I nodded. “Easy.”
“Good,” Rein said. “Let’s get to it then.”
Rein stood at the top of the stairs by the loft door so she could direct me. She had a keen eye and was able to visualize how she wanted the place to look pretty easily. She guided me all over the place, and I tried not to let on when my shoulders and neck started to ache. That damn floral couch was going to be the death of me.
It took a good hour and a half before we had the showroom looking how she wanted. Her vision of the aisles gave the place order, but it definitely changed the vibe. You could no longer see all the paintings when you came in the door. A good seventy percent of them faced the other way, so when you came in, you were mostly staring at the back of white canvases on easels.
I joined her at the top of the steps and crossed my arms. “If you’re not happy with it, we can keep going,” I offered.
Her eyes slid over the room slowly. “You know, I think I liked it better before.”
I glanced at her and then looked back at the room. “Me too. You could see everything when you came in. It was open and welcoming. Now it feels… too controlled.”
She grinned. “Let’s put everything back exactly where it was.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye to see if she was fucking with me.
“Unless you’re bored,” she said hurriedly.
“No, not at all.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then let’s get to it.”
I went back down the stairs and began reorganizing it all back to where it was. Rein was picky and made sure everything went exactly where it had been before. She matched certain paintings with their matching paint splatters on the floor and made sure I lined them up just right. Her eye for detail was insane, but she was an artist, so it made sense.
When the room was back to the way it had been when I first came in, I stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her. “Better?”
Rein giggled. “It’s just how I like it.”
I put my hands on my hips. “You had no intention of keeping it the way you had me move everything, did you?”
She shook her head. “Not even a little bit.”
I laughed and scratched the back of my neck. “I should have known.”
“You should have, but I’m glad you didn’t. Is dinner still on the table for tomorrow night?”
“Definitely,” I said.
“Good,” she said. “Pick me up here at seven?”
I nodded. “Sounds good.” I turned to a painting of Emmett’s diner on my right and tilted it, leaving it hanging crookedly behind me as I climbed the stairs. “For making me bust my ass,” I teased.
She smiled. “I like it like that.”
“We both know that’s a lie.”
She snickered and slapped my shoulder playfully. “You always were a good sport, Brayden. Now get the hell out. I have work to do.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded and hopped down the stairs, waving over her shoulder. She didn’t look back, so I slipped out into the hallway. I found myself smiling all the way to my truck. This was the first step to her forgiving me for being such an ass all those years ago. I knew it would take more than moving some paintings around and taking her to dinner, but I was already on better ground than I had been when I first came back to town.
I didn’t deserve it, but I knew she was going to forgive me.
Maybe she already had.
Chapter 14
Rein
I had to push my way through a throng of people gathered around the bar at the Tavern to get to Gracie and Emmett, who were sitting in our usual table near the stone fireplace. The two of them had their heads bowed together and were deep in conversation. Something Emmett said tickled Gracie’s fancy because she gripped the edges of the table and leaned back as she burst out laughing. It was a joyful, giddy sound, and it was one I hadn’t heard from her in a while. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was flirting.
They both looked up when I got to the table and smiled. Emmett pulled out a chair for me, and I dropped down into it with a contented sigh. I had been on my feet all day working, and it felt so nice to finally sit down.
“You two look like a cute couple from a distance,” I said teasingly.
“Yeah, right,” Gracie said. “I’m too high maintenance for Emmett, right?”
Emmett shrugged. “I think most women are too high maintenance for me.”
Gracie and I both chuckled, and I leaned back in my chair and pulled my hair out of its messy bun. It fell around my shoulders, and I worked my fingers into it, massaging my scalp.
“Long day?” Gracie asked, having to raise her voice over the noise. The place was much busier than usual. It seemed that a lot of people in town had the same idea as us and were stopping by the Tavern for Wednesday night drink specials and wings. I couldn’t blame them. The wings here were delicious and the drinks never disappointed.
“Yeah, I started early and stayed late. My feet are killing me.”
“A drink or two will fix you right up,” Emmett said, flagging down a waitress. I ordered a glass of wine, which was out of character for me. It arrived quickly and the first sip was heavenly. By the time I was halfway done, my head already felt pleasantly fuzzy, and the throbbing ache in my feet was nearly gone.
We ordered a basket of wings to share and our meals, which arrived a little later than usual due to the big crowd. We picked at our food and licked at our fingers after eating the wings. When our bellies were full and I felt human again, conversation started to flow.
“So Gracie and I were chatting earlier about your little dinner date with Brayden and his daughter the other night. The three of you looked like three peas in a pod.” Emmett smiled. “Until you bailed on him, of course.”
“I didn’t want to go in the first place,” I said defensively. “His daughter talked me into it. You saw her. She’s too cute to say no to.”
Emmett stroked his chin and exchanged a glance with Gracie. “Well, from where I was standing, it looked like the three of you were having a good time.”
“It wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be,” I confessed, sipping my wine.
“Does that mean you might see him again before he goes back to Florida?” Gracie asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
I bit my bottom lip. “I may have already told him I’d go to dinner with him tomorrow night.”
“Wait,” Gracie said. “Hold up. Dinner? Just the two of you, or you, him, and Bella?”
“Just the two of us,” I said, lifting my wine to my lips again and trying to hide behind the transparent glass as Emmett and Gracie looked at each other gleefully. “Don’t overthink it.”
“I’m not overthinking anything,” Gracie said. “I’m just trying to figure out how you went from not wanting to see his face to agreeing to go on a date with him.”
“It’s not a date,” I said sharply. “It’s just two friends going out to eat dinner. He wants to catch up. He wants to erase his guilt.”
“And what do you want?” Gracie asked.
I looked down at the table. Honestly? I had no idea. Twenty-four hours ago, I wanted nothing more than for Brayden to get on a plane and go back to Florida. But now, I wasn’t so sure. Having him move everything around my shop had been fun. Not to mention, watching him work had been more than enjoyable.
If I thought too long on the way his shoulders moved beneath the thin fabric of his shirt, I would need a cold shower.
“I don’t know,” I said, looking up at Gracie. “But for some reason, I’m not dreading it.”
“Sorry, Emmett,” Gracie said, getting to her feet and patting his shoulder. “Rein and I have to get out of here.” She dropped some cash on the table to cover our part of the bill. “We’ll see you soon, okay?”
Emmett nodded. “Sounds good. Have fun tomorrow, Rein.” He winked at me. “Don’t let him get away with any sneaky shit. At the end of the
day, he’s still Brayden Hennie.”
I laughed and shook my head. “He won’t try anything with me. I told you. It’s just two friends going for dinner to catch up.”
“Uh huh.” Emmett smirked and sipped his beer.
I rolled my eyes and went to retort, but Gracie grabbed me by the shoulders, turned me around, and steered me to the front doors. We gathered our coats and braced for the cold. We hopped in my car, which started on the third try.
“Where to?” I asked.
“My place,” Gracie said as she pulled her seatbelt across herself and clipped it in. “I have the perfect dress you can wear tomorrow, and I want to see you in it before Brayden does. Best friend benefits.”
I giggled and pulled away from the curb. We blasted the radio for the ten-minute drive and were both full of energy when we got out of the car and hurried into Gracie’s place—a small ranch on the outskirts of town that she was renting on a monthly basis.
She went into the kitchen first, where she grabbed a bottle of white wine from her fridge and poured us each a glass. She handed one to me and took my wrist. “Come on,” she said, leading me down the narrow hall from the kitchen to her bedroom at the back of the house. “Let’s go shopping in my closet.”
Gracie loved clothes, shoes, jewelry, and makeup. Besides yoga, her other passion was fashion, and it had its perks for me as her best friend. I never had to spend money on things I would only ever wear once. If I had something special to go to, Gracie always had the perfect thing for me to wear, and she loved sharing her online finds with me.
There wasn’t anywhere in Valdez you could go to buy the clothes she liked to wear.
I plopped down on her bed as she pulled open her closet doors. She went to the left-hand side and pulled out a little black dress. The price tag was still hanging off the back of the dress as she spun it around to show me.
“What do you think?” she asked, pressing it flat against her body to give me an idea of what the silhouette would be like.
The dress was short and would probably sit around the middle of my thighs. It would be tight—really fucking tight—but the subtle gathering of fabric on the hips would make it quite flattering. I stood and held out my hand. “Can I try it on?”
“Of course,” she said, tossing it to me and swapping places to sit herself on the bed. She crossed one leg over the other and sipped her wine as I changed. “Cute panties,” Gracie said, nodding at the red G-string I was wearing. “You should make sure you’re wearing something sexy under the dress tomorrow night.”
“What I’m wearing underneath won’t matter,” I said as I pulled the dress over my head and worked it down over my boobs.
“You sure?” Gracie asked deviously.
I pulled the dress down my hips and thighs. I fixed my boobs, pulling them apart and up in my bra, then spun to look at myself in the mirror.
“Damn,” Gracie said. “You look hot as hell in that. Brayden’s going to kick himself when he sees what he left behind.”
I ran my hands over my thighs and cocked my head to the side. I had to admit, the dress was pretty sexy. Gracie had made a good call when she ordered it. My waist looked narrow, my boobs looked perky and huge, and somehow, it also looked like I had long legs, which I didn’t. Not really. As someone who was more on the petite side, it was hard to find something that gave me the illusion of length.
“I like it,” I said.
“Me too. So will he. Big time.”
Good.
“Where is he going to take you for dinner?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “There aren’t many options around here. The Tavern. Emmett’s. Or there’s the places down at the docks. I can’t see him wanting to take me there.” I sighed and turned around to look at my back in the dress. The curve of my spine was accentuated by an open back. I hadn’t expected that. “Maybe this is too much. We’re in Valdez, after all. I should just wear jeans and a cute top.”
“Absolutely not,” Gracie said, getting to her feet and putting her wine on the floor. “You look like an absolute stunner, and you deserve to feel like a goddess. Look at you. He’s going to lose his damn mind.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I muttered.
Gracie chuckled and shook her head at me. “Girl, you gotta get over this fear of being wanted. I say, if the chance presents itself, you should fuck his brains out.”
“Gracie!” I exclaimed.
“What?”
“That is for sure not happening. I already told you. We’re going to dinner as friends. I’m not going to open that door again.”
Gracie let out an exasperated sigh and fell back on the bed again. “Rein, seriously. How long has it been?”
I didn’t answer her.
“Exactly,” my best friend said. “You should do this for you. Live a little. A vibrator can only do so much for so long before you need a man’s hands on your body. You know?”
No. I didn’t know.
I grabbed the hem of the dress and pulled it off over my head. “I’m not sleeping with him. I can’t. I’m not ready.”
“You say that now,” Gracie said. “But when he’s inches away from you, looking fine as hell? All I’m saying is, you can let yourself have fun for once. If you guys didn’t have so much history, I’d be all over him. I’d let him do whatever he wanted to me.”
“Alright, alright. I get it.”
Gracie sighed and picked her wine up from the floor. “I hope you do. He’s only here temporarily. There is literally no better opportunity for a quick lay.”
“Maybe I don’t want a quick lay. Ever think of that?”
“No, I didn’t.” Gracie giggled. “But come on. I want to live vicariously through you. I want to know what’s hiding under all that expensive fabric. I want to know how Brayden Hennie handles a woman. And you should give him the chance to show you.”
I pulled my jeans back on and shook my head. “You’ll just have to keep wondering, Gracie. I’m not letting him get that close to me ever again.”
Chapter 15
Brayden
Bella was sitting cross legged on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She was lifting individual pieces to her mouth in a steady stream as her eyes remained glued to the television, which still had rabbit ears and a wooden frame. She was watching a cartoon I didn’t recognize as I patted her head and told her I would see her in the morning. She was so engrossed in the little blue characters on the screen that she mumbled out what sounded like a goodbye.
Smiling to myself, I went to the front door and slipped my boots on. My mother came to join me in the foyer. She was wrapped up tightly in a pink fleece robe, and her feet were hidden in fuzzy slippers.
“Tell Rein I say hello,” she said softly.
“I will.” I rubbed her shoulders lightly. “You’re sure you’re alright on your own here with Bella? If you’re too tired, I can call Rein and cancel. She’ll understand.”
“Bella and I will be fine. We’re going to take it easy and watch cartoons. It’s the perfect way for me to spend an evening.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re sure?”
“Call whenever you want to make sure I haven’t croaked.”
“That’s not funny.”
She shrugged her frail shoulders and pulled her robe tighter around herself. “Cancer is going to kill me, but I’ll be damned if it ruins my fun, Brayden.”
I sighed, knowing this was a battle I couldn’t win, and pulled her to me for a quick hug. “Call me if you need me, all right?”
“We’ll be fine.” She smiled as she pushed herself away. “Go have fun. You put a lot of work into this date of yours.”
“It’s not a date.”
My mother chuckled and rolled her eyes at me. Now I knew why she found it so annoying when I did the same thing to her as a teenager. “A man doesn’t spend an afternoon preparing for dinner with a woman when it’s not a date. I might be dying, but I’m not stupid.”
“I just wanted to be able to get away from the prying eyes of the people in this damn town.”
“I know, baby,” she said, patting my cheek. “But that still doesn’t negate the fact that this is a date.”
***
Rein lived in the same apartment she grew up in. I knocked on the front door and waited half a minute before she answered, and when I saw her, I had to pick my jaw up off the ground and gather my thoughts.
She looked absolutely stunning.
Her black and red hair was pinned back in an elegant bun, exposing her neck, collar bones, and bare shoulders. The little black dress that hugged her body had my head reeling as she plucked a floor-length red coat from the hook behind her door and slipped her arms into it.
“You look amazing,” I finally managed to say.
Rein smiled, flashing her white teeth at me between her red painted lips. I wondered dimly if she had borrowed the shade from Gracie.
“Thanks. So do you.” She tied the sash of the red jacket around her waist and then wrapped a black scarf around her exposed throat. “Ready to go?”
“Hell yes,” I said, and I offered her my elbow. She took it, and I led her down the steps to the path that cut across the front of her property. I opened the passenger door of my rental truck for her and helped her up.
When I got in the truck, all I could think about was how eager I was to get to our destination so Rein would take her coat off again. I’d only had a small window to see her—to really see her—and I needed more.
“So where are we going?” Rein asked as she looked out her window while I drove.
“It’s a surprise,” I said coyly.
She snorted in a most un-ladylike way. I had forgotten she used to do that, and the sound made me smile. “Come on, Brayden. Out with it. There are only three places in Valdez you could possibly take me to.”
“You want a hint?” I asked, glancing over at her.
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