Page 5 of Middle Ground

I only met the guy a couple months ago when he showed up on his sister’s doorstep looking for a place to stay, but he’squickly wormed his way into my heart. In a totally platonic, younger brother sort of way. Much to his chagrin.

It’s no secret that Declan has been harbouring a small crush on me. He knows nothing is ever going to happen between us, though that doesn’t stop him from laying on the charm.

But the fact is, Meyer Ellison doesn’t date. The only love I have is for the Dog Days Inn. I don’t have time for picnics and candlelit dinners and whatever else nice guys like Declan do to woo a woman.

“Uncle Dec!” Atticus yells. “Look! Auntie M&M brought me M&M’s!”

Declan plucks the bag of chocolate off the table and spins away from his nephew’s grabby hands, stealing a couple candies for himself.

His gaze finds mine. “Thanks,Auntie M&M.”

I roll my eyes. “Stealing candy from a child. Pretty sure that goes against your saintly ethics.”

He shrugs. “Hey, we can’t all be perfect.”

I tip the backwards baseball cap off his head, covering his eyes. “What are you doing here?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be helping old ladies cross the street? Or getting someone’s cat unstuck from a tree?”

In his short time in Fraisier Creek, Declan has become a legend of sorts. All over town you can hear whispers ofthat nice young man, and whether you like it or not, you’ll soon know everything about his latest altruistic exploit. Just yesterday, he was spotted fishing a pair of sunglasses out of the gutter for a perfect stranger.

He gives me his charming grin again. “Do I need anexcuse to come see my favourite ladies?” He reaches out to ruffle Atticus’s hair. “And my favourite nephew.”

Atticus’s brows furrow adorably. “I’m youronlynephew.”

“Which automatically makes you myfavourite.” Declan turns back to me. “I’m on my lunch break. I was hoping a generous inn owner would take pity on me and feed me.”

I may not be the owner yet, but hearing it still sends a little thrill down my spine.

I smile despite myself. “Fine. What do you want?”

“Surprise me.”

As Declan sits down at the table with Atticus, I put an order in to the kitchen for a burger and fries. When I return, the uncle and nephew duo are in the middle of an argument over which is better: M&M’s or Smarties.

“Definitely M&M’s,” I interject. “The chocolate tastessomuch better.”

Atticus nods enthusiastically. “See, Uncle Dec? I told you!”

“Somehow I feel like this is an argument I’m not going to win,” Declan says with a shake of his head.

I leave the two to their chocolate debate when my phone buzzes in my back pocket. The new front desk clerk needs help, so I spend fifteen minutes on the computer with him, troubleshooting a booking issue. By the time I return, Declan is eating his burger and playfully slapping Atticus’s hand when he tries to steal a fry.

I smile as I survey the room. It’s almost time for the lunch rush to kick in. Still, I’m surprised to find an extra customer seated at a table on the farside of the room.

“Who’s the suit?” I ask Pippa.

Like many other women, I’m partial to a man in a suit. This suit, in particular. Although he’s sitting, I can tell the material hugs his body in all the right places. The matching tie hanging from his neck adds to his air of composure.

The man’s face is clean-shaven, and his dark hair is styled to look intentionally tousled. He looks like the type of guy whose appearance is carefully curated each day when he wakes. He’s probably even a morning person.

Pippa shrugs. “Never seen him before. Can you bring him this water?”

I take the glass she extends toward me, put on my customer service smile, and then I head across the room.

CHAPTER 3

JACKSON

My Audi R8looks extremely out of place in the pothole-infested parking lot of Dog Days Inn. The inn my grandmother conveniently forgot to mention that she owned.