“Maybe so, but I’ve seen Cathy. She’s the kind of woman I would expect Rhys to date. She’s tall, blond, and classically beautiful.”

  “That’s what I call average.” Hazel’s tone was dry.

  “She’s not average!”

  “She’s pretty boring as far as beautiful goes. You’ve got those gorgeous strawberry-blond curls, lovely eyes, and an actual figure. I once knew a guy. I was friends with him in college. Totally platonic,” she said with a dismissive wave. “I was in love with my Ralph.”

  “Of course, you were,” I interjected.

  She smiled softly. “Anyway, my friend was a football player, kind of popular, probably like how you thought Rhys was when you were younger.”

  “Rhys was popular.”

  She waved dismissively again. “So what if he was? Not my point here. So I was friends with this guy because we had a couple of classes together. Really nice guy, and really smart too. Anyway, he had plenty of average beautiful women at his beck and call. He told me once that he felt like there was nothing to them. He wasn’t even being mean about it. He meant nothing to hold on to emotionally. That it was all surface. I’m not bashing Cathy. She could be a perfectly nice woman and have a lot of depth to her. But you’re intimidated by the surface, and that’s not what anyone falls in love with.”

  I twisted my mouth to the side as I studied her. “Well, no.”

  One of her brows arched up. “Did you fall in love with Rhys because of his looks?”

  “Oh no, but maybe in lust.”

  Hazel snorted. “I think you understand my point. Maybe you’re questioning yourself, but I understand why getting those court papers made you draw back. It was rational, under the circumstances. Rhys wasn’t known for being serious with anyone before you. Like the rest of us, he was immature. He grew past that. I can’t tell you how things will go in the long run for you two, but I can tell you that the way it starts is only one part of the story. Ralph and I were head over heels at first. At the time, I thought nothing could go wrong.” Her lips curled in a sad smile. “When I had my third miscarriage, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it. We had more challenges after that. To this day, if he came back from the dead, I would instantly be annoyed with how loud he chewed.”

  I burst out laughing. Her eyes twinkled as she grinned back at me. “It probably doesn’t feel like it, but it’s better to have a challenge now that you need to deal with and see how you get to the other side of it. We all have reasons to distrust life and others. You certainly have yours, as does Rhys. His family has been through a lot. We can easily look at them as being charmed. In some ways, they are, but in others, they aren’t. Sure they have money, but Jake drinking himself to death was not the only shock for them. Their father died when they were young, and their grandfather was violent. He had a terrible temper. From the outside, they all look so close, and they are, but tragedy tends to draw people together.”

  The bell chimed on the door, and we both looked to see a cluster of tourists coming in with shopping bags dangling from their arms. Hazel caught my eyes once more. “I’m glad you’re giving Rhys a chance. I have a good feeling.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Rhys

  Blake slapped his palm against one of the large brewing tanks in the back, the sound a muted reverberation. “We’re off to a good start for the spring. Numbers look great for wholesale orders.” He turned, resting his hip against the tank.

  “We’re always off to a good start in the spring. This place did well before you took over, but you’ve taken it up a notch. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I replied.

  “I love it,” my brother said, his gaze sober. “Honestly, when I was younger and knew you were going to step into the CEO role, I was originally a little jealous, thinking I wanted to be in charge of everything.” He let out a dry laugh. “Now, I have a lot more sense. You carry a lot on your shoulders.”

  I snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”

  I understood Blake’s point. Back when I thought Jake was going to lead the corporation, I’d experienced twinges of envy. But that wasn’t how it played out. Some days, I’d give anything to handle something smaller, a side gig with less responsibility and low pressure.

  I didn’t have that choice. After Jake died, the feeling that I needed to fill his shoes and ease the pain of his death weighed on me. I’d never hesitated to step in. I did like my job, even if sometimes it was more than I wanted. I had a responsibility to my family, to the business, and to our community.

  “Should we trade?” I teased.

  Blake’s eyes widened as he shook his head forcefully. “Hell, no. I actually love that I get to handle the winery and the brewery. Keeps me busy. People love me. It’s beer, wine, and mead. It’s not all fun and games, but…” He flashed a grin before letting out a breath. “Speaking of things I need to handle, I feel like I’m half-assing it every summer. The weekly tastings pretty much run themselves. I need to get more organized and…” He paused, studying me for a beat. “I’m planning to add more events.”

  “This is your baby. Whatever you think we should do, I trust your judgment.”

  “We’re gonna have to start scouting for a new chef for the restaurant. David wants to slow down.”

  David had been the chef for the restaurant since my mom hired him twenty years ago. “Has he said anything official?”

  “He’s officially told me that he plans to cut back at some point. I don’t think he wants to leave, but with his back and knee problems, it’s tough for him to be on his feet that much. He’s going to lead the search for a new chef.”

  “If tasting samples is part of the interview process, I’ll help,” I offered magnanimously.

  Blake chuckled. “I’d love that.” His gaze sobered. “How are things with Mom? I was over there the other day, and Cathy was there with Matthew.”

  “Good, I think. What do you think?”

  Blake was quiet for a few beats, drumming his fingertips lightly against the tank behind him. “I’m glad to get to know our nephew, and I hope he wants to get to know us long-term. But I won’t lie, it’s weird. To him, we’re strangers. Mom told me Cathy said she’s only staying for a little while. I’m not sure we’ll see much of Matthew after that.” His eyes narrowed. “She make a move on you yet?”

  Unfortunately, Cathy had. She’d stopped by my office, ostensibly just to sign off on some final paperwork. She had signed the paperwork, so it wasn’t like that was total bullshit. But once again, there were too many light touches. Then she flat-out told me she had never stopped thinking about me.

  I hadn’t even replied to my brother, but Blake seemed to read my thoughts and shook his head slowly as he snorted. “Called it.”

  “Dude, I didn’t even say anything.”

  “You’re looking all uncomfortable.”

  I sighed. “Yeah. You and Kenan both saw this coming.”

  “I think you’ll have to make it crystal clear to her that you aren’t interested in that.”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t want to make it a thing. I’d almost rather just ignore it.”

  “You can do that, but Cathy strikes me as the kind of person who needs a boundary set, a really clear boundary.”

  “I just want to focus on Haven, and I don’t want this to be a problem.”

  “How are things with Haven?”

  “Good, but they were good before.”

  “I know you’re a little salty she reacted the way she did about that paperwork, but she’s not crazy. You were never an asshole before, but you were also never known for being serious with anyone. You used to date people for maybe one to three weeks, tops. Nobody wants to think someone’s hiding a kid from them. Not to mention, if Matthew had turned out to be your kid, then she had to be prepared to be a stepmom someday.”

  “We aren’t ready for marriage,” I muttered.

  “Maybe not, but you said you love her, so you better start thinking about staying committed.” My brother’s eyes narrowed. “That makes you nervous.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I protested, ignoring the sliver of uneasiness inside me.

  He chuckled. “Sure, whatever you say.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Rhys

  That evening, I was at my place. I looked through the kitchen window as I washed a few coffee mugs in the sink, then set them on the drying rack. My kitchen window looked directly into Haven’s kitchen window. Our houses were mirrors of each other. Last summer, the small kitchen fire in Haven’s house had brought me rushing over to her place one evening. That was when we ended up kissing for the first time.

  I knew Haven’s lease was coming up for renewal soon. I’d told myself I wasn’t even going to ask our property manager about Haven’s plans. Even contemplating that felt like I was getting ahead of myself. I was wondering solely because I was trying to sort out when I planned to build my own place. Staying here was temporary for me.

  Haven had invited me over for pizza tonight, telling me I couldn’t come over until after six because she needed to work on some graphic designs. I put the last mug in the dish rack and turned off the water. After I dried my hands, I glanced around.

  My thoughts kept circling back to Blake’s observation. I was restless after a month of missing Haven and finally getting her back. I craved losing myself in her.

  Yet when Blake mentioned marriage, uncertainty, and anxiety tightened their screws in me. I loved Haven, but the idea of taking that next step sent panic unspooling inside me. I didn’t understand it.

  I ignored the feeling, ordering myself not to think too much about it. What I’d said to Blake was accurate. We weren’t there. Before our recent breakup, we’d only been together since last summer.

  We needed to build a stronger foundation. Right?

  I felt satisfied with that train of thought, even nodding to myself.

  My phone vibrated where it rested on the corner of the counter. Crossing over, I glanced down to see a text from Cathy.

  Cathy: Matthew is going to be with your mother for the evening. She’s taking him to a kids’ play theater group. I’d love to get together for dinner.

  I stared at her text, once again contemplating Blake’s spot-on observations. I needed to set a boundary. As ridiculous as I thought it was, Cathy seemed to be making a play for me. Even when I’d been younger and with her in college, she hadn’t held my attention for long. No one had. I could blame myself for being young, shallow, and not looking for much in relationships. Now, if I were honest, I wasn’t interested in a woman like Cathy anymore.

  Even if I wasn’t attached to Haven and in love with her, Cathy and I had no chemistry. Beyond the lack of chemistry, I didn’t see any way to recover from the fact that she’d hidden a child from our family for a decade. That secret was too big.

  I decided being blunt with her was in order. I had no interest in playing this game, so I needed to cut her off at the pass now.

  Lifting my phone, I tapped my reply.

  Me: I’m not sure what you’re after, but I’m not interested in dinner, lunch, or otherwise.

  Reconsidering my words, I deleted that immediately before hitting send. The line I walked at the moment was how to maintain the fragile connection my mother was building with Cathy to foster a relationship with Matthew and the rest of us.

  I tried again, this time starting my reply in the notes app to avoid accidentally sending it before I was ready.

  Me: I’ll have to pass. I have other plans with Haven.

  I reread that, nodding to myself before rolling my eyes. I was busy satisfying myself with my responses this morning. This made it clear Haven was my girlfriend and shouldn’t offend Cathy.

  I quickly pasted the text in. After I hit send, I glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until I could see Haven.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Haven

  The following morning, when my alarm went off, I rolled over and tapped to turn it off on my phone. I instantly rolled back over, curling against Rhys’s side. He was warm and all muscle-y.

  I very much did not want to get out of bed. His arm curled around my shoulders, pulling me closer against him before his palm slid down my back, curving over the top of my bottom.

  “Mmm,” he murmured. “I love waking up with you.” His voice was velvety soft around the edges.

  I rested my head in the curve of his shoulder, my fingers trailing through the light dusting of hair on his chest. “I love waking up with you too,” I whispered.

  It was four-thirty in the morning, and I needed to be at Spill the Beans Café in an hour. Although the days were rapidly getting longer, sunrise was just teasing us right now. I lifted my head, peering out the window that looked out over the harbor. Where the mountains were visible in the distance on one side of the harbor, I could see the first glimmers of the sun’s rays reaching into the sky.

  I looked down at Rhys to find him watching me. “I don’t want to get up,” I announced.

  His smile curved against his cheek. He pulled me down, bringing my mouth to his for a lazy, sensual kiss. By the time he drew back, liquid heat pooled low in my belly, and my pulse was skittering wildly. We stared at each other in the thin light of dawn. He squeezed my bottom before giving me a light spank.

  “Get up, sweetness. It’s time for a shower.”

  A short while later, I was leaning against the tiled wall in the shower with pleasure ricocheting through my body. Rhys had just had me against this very wall.

  I sighed as I rolled my head back and forth against the tile. “No fair.”

  “What’s not fair?” He caught my hand and pulled me under the water raining down from above.

  “Now, I just want to go back to bed.”

  A sly glint entered his gaze. He turned the water from hot to cold for just a second.

  “Rhys!”

  “We both needed that.” He turned the hot water back on.

  “I might beg to differ on that.” I rolled my eyes.

  Although, his point turned out to be true. I was instantly alert. After we finished showering and got dressed, he glanced over. “Shall I walk you in?”

  “This early? You don’t have to.”

  “I like it. I’m an early riser as it is. I’ll get a coffee and go to the office. I’m very productive when no one else is there.”

  A giddy sense of joy rose inside me, and I felt heat climb in my cheeks. We walked through the crisp spring morning to the café. I made him a coffee, and he left me with a lingering kiss.

  I loved the quiet morning time at the café. We opened at six, and the half an hour between arriving and opening was my favorite time. I took the chairs off the tables, put the prepped pastries and muffins in the ovens, and sipped on my own coffee after heating up one of the pastries left over from the day before.

  When my eyes landed on my business cards for With Love tucked beside the register with a few other local advertisements, I thought back to this time last year. Back then, I’d been living with my boyfriend. He had helped me get my online business up and running. I had started it while I was in college working at a coffee shop in Boston. I used to have fun getting the chalkboard menu ready every day there, making it artsy and putting lots of flair into it. My boss at the time had asked me to make wedding invitations for his daughter. He’d paid me well and even recommended I make my own business cards to leave them at the shop there. That was how it all started.

  I did small batches of handmade selections and print runs for the more popular choices. It had started slow and gradually gotten busy enough to actually make money. My boyfriend had helped me set up the website. I had started to make enough money that I didn’t have to work coffee shop jobs on the side. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been redirecting the money to his own bank account for enough months that I was close to broke by the time I figured it out. Then he was gone.

  Feeling bitter and disillusioned, I’d taken what little money I had left and moved back home after my parents offered to help with my ticket home. They lived in Juneau now.

  It had all worked out for the best. I’d missed Fireweed Harbor for years, and now I was home. What had started as a fling with Rhys had turned into so much more. Even during that bitter month when we’d broken up, I was still glad to be back in Fireweed Harbor. It was home. I had friends and people who had known me since I was a little girl. My business was starting to rebound as well.

  I glanced at the clock and finished a bite of the spinach-and-cheese-stuffed pastry I had heated up before rounding the counter and turning on the lights that circled the windows. Moments after I turned the open sign at the door, McKenna came walking through.

  Her smile was wide when she saw me. “Good morning!” she called.

  “Good morning,” I returned.

  She stopped in front of the counter, resting her hands on it. Her eyes lifted to the chalkboard. “Ooh, I would love the salted caramel latte. I wish I could pretend to be more sophisticated and just get a straight espresso, but I love the sugary drinks.”

  “They’re good. I like straight espresso, but I like the sweet stuff too. What size?”

  “Whatever’s medium.”

  I grabbed one of the medium-size cups with the Spill the Beans logo with pink lettering and spilled coffee beans underneath to begin prepping her coffee. “Anything to eat?” I asked as I tapped the button to start her coffee.

  She perused the chalkboard again. “I would like a ham-and-cheese croissant and one of the cranberry-orange muffins to go. I need savory and sweet,” she said as she smiled over at me.

  “That’s the way to start the day. I’ll heat them for you.” I pulled them out of the case and turned to place them in the small oven.

  As I was adding the syrup to her coffee, she startled me. “I want to hire you.”

  “Huh? For what?” Way to go with being professional.

  McKenna was unfazed. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Blake plans to add more events for the winery.”

 

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