Page 124 of The Havenport Collection

Violet

I was busy rambling about our orchards and our organic pest management system when I realized they weren’t even listening to me.

I paused for a few minutes while Liam and Cece wandered around murmuring to each other.

They had come over to visit the farm today, since Liam and I had been talking about some kind of farm-to-glass arrangement for the brewery.

As much as I was annoyed, they were such a loving, attractive couple that I couldn’t help but smile.

They were clearly deeply in love, and I felt a tiny pang of jealousy in my chest. Here they were, engaged and embarking on the great adventure of marriage, while my bitter, shriveled divorcée heart ached for a guy I couldn't have.

And my heart wasn’t the only thing aching. My poor lady parts were going to die of neglect. That wasn’t totally true. Human neglect was the issue, not battery-operated neglect. They got plenty of that these days thanks to my frustratingly sexy friend Callum.

But I needed to get this business meeting back on track. We were supposed to be talking about supplying apples for Liam’s brewery, and they were swooning around taking photos and talking to each other in hushed voices.

“Do you want to see the greenhouses? You mentioned being interested in some herbs.” I was growing impatient with these two. This was supposed to be a business meeting.

Liam and Cece paused and looked at each other.

Liam spoke first. “Yes. Of course, Violet. This is amazing. I have a list of what I’m looking for, and I can email it to you. I would love to work with you exclusively to source organic produce for our beers. But first, we have something to ask you.”

He looked expectantly at his fiancée, and she was vibrating with excitement.

“Can we get married here?” she blurted out.

I shook my head. “Sorry, what?”

“Well,” Cece said, grabbing Liam’s hand, “Liam and I have been searching for a wedding venue for months and,”—she gazed adoringly into his eyes—“we just want to be married. And the farm is so beautiful, and we really want to get married here.”

Liam jumped in. “I know it’s a lot to ask.”

“But it’s a great marketing opportunity. I would give you the rights to all the photos so we could build your events business,” Cece added, ever the businesswoman.

“Where?” I asked. This farm was over a hundred acres of hot mess.

“The old barn. It’s beautiful, and the architecture and lighting are perfect,” Cece said.

“And we would love to do the ceremony outside, like in the orchard,” Liam added.

They both looked so sweet and so in love I couldn’t say no. And I needed to bring in more money. And I knew weddings would generate some serious cash.

Could we do it? Probably? The good news is that you had months to prepare for weddings.

I exhaled, not realizing I had been holding my breath. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

“Oh my God. Yes.” Next thing I knew they were both hugging me, and Cece was squealing so loud I worried she would spook Rose’s horses.

“We can figure it out,” I said, mentally running through the monster list of to-dos. “When were you thinking?”

Liam looked at me sheepishly. “Early November.”

“Of next year?” We could manage that.

“This year.”

My jaw dropped. I didn’t know what to say.

“I know it’s soon,” Cece said, grabbing my hand. “But we will take care of everything. And obviously we will have an army to help you with whatever you need.”

I shook my head. “Guys, I love your enthusiasm, and I want to help you have the wedding you want, but that is two months away. You can’t plan a wedding in that time frame.”

“It’s going to be a really simple wedding. We just need to get the space ready and figure out parking and bathrooms. Everything else, Liam and I will take care of. It’s a great opportunity to make some money, and these photos will be gold. I promise,” she begged.

My brain was at war. My knee-jerk reaction was to say yes. It would be hard, but I could figure it out and everything would come together.

But I wavered. That kind of naive, positive mentality had been my downfall in the past. I couldn’t just smile through major renovations and planning in such a short time period.

But part of me wanted to do this, just to prove that I could.

Maybe I wasn’t the best at financial statements, but there were lots of ways to generate revenue for the farm, and this one just fell in my lap.

Fuck it. I couldn’t look at their hopeful faces and say no, especially after Cece had given me so much free marketing help and Liam wanted to buy produce from us. I would just have to figure it out.

“Okay. Let’s plan a wedding.”

“You did what?” I settled into the couch with a glass of wine.

Both boys were finally asleep, and I only had to put them back to bed three times.

I wanted to zone out and watch the Great British Baking Show , but first I had to tell Callum about my crazy day.

I found myself wanting to talk to him at night before I went to bed.

“I know, I know, I’m a dumbass.”

"You’re not a dumbass. You are a savvy businesswoman who saw a good opportunity and jumped on it. We both know weddings and events would be a game changer for the farm.”

“But who is going to do all this work? That barn needs major work before it can host a massive party.” I cringed when I thought of all the cleaning, repairs, and upgrades that would be needed.

It would be worth it if we could book a few weddings a year, that’s for sure.

The numbers Cece had sent over for what we could charge for a “rustic” barn wedding made my jaw drop.

I was never into weddings—Sebastian and I got married at the courthouse and went to a bar after, so I had no idea of the dollars involved.

It wasn’t a bad idea. I just needed, like, ten more employees to make it happen.

“We can figure it out. Listen. Let’s sit down tomorrow afternoon and go through the budget for upgrades and make a plan.

I have some contractors who owe me favors.

” Of course he did. Callum knew everyone, and everyone adored him.

He had a network of professional and personal connections that continued to blow my mind.

“Thanks, Cal.”

“It’s nothing. Plus, Cece does this professionally.

There is nothing she can’t plan and organize.

And I suspect she will get her mother involved—and my mother, God forbid.

Trust me, they are both intense. I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up tomorrow with hard hats and hammers ready to work.

” I laughed. Mrs. Leary had been my kindergarten teacher and now single-handedly ran every town committee and fundraiser.

I didn’t know Mrs. Quinn well, but the way Callum talked about her, she was also a force of nature.

“You are probably right.”

“I’m always right. Vi, you should know that about me by now.”

“Very funny.” I liked cocky Callum. It was a nice change from the guy I found throwing up on my grass.

“You know I’ve got your back, right? Whatever you need.

We can make a plan for the upgrades and cleanup and budget it all out.

And then if you need me to move furniture or anything else, just say so.

I’ll get Declan and some of our basketball buddies to come help.

” My mind was spinning with all the tasks to be done, but I was comforted by Callum’s willingness to help.

I sighed and sank deeper into my couch. “I don’t deserve you.” Shit. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I tried to recover. “I mean, I don’t know how I can pay you for all your work.”

“Violet, stop that right now. You know I won’t take your money.”

“I can’t pay you in cider donuts.”

His voice got husky. “I have some ideas.”

My heart rate sped up. I secretly loved it when Callum flirted with me. It made me feel young again, back when I was attractive and energetic. Not the perpetually stressed mom teetering on the edge of insanity.

“Hm…” I purred. “What do you have in mind?”

“I think we both know, Vi.”

I blushed, grateful that we weren’t face to face. I curled my legs up under me and took a breath.

“It’s a bad idea.” I thought if I said it out loud enough it would make it true. Because I needed it to be true. I could not give my horny mind one inch when it came to Callum Quinn. Huh. I bet he would give me a lot more than one inch.

But I had to stay strong and keep my legs closed. I needed to nip this in the bud. It wasn’t fair to lead him on.

“I know. But sometimes my mind wanders,” he whispered.

My heart was pounding, and my nipples could cut glass. Why did he have to have such a deep sexy voice? It was making things so much worse.

I could barely speak. I wanted to scream “get your sexy ass over here and ravage me.” But I didn’t.

I pushed all those impulses down. There was no room for this in my life right now.

“My mind wanders too.” I couldn’t say anything else.

I couldn’t tell him how much I thought about him.

About how sometimes I dreamed about him.

About how much use my vibrators were getting. Yes. Vibrators, plural.

I could hear him groan on the other end of the phone. The sound made my legs involuntarily clench. I had to defuse this situation before things got out of hand.

I had to say something. Step up and be an adult. The kiss, that amazing kiss, hung over every conversation, every interaction. The specter of that red hot chemistry was not going away. Every time I spoke to him or even thought about him, my entire body responded.

“I am so grateful for your friendship.” It was a lame thing to say. “But…”

“Don’t say anything else. It was my fault; I kissed you and made it weird.”

I snorted. Oh Callum, ever the gentleman. “You didn’t make it weird at all. That kiss was the opposite of weird.”

He groaned and it went straight to my vagina. What I would give to draw that sexy noise out of him. “Violet, you’re not making this easy on me.”