move out of state. And it’s when he’d salvaged all the cobblestone now on display up front, the first seed of a dream he hadn’t known he even had at that point.
“Maybe it’s not exactly the same,” he said to his uncle now. “But I’m committed to Maddie. The plan has always been that we’d get engaged after the restaurant opens. It’s open now. I’d bet money she’s banking on a proposal next time I see her.”
“Which is when? For an almost-engaged man, you sure don’t see much of your fiancée-to-be. She didn’t even . . .”
Case didn’t finish. Didn’t have to. Maddie hadn’t even come last night—that’s what he’d been thinking, right?
“It’s not her fault. Honestly, I’m not even sure I asked her.” And yet, he’d invited Ava.
And that . . . that’s what had bothered him most as he tried to sleep last night. The guilt. Not only at inviting Ava, but the way he’d watched her as she waitressed. Noticing more than he should. The ease with which she’d slipped into the role in his restaurant in his town. The smiles she doled out with every delivered plate. How good she looked in Shan’s borrowed apron.
He’d noticed all that and more while they made it through his opening night.
And it wasn’t right.
But he couldn’t just ignore her now that she was here. Nor did he want to. Having her around, another friend in town, it would be great. He just . . . What?
I just have to be careful. That’s all.
5
“I’m telling you, Seth, it’s the wrong color.”
Seth watched Ava slap paint onto the east wall of the apartment over The Red Door. Man, it was so easy to tell whenever she was annoyed. Whatever she happened to be doing in her moment of irritation, she’d do it with an extra dose of force. Scrubbing a counter top? She’d scrub harder. Drinking pop. She’d gulp it faster.
And at the moment she was putting way more muscle than needed into slicking that paint roller up and down the wall.
“You’re supposed to paint in a W pattern, Ave.”
She turned around and with a huffy exhale blew the blond hair flopping over her forehead out of her face. “Where’d you learn that? HGTV? Better Homes & Gardens ?”
He dipped his roller into the silver tray filled with bright red paint. Candy Apple Red, according to the can. He had to agree that in the cloud-filtered morning sun it seemed a little bold—but he wasn’t going to admit that to Ava. “I didn’t learn it, I just know it. Everybody knows it.”
“I didn’t know it,” Raegan said as she waltzed into the room. “I brought beverages.”
Ava flashed him a See? look and abandoned her roller in favor of the Diet Coke Raegan held out.
Had she really been here two weeks already? The days had flown—probably because he spent so much of them downstairs at the restaurant. Why had he thought once the place was up and running, it wouldn’t consume so much of his time? One of these dayshe was going to have to appoint an assistant manager and entrust his baby to someone else.
Today was an attempted step in that direction. Ava had convinced him to stay away from The Red Door for a full day—and they decided to start it by painting the apartment living room. Although, did the floor above the restaurant count as away ?
“Earth to Seth.” Raegan held a water bottle in front of his face.
“Thanks.” He dropped his paint roller and twisted open the bottle.
“You’ve got to get more sleep, Seth. You were completely zoning out. You’re working too hard.”
Ava hopped onto the card table they’d set up in the middle of the apartment’s living room and put her feet on a folding chair. “That’s what I’ve been telling him.”
The tarp they’d thrown over the hardwood floor crunched and wrinkled under his feet. “Your concern is touching, ladies, but I’m fine. After all, I’m the one drinking the healthy beverage.” He narrowed his eyes toward Ava’s Diet Coke.
“There you go again. If it’s
“Maybe it’s not exactly the same,” he said to his uncle now. “But I’m committed to Maddie. The plan has always been that we’d get engaged after the restaurant opens. It’s open now. I’d bet money she’s banking on a proposal next time I see her.”
“Which is when? For an almost-engaged man, you sure don’t see much of your fiancée-to-be. She didn’t even . . .”
Case didn’t finish. Didn’t have to. Maddie hadn’t even come last night—that’s what he’d been thinking, right?
“It’s not her fault. Honestly, I’m not even sure I asked her.” And yet, he’d invited Ava.
And that . . . that’s what had bothered him most as he tried to sleep last night. The guilt. Not only at inviting Ava, but the way he’d watched her as she waitressed. Noticing more than he should. The ease with which she’d slipped into the role in his restaurant in his town. The smiles she doled out with every delivered plate. How good she looked in Shan’s borrowed apron.
He’d noticed all that and more while they made it through his opening night.
And it wasn’t right.
But he couldn’t just ignore her now that she was here. Nor did he want to. Having her around, another friend in town, it would be great. He just . . . What?
I just have to be careful. That’s all.
5
“I’m telling you, Seth, it’s the wrong color.”
Seth watched Ava slap paint onto the east wall of the apartment over The Red Door. Man, it was so easy to tell whenever she was annoyed. Whatever she happened to be doing in her moment of irritation, she’d do it with an extra dose of force. Scrubbing a counter top? She’d scrub harder. Drinking pop. She’d gulp it faster.
And at the moment she was putting way more muscle than needed into slicking that paint roller up and down the wall.
“You’re supposed to paint in a W pattern, Ave.”
She turned around and with a huffy exhale blew the blond hair flopping over her forehead out of her face. “Where’d you learn that? HGTV? Better Homes & Gardens ?”
He dipped his roller into the silver tray filled with bright red paint. Candy Apple Red, according to the can. He had to agree that in the cloud-filtered morning sun it seemed a little bold—but he wasn’t going to admit that to Ava. “I didn’t learn it, I just know it. Everybody knows it.”
“I didn’t know it,” Raegan said as she waltzed into the room. “I brought beverages.”
Ava flashed him a See? look and abandoned her roller in favor of the Diet Coke Raegan held out.
Had she really been here two weeks already? The days had flown—probably because he spent so much of them downstairs at the restaurant. Why had he thought once the place was up and running, it wouldn’t consume so much of his time? One of these dayshe was going to have to appoint an assistant manager and entrust his baby to someone else.
Today was an attempted step in that direction. Ava had convinced him to stay away from The Red Door for a full day—and they decided to start it by painting the apartment living room. Although, did the floor above the restaurant count as away ?
“Earth to Seth.” Raegan held a water bottle in front of his face.
“Thanks.” He dropped his paint roller and twisted open the bottle.
“You’ve got to get more sleep, Seth. You were completely zoning out. You’re working too hard.”
Ava hopped onto the card table they’d set up in the middle of the apartment’s living room and put her feet on a folding chair. “That’s what I’ve been telling him.”
The tarp they’d thrown over the hardwood floor crunched and wrinkled under his feet. “Your concern is touching, ladies, but I’m fine. After all, I’m the one drinking the healthy beverage.” He narrowed his eyes toward Ava’s Diet Coke.
“There you go again. If it’s
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