Page 15 of The Hookup Situation (Billionaire Situation #5)

She shrugs. “Small-town survival skill. Everyone wants to matter.”

“You matter,” I say without thinking .

Her cheeks turn pink. “So do you.”

We stare at each other across the booth, and I want to kiss her again. Not for show, not for the woman who I can see walking past the window, staring at us. Just because.

“We should go,” Julie says, breaking the moment. “Before Marge tries to feed us pie.”

“Too late!” Marge appears with two slices of apple pie. “Made fresh this morning.”

“Marge, we just ate enough for four people,” Julie protests.

“That’s why I’m boxing it up to go. You kids have fun today.” She winks at me again. “Take care of our girl.”

“I will,” I promise, meaning it more than I should.

When we walk outside, I glance over at Julie.

Then I notice a lady across the street, phone out, obviously watching and texting someone.

“We’re being surveilled,” I say.

“That’s Craig’s aunt. Mrs. Mires.” She doesn’t even look to know who I’m talking about. “She’s been his spy network since I moved into my neighborhood. Want to give her something to report?”

Instead of waiting for my answer, Julie turns to me, goes up on her toes, and kisses me. Not on the cheek this time. Full on the mouth, right there on Main Street at eight a.m. on a Friday.

It’s playful as she nips at my bottom lip before pulling away, leaving me stunned on the sidewalk.

“There,” she says, satisfied. “That should keep her busy.”

“That was very spontaneous,” I whisper.

“That’s why it’s fun.” She takes my hand. “Come on.”

We end up at the local antique shop because Julie insists my rental needs personality. She makes me buy string lights and throw pillows with bears on them. I pretend to protest as she keeps adding things to our basket, but honestly, watching her light up is worth it all.

“This is perfect to spruce up the cabin,” she says, holding up some vintage coffee signs .

“I don’t plan on being here that long.”

“Might as well make it feel like home while you are though.”

We carry our purchases to the Range Rover, and I realize I haven’t checked my phone in two hours. There are a handful of texts from Asher and three missed calls from Zane. I silence my phone.

“Everything okay?” Julie asks.

“Perfect,” I say, meaning it. “Where to next?”

“Trust me?”

“Always.”

“We need to go on a drive,” she says, and I unlock the door for her to climb in. “Go toward the cabin.”

As we take the second switchback, she directs me to a pull-off on the mountain road, then leads me down a trail. We exit the SUV and hike for twenty minutes before emerging at an overlook that takes my breath away. I can see the entire valley spread out below.

Cozy Creek looks like a miniature town. It’s easy to see where they’re setting up for the festival. Carnival rides, food trucks, the pumpkin patch, and a corn maze. This festival will have it all.

“Is this place secret?” I ask as the breeze brushes against my cheeks.

“It’s nicknamed Make-Out Lookout,” she says, sitting on a large, flat rock. “A quiet place where we can just be.”

I sit beside her, our shoulders touching. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“You looked like you needed it.” She studies my face. “You get this expression sometimes, like you’re drowning on dry land.”

“That’s exactly how it feels.”

“When did it start?”

I know I should deflect, make a joke, keep things light. This is supposed to be fake, but sitting here with her, overlooking this valley, I find myself wanting to tell her all my truths.

“When I couldn’t play hockey anymore, my life changed. Then my sister died, and everything good about our family went with her. She was the glue that had held us together, the one who remembered birthdays and organized dinners and made sure we all stayed connected. After she was gone, it stopped.”

“What did?”

“Feeling. Connecting. Living. I went through the motions of working, dating, and socializing, but none of it meant anything. I’d lost my career and my sister, who was my sounding board for everything. I felt dead inside.”

Julie takes my hand, interlacing our fingers. “And now?”

“Now I’m sitting on a mountain with a beautiful woman who makes me want to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch for dinner and wake up at the butt crack of dawn to do sunrise yoga.”

“Lucky you,” she says, grinning.

“I agree,” I say.

We sit in silence, watching clouds drift across the valley. This feels too intimate for something with an expiration date. But I can’t make myself care.

My phone buzzes again. This time, it’s one of my best friends from my hockey days, Patterson.

Patterson

Yo, how’s Cozy Creek?

Nick

Great. I’ve been busy as hell.

Patterson

Busy with that redhead?

I look at Julie, who’s now lying back on the rock, soaking up the sun like a cat. Her hair spreads out like fire against the stone.

Nick

How did you know?

Patterson

Asher told everyone at a party last night that you’re no longer single.

Nick

I’m going to kill him.

Patterson

Nah. It’s about damn time you found someone worth unplugging for.

Patterson

Don’t fuck it up.

Nick

Trying not to.

“Work?” Julie asks without opening her eyes.

“My friend was just checking in.”

“Good friend?”

“The best. You’d like him. His name is Patterson. He’s also commitment-phobic and emotionally constipated. Biggest asshole teddy bear I’ve ever met.”

“More than Zane?” She laughs.

“Oh, yeah. He makes Zane look tame because he’s an extrovert.”

I lie flat against the rock with her, and we stare up at the clouds. She grabs my hand and holds it tight.

“This is nice,” I say.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “It really is.”

We stay here until we have to head back for her shift. As I drive her to her condo, she reaches over and places her hand on my thigh.

“Thanks for being spontaneous,” she says.

“Thanks for making me want to be.”

She squeezes my leg. “We should do this again.”

“Deal.”

I walk her to her door, and she takes a step forward, giving me a tight hug. I hold her until she pulls away .

“Want to have dinner tonight?”

“I get off at eight.”

“Great,” I say. “It’s a date.”

Her brows lift. “Oh, a date . Sounds official.”

I laugh. “See you then.”

As I’m driving out of town and back up the mountain toward my cabin, my phone rings. It’s Asher.

“Finally,” he says when I answer. “I thought a small-town serial killer had murdered you.”

“Just living in the moment.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?”

I think about Julie.

“I’m currently trying to figure that out.”

“Well, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

“I think I might.”

“Good. Don’t overthink it.”

After we hang up, I sit in the Range Rover for a moment and smile. Am I happy? Such a simple word for such a complicated feeling. The back seat holds string lights and bear pillows, and I think about what Julie’s lips tasted like.

I want to find happiness, and that terrifies me more than anything else. I thought it didn’t exist anymore—at least not for me.

But Asher is right. I do run from people at the thirty-day mark. And in forty-four days, I have to leave. So, things are complicated.

For now, I’m going to hang string lights in a rental cabin and put pillows on a couch I don’t own.

Today, I want to live like this is real and like my deadlines don’t exist.

This must be what Eden meant when she told me to live in the moment.