Chapter 11
THE ONLY THING I’LL BE SIGNING IS A LIABILITY WAIVER.
Tucker
“You’re late.”
“Griffin,” I say, shaking my head and making my way around the back of the bar. “My shift starts at five, which means I have four minutes remaining before you start paying me.”
He eyes me before looking me up and down before the bell chimes over the door. Griffin groans, but I ignore him and turn around to see Dallas walking in with Poppy and Lily beside him.
I smile—a cheesy one—seeing my best friend and my two cousins walking in.
Dallas Westbrook moved here with his daughter at the end of last year when he needed a break from the major leagues.
He was looking for a breather, but ended up coaching the kids here in town.
I’ve had the honor of assisting him in coaching the kids.
It gives me something else to do—something else to keep my schedule packed during the season.
Dallas is also the only one outside of my family that I’ve ever opened up to.
It was after one of the little league games.
The date on the calendar always weighs heavily on me but it felt even louder than the crowd that day.
He noticed before I could try to hide it.
He was calm and patient. Not wanting to break through my walls if I wasn’t ready.
Instead, he just stayed and listened. He’s the kind of person who sees your worst days and doesn’t turn away.
Now, he’s dating my cousin, Poppy. They’re happy—like, really happy. Which is great for me because he’s like family now.
“Well, well,” Dallas says with a lazy grin, headed for his usual stool before he takes a seat. “Look who’s slumming it with the rest of us mortals.”
“Can someone fill me in?” Griffin says, arms out wide.
“Talkative Tucker here is the lead contractor for that little fixer upper show,” Dallas says.
Griffin moves to grab a bottle from behind us to pour Dallas a drink, and then narrows his eyes at me, so many questions floating through his head. “That part I know.”
“Which means he’s going to be a bigwig TV star now.”
Poppy laughs. “You’re going to be signing autographs behind the bar in no time.”
“The only thing I’ll be signing is a liability waiver.”
Everyone laughs, including Griffin, which makes me smile. Hearing my family and friends laugh is the only thing that keeps me going most of the time.
“We met Scottie a few days ago,” Lily says.
“Well, Blair and I did when she stopped in for muffins. She is exactly what the internet says she is…a walking ray of sunshine. I wanted to bottle it up.” She laughs.
“And I know this sounds nuts, but even just the few moments she spent in the bakery, I felt like my day was better just from meeting her.”
She’s right. That’s exactly what Scottie is—a walking ray of sunshine.
I think about how I spent the whole day with her in a house so dull and lacking any sort of shine, yet she somehow made a place that should have been condemned a long time ago, feel alive.
I don’t even think Scottie realizes she does it.
“She’s…easy to work with,” I say casually.
Dallas laughs. “That’s the most suspicious compliment you’ve ever given.”
Lily smirks, raising an eyebrow. “And from what I hear, you two were bickering like an old married couple before lunch.”
I groan, running a hand over my face. Of course the whole town already knows. If one person saw and told Nan, everyone knows.
“It’s not like that.”
“Right,” Lily draws out. “I’m all ears for you to elaborate on that. Do you know her or something?”
My eyes snap to Dallas on their own accord.
He stares at me for a beat before his eyes widen, as if he immediately knows what I’m thinking.
I’ve never talked to Griffin, Lily, or Poppy about my one-night stand in San Francisco.
But, poor Dallas, he had to hear about it the whole ride back to Bluestone Lakes.
Sixteen fucking hours of me bitching.
Mostly about my regrets for not leaving my phone number, and how I fucked up so bad. At one point, I even asked him to turn around. I needed to find her again, but it was too late. We were too far from the city at that point and Dallas needed to get back.
“No,” Dallas breathes out in shock.
I nod my head once.
Dallas runs his fingers through his hair, taking it all in. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“Fuck.”
I see Griffin and Lily looking between the two of us, and Poppy has a hand over her mouth, chuckling—no doubt she knows, and Dallas has filled her in on the details after that long drive.
“Anyone want to fill the rest of the class in?” Lily says.
I pause, staring at her, trying to figure out how much I want to tell them.
“Well…” I sigh, deciding fuck it, they’re going to find out anyway. “I had a one-night stand back in San Francisco.”
“Not unusual for you,” Lily says. “You do that—” She stops herself, eyes wide as realization now hits her. “No.”
I nod again.
“This is torture, guys,” Poppy says, sitting up taller on her barstool.
“Let me give you all a quick rundown so we’re all on the same page.
Tucker had a one-night stand, and her name was Scottie.
He didn’t know much about her. Just her name and that she was there for something work related.
They hit it off instantly—no, they ignited.
Sparks, fire, static in the air. The whole damn cliché, and then some. ”
I look to Dallas. “Is that how you described it to her?”
He shakes his head, laughing. “No, but I think that’s pretty spot on based on your rant the entire drive back to town.”
They all think this is funny. The small-town contractor falling into the orbit of a now TV star with bright clothes and big dreams, but it’s not.
It’s something else.
Something that makes me feel awake again.
And I don’t know if I’m ready for that.
“And now Scottie is the star of the season? And you’re the lead contractor?” Poppy asks.
“And her fake boyfriend,” I say quickly and calmly, as if it means nothing.
But it also means everything.
Dallas and Griffin must’ve been taking sips of their drinks because liquid sprays across the bar in different directions before they both shout. “What?”
“Let’s not make a thing of it,” I say as casually as possible.
“We absolutely are,” Dallas adds.
“I want all the details,” Lily chimes in. “How the hell did that come about?”
I shrug, trying to remain indifferent. “The producers thought we had chemistry. Claims it’s good for the subplot.”
Lily exhales, hands flat on the bar. “Wait, wait, wait. So the woman you hooked up with is now in charge of renovating the home you’ve had your eye on since you moved here, and the producers decided, hey, let’s trap them together on camera all day?”
“It’s a coincidence,” I mutter.
“So, what’s the deal, Tucker?” Griffin asks. “You don’t like her?”
I hesitate for a moment, trying to decide what to say.
It’s not that I don’t like her. It’s that I like her way too much.
More than I should for someone I barely know.
In the short time she’s been here, she’s already getting under my skin and makes me forget there are cameras rolling just a few feet away.
One moment, she’s laughing and it feels like sunlight. The next, she’s glaring at me.
It’s chaos.
Pure fucking chaos.
And I can’t help but continue walking straight into it.
“I never said I don’t.”
“Translation,” Dallas says, pointer finger in the air. “He likes her.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
Lily smirks. “But you’re not denying it.”
“We’re working together. That’s all it is.”
Lily gives me a look that only I would understand. “You know you’re allowed to let yourself have something good once in a while.”
I busy myself drying glasses from the dishwasher rack as I take in her words. I can’t. Even if she’s right, I can’t.
“I have everything I could want in life,” I say to the glass in my hand, before lifting my eyes to meet hers. “I have you all. I have a job. That’s all I need.”
That shuts them up for a second. Not in an awkward way, just the kind of silence people who know you well enough leave space for.
Lily busies herself with clicking away on her phone and Dallas clears his throat.
“I think this is great. I’m willing to bet you two do have chemistry, and it will be good for both of you.
She gets her show and the best contractor in Bluestone Lakes, and you get to showcase your skills for more work when the show is over. ”
“Nan says it’s the most exciting thing to happen in town since the water tower got repainted,” Griffin says.
We all stare at him before we break into a fit of laughter.
“I believe it,” Poppy says first.
“If it keeps you busy and gives Scottie someone to boss around, I’m all for it. She seems nice,” Lily says next, standing up from the barstool and grabbing her purse.
“She’s all right,” I say, and even I notice how flat that sounds as I say it.
Griffin raises an eyebrow. “That’s the exact tone you use when you’re trying not to admit you like something.”
“Or someone.” Dallas grins over the rim of his glass.
I throw the dishrag at him. “You two take your psychology degrees and hit the road.”
They laugh at my response.
It feels good—easy.
“I’m hitting the road,” Lily announces. “I have to run and grab something from the bakery, and I’ll be back for Nan’s karaoke night in twenty minutes.”
Griffin rolls his eyes. “That’s my cue to leave before it gets loud in here.”
“Come on, Grumpy Griffin,” I say with my arms out to my side. “The fun’s just getting started.”
“What he said.” Lily waves over her shoulder at me as she walks away.
I clap my hands together. “Let’s have a good night!”