the commentary on the screen and all the stuff they say too, it’s almost pointless to even try to watch the movie!” she explained with amusement. “Still, they always have fun with it.”
“And so do me and the guys.” He paused. “Which do you prefer when watching a movie—popcorn or nachos?”
“Mmm…if I’m at the theater, I want popcorn. If I’m at home, nachos. I make fantastic nachos.”
It was too soon to say he couldn’t wait for her to make them for him, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about it.
For the rest of the drive, they talked about silly stuff—nonsense that didn’t mean a whole lot, but little fun facts that just sort of teased what each of their personalities was like. When they reached the resort, Will parked and turned to her.
“Lunch first, or should we walk around a bit?”
“Well, I did just finish breakfast right before we met up outside, so I’m thinking we should walk around.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He climbed from the truck and immediately jogged around to the passenger side to help her out. She put her hand in his, and he held on to it as they made their way toward the grounds.
They walked across the parking lot and considered their options. Will pointed out the different paths and which attractions they led to. They decided to skip the ATVs and the slide and coaster because they were enjoying finally being able to talk to each other.
“How about we walk some of the trails, or maybe go on the ski lift?” Sloane suggested. “I imagine by the time we do the entire ride, we might be ready for an early lunch. What do you think?”
“I think that’s great,” he said with her hand still in his. They slowly strolled along the paths, and Sloane was chattering on about how different everything must look in the winter and how different this was from anywhere in Florida. He was enjoying listening to her, but…he knew there was one thing he needed to know before they went any further. Otherwise, it was always going to be there between them.
It could ruin everything. She could ask him to take her back to town immediately. Hell, he might decide to do that himself.
Without looking at her, he stopped walking—causing her to stumble slightly—took a steadying breath and asked, “Why’d you do it?