“I have a busy day too. I have to pick up Gavin and get to the store. Charlie will be in for his bath, and then this afternoon I have to walk a few dogs.”
“A dog walker’s work is never done.” Usually I go with her, but this afternoon, I’m going to be all tied up. “I guess you’ll be glad when you’re running the business yourself and can make your own hours.”
“That would be a dream come true.”
I grin, wanting to make every dream she’s ever had come true. “I’ll meet you back at the house for dinner. We’ll order in?”
“Sounds good,” she says and for a quick second, I think I spot something in her eyes, something that looks like concern, but when I squeeze her leg, she gifts me with another big smile and I chalk that uneasy look up to exhaustion. I could use a good nap too, and kind of feel bad for keeping her up all night when she has work this morning.
We fall into a comfortable silence as she drives and I take in the scenery. A short while later, she drops me at my place. Before I get out of her car, I lean into her and place a soft kiss on her mouth.
“Thanks for last night,” I whisper into her mouth. “That was the best birthday present ever.”
Her smile is soft and warm, her eyes a bit dazed as she sits there with her mouth poised open, like she’s waiting for more kisses, and dammit, I plan to give them to her. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. I glance at my phone again, and she straightens in her seat.
“I’d better get going.”
“Yeah, you don’t want to be late,” she says, even though she has no idea what I’m up to.
I reluctantly open the door, not wanting to go, but knowing I have to. “Drive safely,” I say, before using a great deal of force to close her door. The damn thing looks like it’s ready to fall off the hinges. After my meeting, maybe I’ll head to the car dealership and look around. Then again, I appreciate my nut sack and she’s likely to neuter me if she came back here and found a new car, just for her. I chuckle at that. She’s not the kind of girl to take gifts of such grandeur. If I was her fiancé, however…
I stand in the driveway as she backs out and disappears down the road. I hurry inside, do a quick change of clothes, and jump in my truck. Fifteen minutes later, I stop to pick up Cole, who’s been helping me with my search.
“You took off early last night,” he says with a grin. “Didn’t even hang around for cake.”
“I had cake,” is all I say.
His grin widens. “Enjoy the mountains?”
I laugh. “Is there anything you don’t know?”
“No, I know everything. The girls talk.”
I back out of his driveway, and we talk about nothing as we drive to the downtown core. I squeeze my big truck into a tight spot and slam it into park. Harper isn’t going to like me going behind her back like this, but I’m doing it anyway. I don’t want to just tell her how I feel about her, I want to show her in a big way.
Cole and I jump from the truck and the realtor is standing outside a shopping complex, reading something on his phone when I reach him. “Hey Liam, Cole,” he says and lifts his head.
I glance at the strip of stores along the street. While this is a great location, I’m not sure about parking, but decide to check the space out anyway. For the next three hours, the real estate agent takes Cole and me from one location to the next, and I’m exhausted by the time we’re finished.
“Want to go grab a cold one?” Cole asks. “Sit down and do the pros and cons of each place?”
I check my phone. I don’t think Harper will be finished just yet, so I nod. “Sounds like a great idea.”
Back in my truck, we drive to Nelly’s, which is pretty quiet this time of day. Cole gestures the server for a couple of beers and I fish my phone from my back pocket, checking to see if Harper has texted me. For the next little while, we lay out the pros and cons to each place we viewed, and we both come up with the same answer. The house just a few blocks from her home with backyard greenspace, room for expansion, and a park nearby. We could easily change the front to look more like a business, and she could convert the upper part of the house to an apartment and live in it if she wants, so Gavin would be able to go to school with Holden, and during the summers, my off-season, they could stay at my place—where there is always room for Holden and his other friends.
From my periphery, that guy Griff, who’d questioned me on Harper, comes through the front door. “Do you know that guy?” I ask Cole, an uneasy feeling mushrooming inside me when his eyes meet mine, and he gives a curt nod. I don’t believe in coincidences and the fact that he’s here again, four o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, raises all kinds of questions.
“No, why?” Cole asks.
The server comes with our drinks, and I take a big mouthful. “I don’t know. He rubs me the wrong way.”
Cole cracks his knuckles. “Want me to go rub him the wrong way?”
I snort. “Nah, I can fight my own battles.”
Griff takes a seat, orders a beer, and gets on his phone. Every few seconds, he glances my way, and I’m about to go over there and ask him what his problem is when my phone pings. I glance down and notice it’s Jeremy, but I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment—not while Griff
