“I’m sorry, Mr. Waldo. I wish more than anything that I could fix things, but Amelia…well, she doesn’t feel the same way I do.” I gritted my teeth to fight back the lump in my throat.
Waldo moved with the speed of a youthful lion, grabbing my hands and squeezing them tight. Whoa. A few gasps from fellow patrons enjoying the show could even be heard over the roaring in my ears. Since when did the chief hold hands with his daughter’s boyfriend in the coffee shop?
“You listen here. The Lord gifted me with five incredible daughters and not one son. I’ve not only resigned myself to that fact, but I’ve come to realize it’s a goddamn gift. But when you and Amelia started dating, I got my heart set on you being my new son.” The man’s eyes got suspiciously shiny. Or maybe that was moisture from my own eyes. “So, whatever this thing is between you, don’t you give up just yet. Try one more time, son.”
I froze, emotion choking whatever I could have said in return. All this time, I thought the chief merely tolerated me, associating me with my deadbeat brother, but here he was, calling me son in front of everyone. He wasn’t ashamed of me at all.
He patted my hand and then stood, exiting the shop without his usual breakfast order. He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, those words were powerful, indeed. I blinked at the empty chair across from me, replaying everything until it sank in.
“Here’re the donuts and coffee, T. I threw in a few extra shots of espresso. Looks like you’re gonna need ’em.” Lukas plunked down my order and winked at me, obviously having overheard the conversation just now.
It was the splash in the face I needed to wake the hell up. Lukas was right. Chief Waldo was right. Bain, Jayden, Rip, and Charlie were right. I was such a dumbass. Amelia didn’t break up with me over that conversation with Jazzie. She was running scared, which was something Amelia didn’t do. Like, ever. She ran straight into the fray with a smile and usually got herself in trouble.
So, why was she running scared now?
I shot up from my chair and grabbed the food, ignoring everyone’s stare. I’d need the sustenance while I tried to work out the Amelia-sized puzzle in my brain. There was life in my step for the first time in almost two weeks as I made my way to the work site. If Amelia was scared of being with me, that meant she cared. In fact, it meant she cared so much she’d blow everything up before we really got started. Maybe she did love me. Maybe her breaking up with me had more to do with some dumbass idea in her head that was all wrong. Like my dumbass idea about the chief not approving of me.
Charlie greeted me at the jobsite, a green-smoothie mustache painted across his face. He looked at my donuts in disgust. Right back atcha, buddy.
“Ready to get started?”
I jammed an entire donut in my mouth and nodded while I chewed. We got busy putting up the first pieces of wood to start framing out the bed-and-breakfast. Charlie whistled a tune while we worked, ignoring my frequent breaks for another donut. The poor health nut couldn’t fathom ingesting that much sugar in one morning, but my system was used to it. One day I’d start to put on fat and I’d cut back. But for now, age and metabolism were on my side.
“This sure is a big house for one single guy,” Charlie said innocently, staring at the plans laid out across the makeshift table Amelia had knocked over the night we fought.
Using the nail gun to secure the last board of what would be the future kitchen, I pulled off my safety glasses and smiled at him. Dude wasn’t subtle.
“Yeah, I know. I had it designed to be a bed-and-breakfast. One Amelia could run while we lived here together.”
Charlie nodded. “And now?”
I shrugged. “It’s still for Amelia. Just because we’re not together doesn’t mean I don’t love her anymore. She still deserves to have her dream come true and I’m the man to give it to her.”
“Is that true, Titus?” Amelia’s voice came from behind me.
I spun, seeing her eyes well up as she stood in the dirt twenty paces away from me. She looked good. Tired, with dark lines under her eyes, but she looked beautiful to me. Her long dark hair fluttered in the morning breeze, an oversized sweater slipping off one shoulder. She shifted in her boots, looking uncertain.
“Seems like this ‘grand gesture’ thing is going to be easier than we thought,” Hazel whispered loudly to Amelia.
Shit, I hadn’t even noticed her friends, clustered around her like some kind of Charlie’s Angels squad. Things got even stranger when Poppy, Yedda, and Polly stood behind the cluster of girls. Chief Waldo and Susie strolled down the sidewalk to join the growing group.
“What’s going on?” My gaze went back to Amelia. I couldn’t care less why all those people were here on my property. I just wanted to talk to Amelia. See if we could work things out. I itched to walk over there and touch her skin. Tug that hair behind her ear and watch the way her eyes would melt when I got close. Fuck, I wanted that so badly I’d embarrass myself in front of the whole town by dropping to my knees and begging her to reconsider. Begging her to tell me what was wrong so I could fix it.
In fact, that was exactly what I should do. My feet started moving, and before my brain caught up, I was standing toe to toe with her, my work boots kicking
