Chapter 3
The Agatha Building
Owen rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, attempting to erase the image of Ava’s achingly familiar face from his mind.
Despite the years and distance, Ava was beautiful.
The shirt she was wearing was too big for her.
Owen wondered who it belonged to, then hated the way he cared if she was wearing another man’s shirt.
He gripped the steering wheel and backed out of the gravel driveway, uncertainty overwhelming him about where he was going next. Ava’s words, much like her unexpected arrival, rattled him.
It was just his luck that the one time his manager needed cover at the café on his day off; he was available. Any other Monday and Owen would have said no or found an alternative. However, Avery was with his mom today, and those opportunities were rare.
The hurt on Ava’s face flashed through his mind, spiking his anxiety further. The timing of her arrival couldn’t be worse. All too soon, he parked in front of Flynn’s Real Estate and hurried up to his realtor’s office.
“You’re late.”
Owen grimaced and sank down in the empty chair facing the desk. His realtor, Matt, sat back in his own seat, his arms crossed.
“You’re never going to believe why,” Owen said. He eyed the champagne bottle sitting on the corner of the desk. A reminder of what today was.
“Don’t leave me in suspense. Spit it out.
Then we need to sign these closing documents digitally before the link expires.
” Matt straightened in his seat and braced his hands on the desk.
“I went through too much bullshit to get you this property, and dealing with the Historical Society was a pain in my ass. Be glad we’re friends or I would’ve added another percentage to my commission for that alone. ”
Matt was his closest friend and the best commercial realtor in the area. He was also probably the only realtor who would’ve gone to bat for Owen over this purchase. A purchase that now filled him with unshakeable doubt.
“Ava.”
Matt raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t said her name in years. What about her?”
Owen rubbed at the anxiety forming a knot behind his collarbone. “She’s here. She came into the café with Summer right before closing.”
Both of Matt’s eyebrows lifted. “No kidding. What’s she doing back in town? It’s been, what? Ten years?”
Owen nodded absently. August. It will be ten years in August. “She’s selling her dad’s cabin.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “And you know this, how?”
“I just dropped her off at the cabin.”
Matt shook his head with a sigh. “Well, this complicates things, huh? Still want to go through with this?”
Owen considered his options. He couldn’t back out without a serious penalty, though he was confident Matt could find a loophole.
And just because Ava was here now, didn’t mean she’d be here long enough to know.
She would return to New York as soon as the cabin went on the market. That he was sure of.
And Matt had gone to bat for him on this purchase. Convincing Agatha Ducksworth to sell the building, and the Historical Society to sign off on the sale, had been a challenge only Matt relished tackling.
The brick facade of the Agatha Building was visible from the window of Matt’s second-floor office that overlooked most of downtown Cedar Falls. Of course, he could see all the buildings that made up downtown, considering how small the town was.
The sidewalks were filled with more people than usual, strolling through downtown and making their way to the lake.
Visitors from all over flocked to Cedar Falls in the summer, and this year was no exception.
The one stoplight in town stopped more traffic in the summer than it did all year.
Most of the visitors rented vacation cabins or stayed at hotels in nearby towns.
There was no place to stay in town, not like years ago when the Agatha Building used to be a bed-and-breakfast.
“I know this purchase has something to do with a certain little birdie,” Matt prodded when Owen stayed silent too long.
When Owen had first approached Matt about buying the building, Matt tried to convince him it would be better to bide his time. Agatha was ninety years old, after all.
But Owen didn’t want to wait years to buy it.
He didn’t want to delay what he wanted anymore.
It wasn’t like he was bored or lacked purpose; he had enough on his plate.
Between taking care of his son and running the café, he didn’t have time to consider another business opportunity. And yet, he’d done just that.
Not only had Owen made an offer on the Agatha Building, but he also faced the prospect of renovating it under the Historical Society’s watchful eye. All because he was clinging to some misguided dream he’d once had with a girl who left him behind.
Except now, she was back.
He could keep this from her, right? Like she said, a few weeks tops.
“Let’s do it.”