Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “I don’t mind. Noah’s a pretty awesome kid.”
My sister tips her head to the side as she studies me. “Hmm.”
“Stop that,” I growl.
“Stop what?”
“Stop trying to read me. You came over here for a reason. If you have a question, ask it.”
“Really? You’re inviting me to ask personal questions?”
“Aren’t you going to ask them either way? Aren’t you here for a recreational dig into my psyche, followed by a thinly veiled lecture on what you think I should do?” I wave toward myself. “Bring it.”
“Okay, fine. Are you sure about this? I know having Molly stay here makes sense on paper, but if you have feelings for her—”
“I never said I have feelings for her.”
“You didn’t have to. I see the way you look at her.”
I grunt. “You see what you want to see.”
She rocks to the side and bumps her shoulder against mine. “Come on, Brayden, you practically created a whole new business just so you’d have an excuse to bring her back to Jackson Harbor.”
I open my mouth to object but close it again. I always planned to open the tasting room, but the banquet facility idea was born of a New York City conversation with Molly. One of our stops that day was to an event center, and she admitted how much she enjoyed the event-planning side of her not-for-profit work. She told me then that if I ever opened an event center, she wanted first dibs on managing it. She was joking—last spring, her stepfather was still alive and well, and that meant she had no intention of ever returning to Jackson Harbor—but I never forgot about it.
The tasting room morphed into something more because it was a good business decision, but maybe it was convenient that a good business decision also meant getting Molly closer. I won’t deny I wanted that, even if she drew the line in the sand and made it clear that we’d never be more than boss and employee. I knew how much she struggled as a single mom with no family around, and I liked the idea of keeping an eye on her and being able to help when she needed it.
Shay’s grinning at me. “You even get this dopey look on your face when you think about her.”
“You’re the only person in the world who thinks I’m easy to read,” I mutter. And thank God. If everyone else could read my emotions as easily as Shay does, I’d feel like I was walking around cut open all the time.
“If only I could get a read on her,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “I can’t decide if she’s just stuck between a rock and a hard place, or if she likes the idea of being closer to you on some level.”
“Trust me. Her decision to move in has nothing to do with what happened between us.”
“And what did happen? You never talk about it.”
“I told you, we had a few drinks and . . . we connected, I guess. It was just one night.” A mistake. Hell, nothing about it felt like a mistake. “No big deal.”
Shay pulls her phone out of her pocket and plays around on the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m adding up all the times you slept with a woman you didn’t care about.”
I blow out an exasperated breath. “Shut it.”
“This is a tough one.” She purses her lips and wrinkles her brow, the picture of thoughtfulness. “What’s none plus never?”
“Are you really so well versed in my sex life, little sister?”
“I’m well versed in you.” She gives me a pointed look that seems to say, Tell me I’m wrong. But I can’t. I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. I’ve just never seen the appeal. When I took Molly back to my room, I thought it was the beginning of something.
I was an idiot.
I swallow. “It makes sense to let her stay here. I have plenty of room.” The truth is that I don’t know how Molly really feels about this mess, but of the two options Shay presented for Molly’s move, I’d guess rock and a hard place.
“It’s not going to be weird?”
“It’s a big house.”
Shay takes a long pull from her coffee before shaking her head. “You’re a stubborn ass.”
“Thanks.”
“And I’m afraid you’re a stubborn ass who’s going to end up hurt.”
I have to laugh at that. Molly’s never given me a reason to think we could have a relationship—quite the opposite, actually—so I’m not sure why Shay thinks my heart’s at risk now. “I’ll be fine.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’ll just be fine and never go after what you really want.”
I cock my head. “I’ve lost track—are you trying to protect me from Molly or set me up with her?”
She frowns and mutters, “I haven’t decided yet.”
Rising from the couch, I pinch my sister’s nose and shake my head. “I’m a grown boy, sis. Trust me to handle my life by myself.”