Chapter 4
Farrah
Iwas sitting at my desk, flipping through a supplier catalog, in search of the perfect sectional for the living space I was working on for one of my clients.
The front door suddenly opened, catching my attention.
In walked Addison James, holding two coffees from PrimCup, a large smile on her face.
She set the coffee down in front of me before sitting in the plush chair across from my desk.
"I was grabbing some coffee and thought I'd bring you one and come say hi.
What are you working on?" She glanced down at the catalog in front of me.
I smiled and turned the catalog to face her. "Just trying to figure out which couch I want to get for one of my clients." I picked up the coffee and took a sip. "Thanks for this. I needed it." I held it up in cheers.
She nodded. "No problem. I know how much you love your caffeine. So, what have you been up to? I haven't really seen you since my engagement party, when you abruptly left." She raised a brow at me.
"I know, I'm sorry. Things have been crazy around here. Between Hadley and work, that's about all I have time for these days. Luckily, I now have Emma and Maddie to help with the workload."
Emma and Maddie were the new employees I’d hired about a month ago, and they had quite literally saved my life.
Emma was my design intern. She was nineteen years old, attended The University of Texas in Austin, and was in the same interior design program that I had completed.
Maddie was my full-time design assistant.
She was twenty-one years old and a recent graduate from the University of Georgia, where she’d completed their top-notch interior design program.
Addison took a sip from her coffee. "Emma and Maddie seem great. How is little Miss Hadley doing?"
The mention of my two-year-old always put a smile on my face. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me. "She's amazing. Beginning to talk non-stop."
"You should bring her by the farm. We can put her on Pancake. You know, Lacey would love to start giving her lessons."
Lacey was Addison's assistant trainer, who’d taken over the lesson program for her younger students.
I tried to go out to Mountain Laurel Farm whenever I could find the time.
I grew up riding with her and Ava. It was a passion of mine that I still tried to make time for, and now, a recent bonus was that one of my closest friends had her own farm with a string of incredible horses to ride.
"Definitely. I could probably come next Saturday?" I said as I checked my phone's calendar to make sure I was free.
"That would be perfect. Heather is out of town, so you could ride Tank for me." She pulled her phone out, started typing a message, then placed it back on my desk. "I sent Lacey a text to put Hadley on her schedule."
"Sounds like a date. So, how has engaged life been so far? Have you picked out a wedding date yet?" I leaned back in my chair, enjoying the unexpected caffeine break.
A dreamy look spread across Addison’s face. "It's been great. And yes, we’re thinking late spring or early summer next year."
"That's exciting!" My phone vibrated on my desk with a text from my ex-husband, Jake.
He sent a picture of Hadley—she was with him and his fiancée, Lily, for the next few days.
Thankfully, for Hadley's sake, we had a great co-parenting relationship.
Turned out we were better as friends than we ever were when we were together.
Addison was quiet for a moment, and I knew what she was about to ask before she even spoke. "Can I ask why you left my engagement party early?" Her tone was cautious.
I sighed and looked down at my coffee, trying to decide how to answer her question.
"I just hate when your brother gets hurt, is all, and that was probably the worst hit I've seen him take.
I don't know, I just felt overwhelmed and didn't want anyone to see me react.
I didn't want to take away from your day. "
Shortly into Addison’s engagement party, Walker’s injury had been televised. A line-drive off his curveball straight to his pitching elbow.
Addison nodded. "I get it, it was hard to watch.
" She reached across my desk and squeezed my hand.
"You know you can talk to me if you ever need to, right?
I don't know what happened with you two since neither of you will tell us—and that's fine—but you can still talk to me about him if you need to. "
I simply nodded, looking at our hands for a moment before I was able to look her in the eye. "I should be over it all, you know? It’s been nine years, Addi. What is wrong with me?"
It was the first time I had admitted it. It was the first time I had said it out loud.
"He means a lot to you, and you mean a lot to him. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think he is over you either," she said, giving me a sympathetic smile.
A humorless laugh escaped. "Not according to the media."
Addison waved her hand dismissively. "All of that is bullshit."
I shook my head. "Anyway, none of that matters. I’m divorced with a two-year-old, I'm not the same girl I was back then.
Speaking of which, I actually have a date tomorrow night after my meeting with your mom.
" Since Hadley was with Jake and Lily for the weekend, I was finally doing something for myself.
I’d met Ryan Lovell a couple of weeks ago on a job site; he owned a contracting business in my hometown of Forest Park.
My clients were doing a complete remodel of their home and had hired him as their contractor.
They’d recently brought me on as the designer.
Ryan was a good-looking man. Tall, broad, dark hair and dark eyes.
He was also divorced, but had no children.
We’d hit it off immediately; there was definitely an attraction there, and I was excited for the date.
Addison's eyes widened. "What? You have a date?!" she squealed excitedly. I filled her in on how I’d met Ryan and showed her a picture of him on his company's website.
She studied the photo before looking back up at me, "Damn girl, he's hot!" She handed me my phone back. “I'm excited for you, and you have to promise to fill me in on all the details afterward." She took another sip of her coffee. "What are you meeting with my mom about?"
"She wants me to redo the tasting room." I placed my phone back down on my desk and reached for my coffee.
"That's awesome. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I've been telling her for years that they needed to redo it. Especially after their fancy new restaurant opened up, the tasting room looks so dated."
I chuckled. "Totally agree."
"Not to turn the topic of conversation back to Walker, but you know he’s back in town, right?"
My heart rate picked up as it always did when his name was mentioned. "No, I didn't realize that. I thought he would rehab his elbow back in Austin?"
Addison shook her head. "Nope. He’ll only ever work with Dr. Howard, so he’s probably back home until next season. He can't even start throwing again for several months."
Well shit.
This would make my life infinitely more complicated.
It was easy to avoid the man when he was only here for a weekend or a week or two.
I somehow even managed to avoid him when he was home during the off-season, but I wasn't sure I could avoid running into him over the next nine to ten months, especially since I was renovating his parents' tasting room.
Our families were close, often having Sunday dinners and celebrating holidays together.
"That's right, I forgot about his relationship with Dr. Howard. Well, I'm sure your parents will be thrilled to have him around for a while." I wasn't sure what else to say, because internally, I was panicking.
Addison tilted her head, studying me. The girl knew me too well.
"Y'all really just need to talk and move on.
Let the past be the past, so both of you can be in the same room without it being awkward.
" She played with the hem of her shorts before continuing.
"I was going to ask you in a cute way, but whatever, I'm just going to do it.
" She paused, taking a deep breath. "I want you to be a bridesmaid, and I want Hadley to be my flower girl, but that’ll mean more than you and Walk just being in the same room together. You two will be in our wedding party. He’s going to be one of Dean's groomsmen. "
A wave of guilt washed over me; the last thing Addison should worry about on her big day was her brother and me.
"I would love that, Addi." I reached for her hands.
"It would be an honor for me and Hadley to be a part of your big day. This is about you and Dean, not Walker and me. We’re adults; we can be around each other without issue.
Don't worry about us." I squeezed her hands in reassurance.
Addison smiled. "Good, because I wasn't going to take no for an answer." She pushed up out of her chair. "All right, well as much as I want to sit here all day and chat with you, I need to get going. I have horses to ride, and I'm sure you’re super busy too." She came around my desk to hug me.
"Thanks for bringing me a coffee. Feel free to do that every day if you'd like," I teased.
She laughed, then pointed her finger at me and narrowed her eyes. "Now don't you forget to text me all the details of your date."
We said our goodbyes, and I walked her out.
My mind immediately went back to Walker, as it often did. How was I going to survive almost a year of him being back in Primrose Hill?
Today was the day I was meeting with Laurel James at Primrose Estates Winery and Vineyard to discuss my plans for renovating their tasting room. Before I left my office, I stopped to chat with Emma and Maddie to make sure they were good for the rest of the day in my absence.