Page 15

Nate

I was falling hard for Willa, and it scared the hell out of me.

I was obsessed with keeping her by my side.

I loved that woman more every day, and I didn’t want to scare her off.

I’ll play it cool for a couple of days. I’ll stay at my place, so she won’t think I’m weird.

Max and Tessa are having a barbecue on Saturday.

I’ll invite her so she can meet everyone.

“I want you to fix her. I don’t want anything replaced. Baby Blue is my darling, and I don’t want her replaced,” Jeb tried explaining.

“What if I can’t keep putting her parts back together? Sometimes, you need to replace parts to keep going—a knee, hip, heart, or liver. Everything and everyone needs new parts.”

“If you put it that way, then go ahead, but let me know first. I have to walk over to Junior’s and get some groceries. Shirley is giving me a ride home. She wants to be my girlfriend. I told her we could play, but there wouldn’t be any marriage.”

“I’ll call you when your car is ready.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll be busy tonight.”

I laughed as he walked out the door. I heard the Harley before I saw it. Axel forgot his helmet again. When he stopped and walked over, I looked at him. “How is everything at the B&B?”

“It’s great. Max and Tessa are getting ready for the barbecue.” Axel leaned against the frame of the garage door and crossed his arms. “You inviting Willa?”

I wiped my hands on a rag and nodded. “Yeah. I want her to meet everyone. I think… I think I’m falling for her, man.”

Axel’s eyes narrowed, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You think ?”

I shook my head and exhaled. “No. I know . I’m in love with her. But I don’t want to freak her out. She’s been through too much, and I don’t want to rush anything.”

“She’s tough. She wouldn’t have survived Derek if she wasn’t. Just be real with her. Don’t pull back so far, she thinks you’ve lost interest.”

“I was thinking about not seeing her until the barbecue.”

Axel raised a brow. “Yeah? And how long did that plan last?”

“About an hour.” I tossed the rag on the workbench and ran my hand through my hair. “I miss her goat. Pancake keeps climbing on her porch and staring at me like I’m an idiot.”

Axel chuckled. “Go see her, man. Or bring her a pie. Women love pie.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“My grandma,” he said with a grin.

I thought about Willa’s laugh, her hair blowing in the wind on her porch, the way she looked at me like I might be worth trusting. I’d never had that before.

“I’ll invite her tonight,” I said. “Maybe she’ll come early, help Tessa set up. That way, it’s not a big deal.”

“Or maybe she’ll show up, fall harder for you, and you’ll stop acting like a lovesick teenager.”

I flipped him off with a grin. “You bringing anyone to the barbecue?”

“Nah. Just me. I want first dibs on ribs before the couples start acting mushy and ruin my appetite.”

I laughed and watched as he hopped back on his bike and peeled out. The second the rumble of his Harley disappeared down the road, I reached for my phone.

I stared at Willa’s name, thumb hovering over the screen.

Play it cool, Nate. Just ask her to the barbecue.

But when I hit “Call,” and she answered with that sweet, warm, “Hey, Nate,” all my cool went right out the window.

“Hey,” I said, clearing my throat. “So, there’s a barbecue this weekend at Max and Tessa’s. I’d really like you to come. You’ll get to meet everyone. No pressure. Just… I’d really like to see you there.”

There was a pause. Then she said, “Only if I can bring Pancake. You know how she is if I leave her. She’ll try to hang herself.”

I grinned. “Deal.”

And just like that, the tightness in my chest eased. Maybe I didn’t have to play it cool. Maybe I just had to be me.