Lila #2
Magnolia flicked her hair. “Oh, I know it. Here’s the thing. We can’t control the future, but we can control how we show up for one another. So just because you’ll be here and Lila and I will be elsewhere doesn’t mean we won’t have your back every single day.”
Willa lowered her head, fighting back another round of tears. “Thank you.”
“We will find a way to live our dreams. We’re scrappy, gorgeous, and smart.” Magnolia held her glass aloft. “The world better get the fuck out of our way.”
The girls ordered a second basket of fries and we were feeling much better by the time the band set up for the night.
I hadn’t really participated in the Lovewell nightlife scene since I’d been home, but even I knew about Jasper Hawkins and his band.
A few of them were local timber guys, and a couple others worked down at the hydroelectric plant in Woodville.
They mostly played covers and performed at town events and weddings.
Magnolia was trying to convince us to come back to her house for a sleepover when the air in the bar shifted. The Heberts had arrived. En masse.
Including Owen.
And damn, he looked good. Was he wearing a flannel shirt or had I had too much wine?
Despite my better judgment, I craned my neck to get a better look.
“Ooh.” Magnolia bounced in her seat and rubbed her hands together. “The lumberjack brigade has arrived. We’ve got Scruffy Lumberjack, Corporate Lumberjack, Man Bun Lumberjack, and, ooh, my personal favorite, Sensitive Musician Lumberjack. It’s a goddamn buffet, ladies.”
I slid her wineglass away. It was probably time to cut her off.
With one brow lifted, she smirked at me. “You calling dibs on Corporate?”
I only spared a second to glare at her before my attention diverted back to Owen.
He was like a homing beacon, and I couldn’t look away.
His hair was a little longer than when he’d returned to town, almost shaggy, and his perpetual stubble had officially transformed into a full-blown beard.
He was wearing jeans and a pair of broken-in work boots.
And yes, he really, really was wearing a flannel shirt.
Damn him. I swore I ovulated on the spot. That was the magic of Lovewell. It could turn even the most impeccably groomed Tom Ford–wearing city guy into a feral lumberjack in a matter of weeks.
The moment he came into view, my pulse had taken off, and my core had tightened. That was the effect this man had on me. He’d been out in the woods helping Gus for a couple of days, so I’d been starving for him already. Now that he was in my proximity, I was ravenous.
But what was he doing here? Owen avoided town events and crowds if at all possible.
When Jude climbed up on stage, it made more sense. They’d come to watch him play. So adorable.
Jude slung his guitar strap over his head and ducked down, tuning the instrument. He sometimes played with the band, but he was so reserved that he usually faded into the background.
“Are we going to talk about this?” Willa asked, slapping my hand gently. “Or do you expect us to pretend you’re not eye fucking your hot boss right now?”
“Pretty sure she’s done a lot more than eye fucking, Willa,” Magnolia leaned forward, a Cheshire cat grin spreading across her face. “Now be a good girl and spill. He’s incredible in bed, right?”
“Stooop,” I whisper-yelled, my face flaming.
Owen stopped at a table and greeted Henri Gagnon and his wife Alice, then wandered to the bar and spoke to Jim for a moment, probably ordering drinks. He looked so comfortable here, almost like he was enjoying himself.
“I get it, I really do.” Willa sighed. “Those Hebert boys are fine specimens. I dig what he’s got going on. Polished enough to look like he’s super in control, but then you’ve got the beard and the rolled-up sleeves, which make it clear he’s all business about making you come, too.”
All the air whooshed from my lungs. “Willa!”
She shrugged and brought her wine to her lips. “I’m just calling it like I see it,” she said over the rim.
“I bet business daddy is great with his tongue,” Magnolia said, nudging Willa. “Now start talking, Lila.” She pinned me with a look. “Or else I’ll go ask him myself.”
Sadly, she was not bluffing.
Whimpering, I dropped my head into my hands. Then, with a sigh, I spilled. “We went to Boston for work. And things heated up. We said it was a one-time thing.”
“Only one time?”
“One-weekend thing,” I corrected. “And I tried so hard, you guys. I tried to stay away. But he kept being really sweet and sexy and vulnerable.”
“And?” They were both staring at me, eyes wide and mouths agape.
“And so we’ve been sneaking around. He may have built me an outdoor movie theater where we watched Say Anything.”
“So Cusack is involved?” Mags asked. “This is serious.”
I hung my head. “I’m fucked. Someone is going to find out, and it’s all a mess, and I really like him.”
“Hey.” Willa rubbed soothing circles on my back. “Slow down.”
Reluctantly, I looked up, fully spiraling now.
“You don’t have to justify anything to us,” Magnolia assured me. “We’re your best friends. And given that we both have functional eyes, we can see what you’ve been up against.”
“And that’s so great that you like him!” Ugh, Willa was such a romantic sometimes.
“No it’s not.” I dropped my head back and groaned. “We crossed the line in Boston, and it was supposed to stop there. Like a hall pass. But I can’t stay away from him. And it’s not just a sex thing. I adore him. He’s sweet and protective and incredibly supportive of my dreams.”
I was being torn in two. Part of me was angry that I couldn’t draw and maintain a boundary when it came to him.
But when was the last time I’d been impulsive?
When had I last done exactly what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it?
I’d lived my life pleasing others. For once, I’d gone after what I wanted, and it was incredible.
Willa frowned and swirled her wine. “So why is this a problem?”
“Because she’s still hung up on Cole,” Magnolia said, shooting me a look of pity.
“No,” I practically shouted, almost knocking over my wineglass in my haste to object.
“Not at all. Just because I won’t publicly date his brother doesn’t mean I’m still in love with him.
I just want to get out of Lovewell unscathed.
Build my life in New York. Can you imagine what people would say if they found out about Owen and me? ”
“They’re going to talk regardless.” Magnolia shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “At least give them something juicy.”