Page 40 of Hello Trouble

DELLA

My parents made their monthly run to the bulk purchase store in Dallas the next day, and I always tagged along to pick up things like toilet paper and the protein bars I liked to keep stocked at my desk.

But I was thinking about Hayes all day, my mind consumed with thoughts of him and our day together. It felt like each time we were together, we got closer, and all I was seeing on the road ahead with him were green flags.

When I got home that night, I texted him and we made plans to go out to dinner Monday evening after I got off work.

When I walked into the office Monday morning, I was already looking forward to it, glancing at the clock and wishing it was five.

Edna was already inside at her desk, so I walked over and said, “Good morning, sunshine.”

She smiled up at me. “How was your weekend?”

I let out a happy sigh. “The best. How about you?”

Her response was a shrug as she took off her glasses and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “It would be better if I didn’t have to find a replacement for my right-hand woman. But I think I finally have a job description written up. Will you read it over if I email it to you?”

My chest twisted at the thought of my replacement, and I resolved to talk to Hayes about the move and what I was thinking. How I was feeling. But I said, “Sure, I’ll read it over. I’m sure it’s great.”

Edna made prayer hands, and I chuckled.

“Can I get you a coffee?” I asked her.

“Yes, please.” She held up her cup already covered on one side with bright red lipstick stains. I grabbed it from her, taking it to the break area and making us both a cup like I did every day.

It struck me how much I’d miss this part of my routine. I liked making her a cup exactly how she preferred—two Splendas and one sugar with a splash of dairy-free creamer. It was something I could do to feel like I was taking care of her in return for how she’d looked out for me all these years.

I’d miss her just as much as I’d miss my parents and friends once I moved away. If I moved away.

With the weight of indecision heavy on my shoulders, I brought her the mug and set it down.

“Thanks, doll,” she said, winking at me over her computer.

I smiled. “Anytime.” And then I went to my office, imagining what it would be like to stay in Cottonwood Falls and continue working this job, knowing I would get to continue my relationship with Hayes. Maybe even move in together one day and get to see him every evening when I clocked out.

It was as blissful as being a little girl and writing my first name with my crush’s last name surrounded by hearts in my notebook. I could practically envision the curly letters in my head. Della Madigan.

It didn’t sound bad.

Would Hayes feel the same way?

* * *

I walked across the street to the diner to meet Hayes for supper just in time to hear the roar of his motorcycle coming down Main Street. Pausing on the corner, I watched him, head covered with a helmet, T-shirt fluttering in the wind, strong arms holding on to the handlebars.

He looked so hot like that. But it was even hotter when he pulled into a spot and took off his helmet, awarding me with his messy, dirty-blond hair and heart-melting smile.

I grinned back at him, feeling my whole body react to his presence with pure joy that competed with the radiant sunlight streaming down from a cloudless sky.

He got off the bike, setting his helmet on the seat, and I noticed there was an extra one there. My eyebrows drew together. “Have you had a passenger?” I asked as I walked closer.

“I’m about to,” he said, drawing me in for a breathtaking kiss. My head was so foggy with lust, I almost forgot what he’d said.

I stepped back, blinking back the fog, and said, “I’m not riding on that.”

He reached up, catching a curl between his fingers and then twirling it. “Not even if I promise a surprise where we’re going?”

I bit my bottom lip... Why was it so hard to say no to him?

“And if I promise to drive twenty or less?”

I tilted my head, considering.

“And if I say pretty please with a cherry on top?”

That had me chuckling. “Okay, okay, you convinced me.”

He pumped a fist in the air. “Victory!”

I rolled my eyes, laughing at him, and we went into the diner together.

I loved sitting and eating dinner with him, chatting about our days and getting to hear about Chopper’s first day at the shop.

He said all the customers adored seeing the puppy in the waiting room, and Chopper lapped up the attention.

I smiled, saying, “Maybe I can swing by on my lunch break tomorrow to give him some pets.”

Hayes pouted out his lip. “Can I have pets too?”

I laughed. “I think we can manage that.”

After we finished eating, Hayes paid for our meal, and we walked out to the parking lot, seeing the setting sun was starting to cast orange and pink rays over the sky.

I eyed his bike again, thinking I should be more worried than I was.

But last time on his bike had been fine.

Better than fine, considering it was an excuse to wrap my arms around him and feel his warmth against me.

He passed me the helmet, and I pushed it over my head. He reached out, tenderly helping me clip the strap under my chin. When it was in place, he brushed his finger over my chin like he relished the chance to touch me. And yet again, I felt precious in his presence.

We both got onto the motorcycle, and then he kicked the bike to life. It purred underneath me, and the mix of its vibrations and Hayes’s closeness was a painfully erotic reminder that we hadn’t had sex yet.

I was starting to get desperate to experience it with Hayes, to get closer to him. But then he edged the bike forward and I held on, focusing more on staying upright and off the pavement flying beneath us.

He steered us down Main Street first, and then we continued heading down a dirt road out of town. The more comfortable I got on the bike, the more I could enjoy it and see why he loved it so much.

There was something about having the sun on your skin, feeling the air rushing past, and seeing the beautiful countryside that surrounded Cottonwood Falls.

Hayes kept his promise, not driving too fast. And then he turned the bike off the dirt road, taking us into a pasture and down a country trail that was rutted down from years of vehicles driving over the same spot, leaving their marks in the ground.

I saw something up ahead and realized there was a blanket laid out on the hilltop with a cooler beside it. When he stopped the bike and got off, I realized we had the most incredible view from here—miles and miles of farmland and pastures containing the black, red, and white dots of cattle.

“Wow,” I breathed, tugging off my helmet. I took it in a moment longer before turning to Hayes, seeing him set his helmet on the bike seat. “This is quite the surprise,” I said.

He grinned at me. “I thought you might like wine and a sunset better than closing out the diner.” He walked to the blanket and opened the cooler.

I smiled at him, thinking that any way I spent the evening with him was fine with me. “Thank you for doing this. It was so thoughtful of you.”

He smiled gently before coming to me and pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. “It was worth it, seeing you smile like that.”

My heart thudded with love for this man.

For his thoughtfulness. For how he continued to put himself out there and try new things to make me happy.

The words tugged at my lips, begging to come out.

But how could I say such powerful words when there was still so much to decide? When my decision could tear us apart?

Hayes gripped my hand and said, “Let’s sit.”

I swallowed down my emotions, going to join him on the quilt spread out on the grassy ground. He poured us both a glass of Cupcake wine and then offered me a piece of chocolate to go with it.

With a smile, I took the square, biting off a piece. Sweetness flooded my mouth, matching the beauty of the landscape before me and the actions of the man sitting beside me.

For a moment, we were quiet, watching the display of hues painted before us.

“Sometimes, when I’ve had a long day at work, I come out here to clear my head,” he said quietly. “Something about this sight, seeing the sun set, reminds me that there will always be another day, no matter what happened today.”

I turned to look at him, seeing that the sunset was casting a beautiful orange glow over his skin.

He smiled at me, brushing curls away from my face and tucking them behind my ear. “I think the sunset’s even prettier in your eyes.”

My lips twisted in a small smile. The words were on the tip of my tongue.

I love you.

I’m falling for you.

I think you could be the one.

But then Hayes said, “I love you, Della.” His voice was raw, scraping over the words. And I felt the depth of them in his tone.

I looked at him in wonder. How could we be in lockstep? Feeling the same way about each other at the same time?

I used to doubt fate. Wondering if it existed, if it was working for me. But looking in Hayes’s eyes, seeing just how much he meant those words, I didn’t have a doubt.

Fate had been by my side all this time, waiting for Hayes and me to be ready at the same time. To give each other a chance.

Fate had brought me here.

“I love you too,” I said, my eyes stinging with the admission. “I really do.”

He held me close, brushing the tears that had fallen. And then he pulled me closer, sitting with me in silence as the sun sank and the clouds changed from orange to pink to purple to gray and the sun was just a memory.

I looked up at him and said, “Come home with me?”