Page 3 of Meet Me in the Valley (Oakwood Valley #2)

Chapter Two

LOGAN

Valerie

I had fun earlier ;) Can’t wait until you get home.

Ivanna

Hi Logan :) Me and a couple of girlfriends are going out on Rainey tonight. Would love to see you.

Cassie

I’m off at 10. Feel like coming over and letting me distract you a little? image attached

Krista

Congrats on landing the Mueller project! Let me buy you a drink tonight before you leave for the weekend. 9:30 at The Volstead?

“Jesus, your phone goes off every two minutes. Give me that,” Tia snipes, ripping my cell phone out of my hands. I make no moves to stop her. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before.

I kick my feet up on her ottoman, watching Tia’s face as she scrolls through my text messages.

Anytime I have to travel, I end up staying at Tia’s house to avoid paying for a cab fare from my place or overnight parking at the airport since she lives ten minutes away.

We got to watching some insane serial killer documentary until my phone started going off the way it usually does on a Friday night.

Tia’s nose wrinkles, her face twisting into a fake gag, and I can’t help but laugh. God only knows what kind of shit she’s seeing on there.

“Are my messages more entertaining than this guy who hacks up women’s bodies into bite-size pieces?” I point to the television.

Tia doesn’t look up from my phone, but her eyes suddenly blow wide open, mouth gawking as she replies, “Holy shit, are those real?”

Shoving the screen to my face, I squint for a second at the blinding brightness. Once my eyes adjust, a sly grin plays on my lips at a pair of breasts I know all too well.

Cassie.

“They’re not. But they look real—and feel real, too.” I waggle my brows suggestively.

She brings the phone back to her face, pinching the screen as it looks like she’s zooming in. She’s ridiculous.

“Damn. I wish mine were a little bigger,” Tia frowns, looking down at her chest. My eyes follow, and I quickly avert because I’m not trying to ogle my best friend.

Although … Tia’s body has always been banging. She’s lean and defined, all legs and, to be honest—her tits are great.

I can’t help but look one more time because … well … they’re tits. It’s hard not to notice them in her low-cut sleep tank top. It’s like she wants me to check out her boobs. I shake my head, making grabby hands at her to give me back my phone.

She ignores me. Figures.

“Why the hell is Krista texting you, anyway?”

Ah, Krista.

Tia’s work nemesis. Those two loathe each other like toddlers and nap time.

Krista was hired on as a junior interior designer at the same time Tia and I got onboarded.

The three of us spent a lot of time together in those early days trying to prove ourselves.

But because Tia and Krista work in the same department, the competitive nature between the two only grew with time.

I personally don’t have an issue with Krista, but Tia is my best friend, and I know better than to mess with all of that. Krista, that is. She’s a big no on my list, even if she is a gorgeous girl.

“She congratulated us on landing the Mueller Project.”

“Um, you mean congratulated you. I got no such text—not that I would, anyway. God, she’s the worst,” Tia grumbles, an adorable scowl on her face.

Tia and I got assigned to one of the most important projects at our firm.

The Mueller Project will be a brand-new residential neighborhood that supports lower-income families, providing them with a community of energy-efficient homes that would cost them an arm and a leg if it weren’t for this project.

It’s not just bringing homes to families who deserve it. It’s creating a community where parents can feel safe if their kids are out playing. Where they can actually concentrate on saving money for their futures instead of living paycheck to paycheck just to avoid eviction.

Me as the lead architect, and Tia as the lead interior designer.

The dream team.

We’ve been gunning for this assignment since it was just an idea, no more than a whisper in the wind. Now it’s happening, and we get to do it together.

“And she wants to get drinks—aka—wants a taste of your disco stick.”

“Well, I do love to dance,” I quip, shooting her a wink while I get a throw pillow to the nuts.

“I think you’ve danced enough today, playboy.” It’s all teasing until a flicker of something else crosses her eyes—an unfamiliar unease that feels out of place on her. “So … are you going to meet up with her?”

“Who? Krista?”

Tia glances down at my phone, scrolling for a few seconds, then reads off a few names.

“Krista, Cassie, Valerie, Ivanna—the choices are endless.” Her smile drips with sarcasm. I grin back, calculating my response in my head. Do I give her shit for sounding jealous, or play it cool and pretend her off-kilter vibe has nothing to do with me?

I go for the former because I’m a dick.

“If I leave now, I can get to all four and be home by midnight, sweetheart.” I’m risking another pillow to the balls, but when her smile breaks free from her sad excuse of a scowl, I know I’m in the clear.

The thing is, Tia accepts me. Sure, she gives me constant shit. But that’s what best friends do. She’s the only woman who’s never left my side, ever since the day she showed up on Mr. Torren’s dock.

The only woman.

She’s never once judged me, no matter how messy I get. Her loyalty runs deep—right alongside my dad and Donovan. And because of that, she has mine in return.

Tia finally gives me back my phone, and I leave all the girls’ messages unread.

I’d like to think I’m a great friend over everything. Despite my flaws and commitment issues, I’d never leave Tia here just so I can get some ass.

We’re both stoked to fly into California tomorrow and reunite with the people we love most. Texas has been my home for the last decade, but nothing compares to the feeling I get once the valley comes into view, and the air smells of grapes and fresh soil.

The older I’ve gotten, the more enticing moving back to Oakwood Valley becomes.

I look over at Tia, who’s laying her head on the arm of the couch, fully invested in the documentary.

I think about how all of my years in Texas have been amazing—mostly because of her.

I’m lucky to have had her as my partner in crime all this time.

It would be weird not working together or living in the same state anymore.

The pull back to the West Coast is hard to ignore. But when Tia nudges me with her foot and points at the TV to make sure I’m still paying attention, I can’t help but smile.

Maybe staying put wouldn’t be so bad.