Chapter 26
Presley
After West walked out of my house, I stood there gazing out my windows, clinging to my blanket, staggered by the turn my life had taken in the past half hour.
Twelve hours ago, I’d felt…bubbly and lighthearted and happy as West and I spent the day together working on the shop.
We got along so well, worked together seamlessly, flirted, laughed, talked.
He told me all about the trip he was planning to the beach with his daughters.
I told him about the coffee suppliers I’d chosen for my first quarter in business.
Days at the shop with West, when there was no one else around, were like going on a long, very good date, except we worked instead of played.
It was also like nearly twelve hours of foreplay, so by the time we’d gotten to my house, we’d both been impatient and on fire for each other.
Though I’d hesitated to commit to calling my feelings for him the L word on Wednesday with the girls at the salon, by Thursday there was no way to deny it. I loved him. Today I’d relished what it felt like to spend the day with the man I loved.
Lightning zigzagged in the sky in the distance, dragging me from my thoughts for long enough to drop my blanket and pull on boxers and a soft sleep tank, even if it was doubtful I’d sleep anytime soon. My brain was spinning, trying to make sense of West Aldridge.
I picked up my phone on the off chance he’d get home to his empty house and realize what a stupid move he’d made, then headed down to the shore to watch the storm roll in.
I went out to the end of the dock, taking in the moon, still bright and shining but on the verge of being cloaked by a bank of thick clouds. I sat on the wood surface, legs bent, my hands behind me for support as I watched the dramatic sky.
What the hell was West thinking to throw away something like what we’d shared?
I understood that when kids were involved, there was a lot to consider. I appreciated that he put his kids high on the priority list. That was such a foundational part of the person he was. I’d hate for him to be any other way.
But.
How could he think it was okay to deny himself something as good as what we had? Why couldn’t both he and his kids be happy? How could he think it wasn’t worth it to try? Because I could swear he had more than just lustful feelings for me.
His daughters were precious and full of life and seemed well-adjusted, considering how turbulent the mom scene had been for them.
West had told me how much his ex-girlfriend moving out had upset them, especially Nova.
How he’d wake up with anywhere between one and three of them in his bed each morning for the first few weeks after she’d left.
The picture he’d painted had absolutely ripped at my heart. I never wanted those three to feel like that again. That he’d just assumed I’d eventually leave and hurt them? Without giving us a chance?
I couldn’t comprehend not wanting to at least try at something that had started out so good.
I knew there would be steps to take if we were to attempt a real, nonsecret relationship.
So many steps, like making the jump from secret to public, easing his kids into the idea of us without them jumping to conclusions, and continuing to get to know each other.
I didn’t expect or even want a marriage proposal or an invitation to move in together. That’s not where we were.
He’d shut us down before we had the chance to get there, and I wanted to shake some sense into his big, stupid self.
The tip of the cloud bank covered the moon as lightning flashed like a laser-light show. I lay on my back to enjoy the display, feeling the charge in the air as the wind picked up.
I stayed there for another twenty minutes, watching the weather change around me, feeling Mother Nature’s drama in my heart, because my own life felt like a storm had come along and ripped the hell out of everything that made sense.
When the first raindrops hit me, I headed inside.
The house felt like a mausoleum. A giant, empty, lonely mausoleum instead of a home.
I strode to the utility room and opened the door, unleashing my tiny beasts.
Call me a bad cat mom to let them out of bed at nearly midnight, but I needed company and comfort.
What I needed even more was girlfriend time and a bottle of wine.
I’d never experienced a breakup before, and I wasn’t sure this could officially qualify as one since we’d only had a secret fling that started out with the intention of being short-term.
My emotions were real though, so for me, this was a breakup.
A heartbreak. And I longed for the support and commiseration of a girlfriend.
The clock on my new kitchen stove said ten till midnight.
I tried not to think about how much time West and I would still have left in this night together had I not mentioned moving to my bed or staying all night. The loss hurt too much.
I couldn’t call Chloe and disrupt her whole house at this hour. No way would I bother seven-months-pregnant Rowan. But Magnolia had mentioned she was an insomniac.
With Chai, the lightest-colored kitten, in my arm, I pulled up Magnolia on my message app while Latte and Mocha scampered at my feet.
Presley: Any chance you’re awake?
The dots that showed she was typing appeared instantly. I’d never been so relieved to see those dots as I was now.
Magnolia: But of course. What’s up? Everything okay?
I sucked in a long, shaky breath. Magnolia didn’t know about West and me. No one did except the three from the salon.
Presley: It’s a long story. Is it too late for a glass of wine?
Magnolia: Not too late at all. What do you have in mind?
Presley: I’ve got this big house, a few bottles of wine, and boy troubles.
Magnolia: Send me your address. I’ll be right over.
I’d planned to meet West at eight Sunday morning as usual to finish up the last construction details on the shop. Though there was a part of me that was tempted to skip it and let him labor through the final details himself, Magnolia and I had decided that wasn’t how it was going to go down.
This was my shop, and I wasn’t going to skip out on the work, nor was I going to let West think he’d broken me.
He’d broken my heart, yes. I’d spent hours last night bawling my eyes out as I spilled the story to Magnolia. But he couldn’t dampen my determination or my anticipation for The Bean Counter.
“You’ve got the hungover-but-hot look down,” Magnolia said as we walked down the sidewalk from the Dragonfly Diner toward my shop.
“Likewise, my friend.” We’d both showered and thrown our hair up, then put on just enough mascara to look not dead. “I don’t know how to thank you, Magnolia. You’re going so far above and beyond for me…” My voice caught, but I pushed the tears down. Not today. I wasn’t crying any more today.
Magnolia shrugged. “I’m glad you texted. No one should have to go through boy troubles—or any troubles—alone.”
“That goes both ways.”
I might have been doubtful of her when I first moved to town, but all doubts were gone. Whatever she’d done in the past, however she’d been before, now she was solid.
Solid was driving to my house at midnight in a downpour.
Solid was sharing two bottles of wine and listening to me blubber about my very short story called West Aldridge while three pint-sized kittens crawled all over us.
It was having a sleepover where we slept for no more than a few hours because of the wine and the talking.
It was getting up extra early to hit the diner for breakfast, and it was Magnolia’s offer to help me in the shop all day for moral support so I wouldn’t have to be alone with West.
I’d already promised to spend at least as much time helping her with her business next door, but that was only the start of how grateful I was.
“Okay,” Magnolia said, looping our arms together as we neared my shop door.
It was quarter after eight, so chances were good West was inside already.
The paper was still up, so I couldn’t be sure.
“Remember what we talked about,” she continued.
“You’re calm. You’re cool. This is business as usual. He might be hot, but he’s stupid.”
I laughed in spite of my dread. “I love you.”
She leaned her head onto my shoulder. “Love you too. You. Got. This.”
I opened the door to the shop, raised my chin just enough to remind me I was the boss of this place, and led Magnolia in. “Morning,” I said in the blandest, most matter-of-fact tone without so much as a glance in West’s direction, even though I was fully aware he was working to my right.
“Hello, West,” Magnolia said in the most perfect “you’ve hurt my friend so we’re now enemies” tone.
There was a slight pause before he said, “Hey,” but I didn’t stop to look at him.
Magnolia and I breezed back to my office, leaving him in the front room.
As she came all the way inside, she held up a hand for a high five, grinning. “You did great,” she whispered. “Did you see how flustered he was?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t look at him.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “He’s shook.”
Donning my imaginary armor, I shrugged and said, “His problem.”
“That’s my girl.” Magnolia glanced around. “Let’s get started. What are we doing first?”
“We need to do all the doorknobs and most of the drawer and cabinet pulls in the kitchen. I think there’s some outlet covers to finish. Little stuff like that.”
“Show me how to do the pulls, and I’ll do those?”
“That’s a plan. Follow me.”
As I led her out of the office, I once again kept my chin up.
Out in the front area, West was on a ladder, working on the light fixtures.
I confess I drank in his profile while his beefy arms were over his head and his shirt stretched up, revealing that trail of dark hair that led down his abdomen to the treasure in his pants.
Clenching my jaw, I averted my gaze and went into the kitchen that was a lot smaller now that all the counters and appliances were in place.
There were lots of cabinets for storage.
West and I had managed to install exactly two pulls last night before deciding to save them for today and then rushing to my house for…
Yeah. For the shit show that was last night.
I showed Magnolia how to attach the silver pulls on the drawers, then left her to it while I tackled the doorknobs. Back in my office, I pulled out my phone and searched for a short how-to video. This task wasn’t complex, but I hadn’t done it before. I had no intention of asking West.
I started with the door of the restroom closest to the front and gradually worked my way back toward my office. The three of us worked in a tense silence, each in our own spaces.
As I took the knob for my office out of the package, West sauntered into the room.
“Hey,” he said in a private voice, the one he’d used with me for the past few weeks whenever we were alone and sometimes at my house when his crew couldn’t hear. “How are you doing?”
My gaze snapped to his face, the intimacy of his voice making my chest hurt. I wasn’t going there. He’d drawn the line last night, and I was staying fully on my side of it today and forever more.
“Just fine,” I said curtly.
“Don’t do that, Presley,” he said in a quiet plea.
Something in me snapped. He had the nerve to plead with me?
This was his doing. He was now nothing more than my contractor.
“Are the light fixtures finished?” I asked, keeping my voice even, professional.
“Yes.”
“What’s left for you to work on?”
“Whatever you need me to help with. I can work on the pulls or the outlet covers.”
“Magnolia and I can handle those just fine. You can go.”
“If you let me know exactly where you want the shelves in the self-serve area, I could—”
“Just go, West. I’ll pay you for a full day today. Send me the final invoice. I’ll take care of it quickly. I’ll give you good reviews wherever you need me to. Just…please, go.”
He studied me with those astute green eyes, searching, as if waiting to see if I’d relent or soften.
I wouldn’t.
After so many seconds ticked by, he nodded once. “Okay. I’ll pick up my tools and ladder Tuesday evening.”
I turned away from him and went back to my task as if he wasn’t standing there.
He hesitated for one last moment, as if giving me a chance to…what? What the actual hell did he expect me to do right now? Beg him to give me another chance? Profess my undying love…again?
Too late. My love was pissed now, soon to be fading fast, I hoped.
I kept at the doorknob, my body tensed, my back to the rest of the shop.
He called out a goodbye to Magnolia, then walked out the front door.
I took a step back from the office door, tossing my screwdriver down and closing my eyes as I let the facade fall.
Magnolia came in and pulled me into a hug. We stood there like that while time ticked silently by, with me bracing against the emotional pain and her just holding on.
“I know that had to be hard, but you did so good,” she said. “I want to be as strong as you when I grow up.”
That made me grin. “I don’t feel very strong.”
“But you act strong, and sometimes that’s what counts. It’s just me here now, hon. I can lock the front door, and you can cry your eyes out or punch things if you want.”
I straightened and shook my head. After sucking in a shaky breath, I said, “There will be no more tears shed over stupid boys today.”
“Is it too soon to start up one of your brand-spanking-new coffee machines and make us some awesome java?”
“Brilliant idea.” I marched out to the counter where my shiny, expensive machines were and busied myself brewing the first two coffees from The Bean Counter.
But just because there weren’t tears didn’t mean I didn’t hurt like hell.