Chapter 5
Chapter Five
It was almost five when she walked into her sister’s house. She found Hailey and Max in the kitchen cooking and laughing, and for a moment, she just stood in the shadows and watched. It was so obvious that they loved each other, and it made her ache because she wanted that kind of connection too.
Max leaned in and placed a kiss on the tip of Hailey’s nose and Sloane suddenly felt like a creeper standing there watching them. Clearing her throat loudly, she walked into the kitchen. “Hey, you two! Something smells yummy!”
“We’re making skillet barbecue chicken, sauteed green beans, and homemade mashed potatoes,” Max told her with a serene smile. “Can I get you something to drink? A glass of wine?”
“Ooh…yes, please. Thanks.” Stepping closer to the stove, she inhaled. “Wow, that really does smell wonderful. How long until we eat?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Max told her, handing her a glass of wine. “I just poured myself a glass, so it was already out. Why don’t the two of you go inside and relax and I’ll call you when everything’s ready?”
“Thanks, babe,” Hailey said, kissing him before turning and taking Sloane by the hand and dragging her out of the room. No sooner were they sitting down than her sister was practically bouncing in her seat. “So? How was the rest of your day? Is he hot? Is he everything you fantasized he’d be?”
Hailey was the one who called Sloane earlier, when she and Will were walking toward the hotel. Without giving too much information, Sloane had told her she had found her kissing booth guy and they were hanging out, getting to know each other. Fortunately, her sister was still relatively new to Sweetbriar Ridge and didn’t know everyone, so she had no idea who Will was.
Taking a sip of her wine, she chose to think about what she was going to say.
“Nice stalling tactic,” Hailey murmured.
Placing her glass down, she sighed. “Fine. He was…amazing,” she gushed giddily. “He’s sweet and funny, super handsome, and I had a really great time with him today.”
“But…”
Frowning, she asked, “But what?”
“Sloane, come on. I know you. There was clearly a but coming.”
She hated how well her sister knew her. “Okay, there was definitely a but.”
“So? What’s wrong with him?”
Groaning, she fell back against the cushions. “This is going to sound so shallow…”
“Well, now I have to know.”
“You’re going to judge me. Hard.”
“I won’t! I promise! Come on. Out with it.”
Turning her head, she said, “He’s a mechanic.”
Hailey blinked. “And…?”
“And…that’s it. He’s a car guy,” she whined before groaning again. “Like…it’s his whole life. His job, his hobbies, they’re all about cars!”
“So…you hate cars? Did I know that?”
She groaned again.
“Why do you hate cars?”
“I used to hate listening to Dad and everyone talk about cars. It was so boring! And Will is like…I won’t say obsessed, but almost. Like I said, they’re his job, his hobby, and…you just know he’s going to be all dirty and smell like gasoline and…” She shuddered. “I don’t know if I can handle that.”
For a minute, Hailey didn’t say anything, but then she asked, “So, how did you leave things?”
“He wanted me to spend the entire weekend with him—as in, go home with him tonight and stay with him until Monday morning.”
“Okay, good girl. You clearly said no. That’s smart. I mean, you just met him today.” Reaching over, she squeezed Sloane’s hand.
“Seriously? You’re going to play the whole ‘it’s too soon’ card with me? You? The one who slept with Max after just meeting him and then got pregnant? At least Will and I have loosely known each other for years.”
The bark of laughter that came out of her sister startled her.
“Known each other?” Hailey said with another laugh. “Sloane, you would kiss him and run away! At most, you spent ten seconds with him every time you saw him! If you added up the second from all the festivals you came to, you could maybe say that you spent a total of two minutes with him!”
It sucked that she was right.
“Fine, but it was still more than you and Max.”
“No, it wasn’t. Max and I met at Billie’s rehearsal dinner and then spent most of the next day together before we slept together. And…you know what? This is a ridiculous conversation. Did you want to go home with him?”
“I did, but then I thought about what you said the other day and I felt like I shouldn’t.”
“Oh…oh, Sloane, I’m sorry. I never should have…wait…what did I say?”
“You said I make light of everything and treat everything like a joke! And then I thought about Will and how he told me how he felt like a fool every time I ran away and…I mean…what am I even doing? I’m going home on Tuesday, and I don’t know when I’ll be back! Now that I’ve met Will, it’s not like I need to run back for the next festival.” Her head fell back as she closed her eyes. “The logistics suck.”
“Tell me about it. I had a legit reason to move to be closer to Max. It’s way too soon for you to think about doing something like that. You just met him—like…legit met him—today. If things didn’t work out, you’d still have me and all our cousins here, but would you regret leaving Florida? Your job? Mom and Dad?”
“Ugh…can you imagine the guilt trip I’d get from Mom? Hell, if I moved here, I think she’d pack up and follow.”
“I don’t know. She’s still got…”
“Don’t even say it. All she wants is to be here with you and Layla. And if I moved here, it would just give her another reason to follow. You know that.”
Hailey’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah. I do. But…it wouldn’t be the worst thing…”
“Yes. Yes, it would. She’d be all in your business and mine, and since none of our brothers are here, there would be no distractions. Trust me, it would be a nightmare.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it?”
“Do I have to remind you of how awful both she and Dad were when you and Max first found out you were pregnant? Remember them showing up at Billie’s house and all the guilt Mom laid on you? And Dad?”
“Fair enough. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. If you didn’t live a thousand miles away, would you have gone home with him tonight?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Definitely. If I didn’t have to worry about logistics and I could forget about his car obsession, I’d be climbing him like a tree right this minute.”
“Wow, um…TMI, Sloane. You could have just said yes.”
Grinning, she said, “Yeah, but what fun would that have been?”
Fortunately, her sister laughed. “Okay, tree climbing aside, what are you thinking? Like…do you see yourself getting serious with this guy or…”
Shrugging, she went for honesty. “I don’t know, Hales. It’s too soon, but…I’d like to find out. I just don’t know how.”
For a moment, neither said a word, but Hailey was staring so intently at her that Sloane started to squirm.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…I think you should go and…you know…spend tomorrow and Monday with him. Although…he probably has to work on Monday, but…” Pausing, Hailey let out a soft sigh. “I want to be selfish and make you stay here with me so we can visit, but I have a feeling you’re going to be a little too distracted.”
“I would,” she murmured. “Sorry.” A little more silence passed before she asked, “So…should I call him and tell him I’ll be over in the morning?”
Hailey’s expression remained neutral, and instead of responding, she called out, “Max? Can you come here a minute?”
Sloane’s eyes went wide before she turned and watched her brother-in-law stroll into the room.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Do you know Will Campbell?” Hailey asked.
Max smiled. “I do,” he said evenly. “He works with Devin. Great guy. How come?”
“Because my sister has been kissing him at every festival.”
Now it was Max’s eyes that went wide. “Seriously? You’re the girl? Damn! He’s been going crazy trying to track you down! Holy cow! This is awesome!”
“Okay, okay, simmer down,” Hailey murmured. “So you can vouch for this guy? He’s a good one? We can trust him?”
“Absolutely! Will’s great!” He turned his attention to Sloane. “Are you going to go out with him?”
Before she could answer, Hailey filled him in on everything, which was wildly embarrassing.
“So why are you here instead of out with him?” Max asked.
“I don’t know. Hailey called me while Will and I were out, and she asked when I was going to be back, and I just figured this was where I needed to be.”
Her sister was about to speak, but Max stopped her. “May I make a suggestion?”
All she could do was nod.
“Call him and tell him you’d like to see him tonight. No one’s saying you have to spend the night with him,” he clarified. “But that’s your choice. You’re an adult and it’s totally up to you. But if you want to? I say you should do it. Come Tuesday, you’re heading back to Florida. Why hang out here if you want to be with Will?”
Could it really be that easy?
“And you guys won’t think I’m the worst if I leave and spend a night or two with him?”
They both laughed. “Sloane, please,” Max said as he came around and sat on the arm of the sofa right beside Hailey. “You know our history. Who are we to judge?”
It was crazy how much she wanted to call Will and ask if he still wanted to spend what was left of the weekend with her. He had given her his number when they got back to her car, and after he’d typed it into her phone, he said, “I don’t want you to give me your number.”
Confused, she’d asked, “Why not?”
With her hand in his, he simply said, “Because it would be far too tempting to keep calling you, hoping to change your mind.”
It was possibly the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her.
Looking up at Hailey and Max, she sighed. “I feel like I’m bailing on you guys and being a really crappy guest.”
“To be fair, we didn’t even know you were coming to town, so…” her sister said with a wink. “Go. Go and see if this is something you just need to get out of your system, or…if maybe it’s the start of something amazing.”
Nodding, she excitedly jumped up. “I’m doing it!” Giving them both a quick hug, she ran to find her phone so she could text Will.
While silently praying she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Two hours later, Sloane still wasn’t sure what she was thinking.
I’m going to a virtual stranger’s house with an overnight bag. What could possibly go wrong?
It seemed like it was a good idea—after all, she wanted to get to know Will, and she blocked off the entire weekend so she could find him.
It just so happened that she found him sooner than she thought she would!
His house was an older Craftsman-style bungalow—two bedrooms, one bathroom—that he’d been doing some renovations on. The kitchen was all new, as was the bathroom, but the rest of the house was showing some signs of its age. Still, it was a whole lot nicer and homier than her apartment back in Fort Lauderdale. It just looked like a guy lived here and needed some help with the decor.
“I put your bag in the guest room,” Will said as he walked back into the living room where Sloane was sitting on the sofa.
“Thanks.” Why was she suddenly feeling so nervous? Oh, because you’re spending the night in a stranger’s house , she reminded herself.
Will sat down beside her and looked as ill-at-ease as she did. Finally, he looked at her with a lopsided grin and said, “This is a little awkward, right?”
She nearly sagged with relief. “Yes!” she agreed. “I thought it was just me, but…”
“I was a little impulsive, I’ll admit. But…I don’t know, it just seemed like a good way for us to get to know each other. I mean…it’s been three years and…”
“And we’ve only just officially met today,” she added. “But we’ve kissed…”
“A lot…”
Then they both laughed and when Sloane met his gaze, she relaxed. “I’d like to get to know more about you other than your kissing skills.”
“Which are dreamy…”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but laugh. Despite their stilted conversation at the restaurant, she learned a lot about him today. And, other than his dislike of floating and her dislike of cars, they had a lot of things in common. They had similar tastes in food, books, and movies. They listened to the same style of music and neither of them had traveled beyond the East Coast.
“Maybe we should have just planned on having a date night rather than committing to me spending the rest of the weekend,” she said after a minute.
“If that would make you more comfortable, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Huh . She had expected him to try to talk her out of it. Color her surprised. “I was already staying with family,” she began, as if she needed to explain herself. “I had no idea I’d find you and meet you so soon. Every time I thought about coming here, I figured I’d at least find out your name, but I never thought I’d get to talk to you.”
He looked at her curiously. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seemed like…I’m certainly no detective and in my mind, I figured I’d just be driving around aimlessly, hoping to see you from a distance.”
That had him smiling again. “And did you think about what you’d do if you did see me?”
Oh, Lord . There was no way she could admit to the things she thought about in that scenario. In every one of them, they did very little talking and a whole lot of kissing. And then touching. And then…well…
Sloane’s cheeks felt heated, and she knew she was blushing.
“If your thoughts are anything like mine were, I’d say we just found one more thing we have in common,” Will said, his voice deep and gruff and serious.
Without even realizing it, Sloane found herself slowly closing the distance between them. He drew her in with nothing more than the sound of his voice. Well, that and the fact that he smelled so damn good and looked even better than she’d remembered and fantasized about.
And that’s when she knew she was in trouble.
Not the bad kind of trouble, but the kind of trouble that turned your world upside down in ways you never imagined.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Will said softly, his gaze locked on her lips.
“Like what?” she whispered, still moving slowly toward him.
“Like you’re thinking about having me kiss you again.”
She swallowed hard, her gaze now narrowing on his lips. “But I am thinking about you kissing me again.”
A low growl was Will’s only response.
Now she was close enough to feel the heat coming off of his body. Their arms brushed, her thigh pressed against his, and she could feel his warm breath against her cheek. For a moment, she closed her eyes and simply…felt. And when she opened them, she met his heated gaze. His name was a mere whisper, a plea.
“This isn’t why I invited you here,” he said, even as his head tilted and his lips lightly touched hers.
“Will?”
“Yeah?”
“Kiss me.”
And he did.
Over and over and over again. It was amazing how he’d always thought Sloane’s kisses were an incredible turn-on, but now that he could touch her too, he realized just how wrong he’d been. This was a total sensory experience and it was escalating quickly.
And that’s when he pulled back. There was no way he was going to feel comfortable seducing Sloane at this early stage of their relationship. And the last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form. So, they’d take it slow—move at her pace. After all, they’d basically waited three years, so what was another few days or weeks?
He opened his eyes and saw that Sloane’s were still closed. Her lips were red and wet, and he groaned as he rested his forehead against hers.
“You stopped,” she said quietly.
He nodded. “I did.”
“Why?”
This time when he lifted his head, he saw her eyes were open as she studied him curiously. Reaching up, Will caressed her cheek. “For starters, we just met.”
Sloane shook her head. “We met three years ago.”
He laughed softly. “Not formally. We were never introduced. I don’t want you to feel pressured or have any regrets. You’re here for the weekend—well, the rest of it—and I’m just happy to be spending time with you.”
Whether or not it was intentional, Sloane slowly licked her lips and then gave him a grin so sexy and sweet that he almost jumped up to take a cold shower.
“Sloane…”
“Maybe we should find something else to do,” she suggested, slowly scooting away from him. “I know it’s a little late for dinner, and I had something to eat before I came over, but…maybe we can go out and grab some dessert? Or is there someplace in town where you usually go hang out?”
As much as he hated the idea of sharing her right now and being the object of the town gossips, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.
“I know the new bar is supposed to open soon, but maybe we can hit someplace else for a drink?” She looked at her watch. “It’s almost eight. We could probably grab a drink and then…”
“Sloane?”
“Hmm?”
What the hell was he going to say? Her eyes were wide, her skin was still flushed, and damn if she wasn’t the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. If he stayed sitting here with her for another minute, he’d reach for her. So, he quickly stood up.
“Um…I’m going to go and uh…get changed. Maybe you want to go and freshen up or something and we’ll leave in about a half hour. How does that sound?”
Will immediately saw the confusion on her face but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he started to walk backwards toward his bedroom. “You can use the bathroom first. I’ll um…I’ll be out in a bit.”
And then he hightailed it to his room and quickly shut the door.
Where he mentally cursed himself for having so little self-control that he couldn’t even be in the same room with her. She must be thinking that she made a huge mistake in coming to find him.
Hell, he was beginning to think it was a mistake too.
After three years of fantasizing about meeting Sloane and being alone with her, he still ended up coming off like a sixteen-year-old virgin with his first girl.
“Well, shit,” he murmured.
He had no idea how long he stood there against the bedroom door when Sloane knocked on it. He jumped and then mentally cursed himself for behaving like such a damn idiot. Turning, he opened the door and froze.
She freshened up.
Her hair was slightly mussed. Her lips were freshly glossed, and she smelled like heaven.
But it was the look in her eyes that had him swallowing hard. “Sloane…”
“I know that earlier I mentioned that I normally take things slow with the men I’ve been involved with, but…”
His heart began to hammer hard in his chest.
He watched her take a steadying breath and then she met his gaze head-on. “Will, we’ve had three years’ worth of foreplay. I don’t want to go out tonight. I don’t want dessert or to go out drinking or dancing. I came to Sweetbriar Ridge to find you and…I want you.”
A slow grin crossed his face as he reached out and tugged her to him. “Thank God!”
His arms went around her as she went up on her toes to kiss him. There was no pretense, no awkward adjustments; it was all just like a perfectly choreographed dance. For a minute he second-guessed this—after all, just a few minutes ago, he was the one to get up and walk away. But knowing that it was Sloane’s decision and that she was comfortable with it, there was no way he could walk away this time.
Slowly, he turned her and walked her backwards toward his bed and said a silent prayer of thanks that he cleaned up the place this morning. Sloane sighed against him and when they were next to the bed, she surprised him by snaking her hands under his shirt. Her hands felt incredibly smooth against his skin, and Will couldn’t help but break the kiss and sigh.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since you got out of the truck in front of the coffee shop,” she said reverently.
Will immediately whipped his shirt off and then groaned when Sloane leaned in and began kissing his chest.
Seriously. Best. Day. Ever.
His hands skimmed up her sides, over her shoulders, and anchored in her glorious mane of hair. He whispered her name. And then again. After the third time, she looked up at him, her eyes glazed, her lips wet and so damn sexy he almost forgot what he was going to say. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I sat out there for a few minutes and realized that we do know each other. I learned more about you today than I think I knew about some of my previous boyfriends who I had dated for months.” Then she gave him a knowing smile. “And besides, Cora said you were one of the best.” As she said the words, her hands skimmed down his chest, over his abs, and further down to the button of his jeans.
Will clamped his hand over hers and chuckled softly. “I greatly doubt that’s what she was referring to.”
Then her expression turned serious. “If you’d rather we…I mean, if you think we should wait…”
What? Was she kidding him? “Sloane…”
Taking a step away from him, Sloane held his gaze as she slowly lifted her shirt up and over her head. Standing before him in a black lace bra and a pair of matching skinny jeans, she was beyond sexy. “I know I’m not playing fair…”
And then a grin spread across his own lips as he took a step towards her. Toe to toe, he reached out and cupped her breasts in his hands and watched her eyes close as her head fell back slightly. “I don’t want you to play fair,” he growled, lowering his head so he could kiss her throat. “But know that I may not play fair either. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
She was quiet for a minute. Will wanted to think she was lost in sensation as he kissed and touched her everywhere he could. And when she lifted her head a few minutes later, she raked her hands up into his hair and said, “I think we’ve both waited long enough.”
He readily agreed.
Together, they sank onto the bed and slowly rolled and maneuvered around until they were facing each other. Will’s breath was a little ragged, but so was hers. In all his dreams and fantasies about her, this was exactly where it started.
Right before things got downright dirty.
But now that he genuinely knew her and spent the day with her, the last thing he wanted to do was treat her like this was just about sex. They had a connection. It didn’t matter that it was only today, he felt it, and he had a feeling Sloane did too. He wanted to talk to her just as much as he wanted to kiss and touch her.
Reaching out, he caressed her cheek. “You’re really here. This isn’t a dream,” he whispered.
“I know,” she said reverently, lifting her hand and mimicking his actions. “This is so crazy and yet…not.”
Turning his head, Will kissed her palm. “I’m really glad you went looking for me today.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t do it sooner. I never should have kept running away. It was childish and hurtful and…”
Cutting off her words with a kiss, he decided they had to stop thinking about the past. They’d both made foolish mistakes, but they were here together now and that’s all that mattered.
So he kissed her and kept on kissing her before rolling her beneath him, where he showed her how much he wanted her.
And luckily, no one was thinking about anything but the here and now.
The next morning, he made pancakes for breakfast and served them to her in bed.
She thanked him in the sexiest of ways.
By the time lunch rolled around, they were thoroughly exhausted and agreed that they needed to shower and maybe get out of the house for a bit. Will still wasn’t ready to share her with anyone because tomorrow it was back to the real world. He had to go back to work, and she was heading back to Florida on Tuesday morning. They didn’t have a lot of time, and he was almost a little desperate to get as much time with her as he could.
He kept that to himself until they met up in the living room after taking separate showers—something he totally regretted.
“Hey, so…I hope this doesn’t come out sounding creepy or weird, but…,” he carefully began. “Would it be awful if we didn’t go anywhere today with people?”
Sloane’s eyes went a little wide. “Um…how is that even possible?”
“No, no, I mean, there would probably be people—like…the public—there, but not like…real people. Does that make sense?”
She shook her head. “Why can’t there be people there?”
Will explained his feelings and felt slightly self-conscious about them, but he didn’t want to be anything but genuine with her. “We really only have today. Tomorrow morning, I need to be at the shop by eight, so even if you stayed over tonight, I’d be out of here early. Then you’re leaving and going back to Florida, and we don’t know when we’ll see each other again, so…”
“Will, come on. What are the odds we’ll see anyone you know while we’re out?” she asked with amusement. “I go out all the time and never run into people I know.”
“That’s because you live in a major city. Small-town life is completely different. It’s rare to go out and not run into someone you know. Remember how we were talking outside of Books & Beans? We were practically in the middle of the street, and there was Cora.”
“Okay, but…that was one person. What’s the big deal?”
She didn’t get it, and he wasn’t sure how he could explain it any better.
“Sweetbriar Ridge is the epitome of small towns, Sloane. I grew up here. I know almost everyone. Even though there’s been a ton of expansion, we all just seem to get to know each other. We’re friendly to a fault.” He paused and tried to think of an example. “I work for the only mechanic in town so…basically, I meet a lot of people on a daily basis, and like…there’s like a six-degrees-of-separation thing that’s just…it’s wild!”
“Um…I guess?”
“Okay, check this out. You’re obviously familiar with Books & Beans, right?”
“She nodded.
“So, Jade Donovan—formerly Jade MacKenzie—is the owner. Cora is her mom.”
Another nod. “I know this.”
“Right. So when Jade opened the coffee shop, she had Billie Donovan working for her, doing all the baking.”
And yet another nod.
“Jade meets Billie’s brother and then they start dating and eventually get married.”
“Will, I’m not sure what this has to do with?—”
Holding up a hand to stop her, he explained. “I’m getting there. Just…hang on. So, Jade and Levi get together, and then Billie helps her sister Ashlynn open a hair salon just a few blocks away. The other Donovan sister is a kindergarten teacher, and she married another teacher. Ashlynn married a firefighter.”
“There are other families in this town, right?” she teased, but he wasn’t really listening. He was on a roll.
“ Levi—the one who’s married to Jade—has an advertising firm. Now, one of their cousins moved here, and she opened a yoga studio. Still with me?”
“I guess…?”
“And her husband is going in on a bar with her dad, his dad, and his brother! Think about it! Sweetbriar is small and yet that one family has their hands in a bunch of the businesses in the downtown area! They’re obviously one of the biggest families in town that I know of and the best example I could think of, but there’s more of that sort of thing than you realize, just on a smaller scale.”
She was looking at him funny and he had no idea why, so he just kept talking.
“By that logic alone, there’s a good chance we’ll run into one of the Donovans if we go anywhere in town. Cora’s already seen us, and, another thing you should know about small towns, we gossip. A lot. So, if Cora tells Jade, Jade is going to talk to the people who work at Books & Beans. If any of the guys from my garage go in there, it’s possible someone will bring it up to them, and by the time I go to work tomorrow, chances are half the guys are going to already know about us and want to know what’s going on. It’s crazy!”
“It sounds to me like you’re specifically blaming Jade and the Donovans for being the biggest gossips,” she murmured.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. That was just an example. If we went to the steakhouse or the café, or anyplace in town to eat, the same thing would happen. But…I don’t know…it seems like the Donovans have their hands in a lot of businesses here and sometimes it feels like they’re everywhere. Like…why can’t they just let someone else open some new stuff? Why is it always them?”
“Do you not like the Donovans?” she asked, her tone slightly accusatory.
“It’s not that. Like I said, sometimes it feels like they’re everywhere. And now more of them are moving here. Ronan—he’s Billie’s dad.” Pausing, he laughed. “He’s also Levi, Ashlynn, and Chloe’s dad, and he recently moved back. Anyway, he’s part of the new bar opening soon. His nephew—who doesn’t live here—was one of the people in charge of breathing new life into the town. Houses that had been seriously neglected are getting renovated and sold. And he brought in some big-time investor who financed the whole rebuilding and re-opening of Summit Ridge.”
“So…what I’m hearing is how the Donovans are firmly committed to helping this area improve and grow,” she said evenly. “They’re doing all these positive things—breathing life into the local economy in ways that no other family was willing to do—while also making this a place people want to come and live. And you think that’s…?”
Okay, he could see how he was sounding a bit ungrateful and possibly like he had some sort of grudge against the family.
“It’s just weird sometimes. I never knew of a family who was so totally woven into the community the way the Donovans are. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
She simply shrugged, and he figured maybe they should get back to their conversation about where to go.
Clapping his hands together, he said, “So, how about you tell me where you want to go and what you want to do and I swear I won’t be a weirdo who’s afraid of running into people I know. I promise.”
“We didn’t see anyone you knew up at Summit Ridge. We could go back up there for dinner and not have to worry. If we ate in the main restaurant, I’m sure the lighting is dim enough that we could go undetected.”
For a moment, he didn’t respond because now he knew he was being a dramatic and paranoid jerk. That wasn’t how he wanted Sloane to see him.
“I just really want more time to ourselves. I can’t help it. When I go to work tomorrow, you’re going to go and be with your family and you’ll probably want to spend your last day and night here with them before flying home.”
And that’s when it hit him. She never told him who her family was.
Actually, she never even told him her last name.
Why didn’t I notice that until right now?
“Maybe I can pick you up tomorrow from your…cousin’s? Your sister’s? I can’t remember which one you said you were staying with.”
Smiling, she said, “My sister. She just had a baby and as much as I want to spend time with her and get to know my new niece, I think she was a little overwhelmed having me there. I sort of just showed up unannounced, so…”
It wasn’t possible that he truly knew everyone in town, but he remembered seeing baby pictures just the other day. Who was he talking to? Was it…?
Oh no…
“Is your sister married to Max Calloway?”
Sloane let out a long breath before nodding. “Yup. My sister is Hailey Calloway.”
“So that makes you…?”
“Sloane Donovan.”
Oh, shit.