Chapter 22 #2
I release her wrist and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against my side so I can bend down and whisper in her ear, “It’s a bad idea for us to keep spending time together.”
“And I told you earlier that I was a gold digger. If I could lease this space from your Grandpa, I promise I’ll make it a good deal for both of us.”
“What if you hate Pine Ridge? What about when we ‘break up?’”
“We’re going to have to break up sometime,” she agrees. “But whether it’s now or next week might be the difference in how strong he is to receive the news.”
“And you think he’d still want to work with you on a distillery, even when you’re my ex-fiancée?” I ask, frustrated that there’s a burning in my chest at the thought of her not being my fake fiancée anymore.
What is wrong with me? Why am I so angry at the idea of not being around her anymore?
“It will depend on how well he likes the business plan I pitch him. I’m not expecting to have things handed to me, but this is an opportunity I don’t want to miss.”
I can feel her warmth against my cheek, and I hate it. I hate that she’s sticking around because of a business opportunity—which is unfair, I know—but I want her to stay because of me.
I immediately release her and take two quick steps back. Where did that come from?
I don’t even know her. She’s someone I met in a building and hired to be my fiancée, and now I’m upset that she’s interested in a business rather than me. A business she’s thought about for years. And I’m trying to begrudge her for using a connection through my grandfather?
Grandpa knows so many people. Of course he would have ideas for how she could start her distillery. Grandpa loves starting new businesses with young entrepreneurs.
And here I am, standing here, upset, because she didn’t walk through that door to continue pretending to be my fake fiancée.
I need to get a grip and remember my priorities.
“Fine. Let’s go talk to Grandpa and see what he has to say.”
She makes little pinching fingers in the air and looks at me threateningly. “Just know, if you decide to be a bully again, I’m not afraid to fight back.”
A slow grin spreads across my face, and I reach forward and grasp her hand, pulling her after me toward the kitchen.
“We’ll see about that.”
She has to run to keep up with me and doesn’t get an opportunity to pinch my side until we’re standing on the other side of the island, watching Grandpa rifle through the fridge.
I yelp when she steps closer and pinches my side with her free hand. I latch on to that hand and hold it in mine, so now both of her hands are intertwined with mine and pressed against my side.
Grandpa turns around and looks at us. “Oh, it’s so good to see you getting along so well. Young love is such a nice thing.”
If Grandpa wasn’t looking at us, I’m pretty sure Magnolia might try to bite me. She’s glaring up at me and trying to wiggle her hands free.
“We were just having an argument,” Magnolia tells him.
“Oh, a lovers’ spat,” Grandpa says.
“Something like that,” I grind out as she steps on my foot with her heeled shoe.
I release her hands and grab her waist, lifting her up and setting her on the island. She forces a fake pleasant smile on her face. I step in close enough that she can’t swing a foot at me, placing my hands on either side of her hips.
“Magnolia, we just can’t seem to keep our hands off each other. We’ll try to do better.”
Grandpa waves a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’m going back upstairs. There’s nothing good in this fridge. I’m gonna have to order DoorDash.”
He turns toward the door, then stops to look back at us. “I’m so glad you’ll both be going to Pine Ridge tomorrow. I’ve been a little worried about the ranch and that property. You’ll be sure to show Magnolia around and let her talk to Henry, right?”
I close my eyes. So, that’s where the potential distillery is, I think.
I’d forgotten about our conversation a few days ago.
I’ve been so focused on other things. What if Magnolia moves there?
What if she runs a business in my town? We would see each other all the time.
I have the impossible urge to shout with joy.
But it would also mean pure torture. There’s no reason for us to pretend to be together after Grandpa recovers. We would be back to being acquaintances and would bump into each other all the time. It would be sheer misery to watch her flirt with other men right in front of me.
I groan at the thought. I know Zane Madden, another rancher in Pine Ridge, is one of the biggest flirts in the world and he would be the first to line up for a date with Magnolia.
Yeah, thinking about that get’s rid of the urge to laugh.
“I know we talked about Pine Ridge before, but I still have some questions, if you don’t mind,” she tells Grandpa.
“Of course not, ask away.” Grandpa smiles at her encouragingly.
Magnolia asks, “I’ve never been to Pine Ridge, I’ve just heard it’s rather small. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the opportunity, I just don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
Grandpa laughs. “You would be surprised at the business that comes through that town. There’s a lot of summer traffic, a lot of regulars in the community, and a lot of day-trippers.
Even though the town is small, I don’t think you’d have an issue with the business, especially if you end up shipping and selling through other businesses in the local area. ”
I open my eyes and look at Magnolia. She looks stunned.
“And Nash is planning on going right now too?” she asks. “He didn’t say anything to me. I thought he was going at a later date.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Grandpa says. “We just talked about what a bad communicator he is. Yes, he’s going to go over and check on things for a few days, and that will be perfect because you can just ride with him and stay at the lodge.
Then you can tell me what you and Henry think of that property I purchased a year ago and tell me what would need to happen to make the distillery go in there. ”
“Magnolia, for this opportunity,” I say, “I didn’t say I agreed to it. I want to see your business proposal first.”
“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. You’ll love it. Nash thinks I don’t know it, but he can’t wait to be back out there,” Grandpa says with a laugh. “So, you see? I know you two will have a good time.” He turns and walks away.
I focus on Magnolia again. “Congratulations. You’ve just won yourself a weekend away with your fake fiancé.”
She grins and tries to scoot farther back onto the counter. “In my defense, I didn’t think you would be going out there too.”
“Of course you didn’t. Grandpa knows I’m going to move out to Pine Ridge soon, so he probably thought it was a great location for you to have a business. Since we’re supposed to be getting married and everything.”
Magnolia sighs. “That does make logical sense…if we were actually getting married.”
“Well, I’m sorry you’re stuck going to Pine Ridge with me. I really did try to get you out of this last night,” I tell her with a frown.
“You’re going to be grumpy the whole way over there, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
“Will you give me time to pack a bag?”
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I? We’ll leave tomorrow night. I have to get some more work things straightened away.”
Something burns in my chest at the idea of being stuck in the car with Magnolia…and I don’t know if it’s frustration or excitement.
Possibly a little bit of both.