Lib Novel Page 37
I lead Sara into her stall, closing the door behind her as she goes straight for the food in the corner—all as my mind races. I want to deny what he’s saying, I haven’t even been able to admit my feelings to myself. But goddamn, that girl has my heart in a vice, and I still barely know her.
“It’s nothing,” I finally say. “She’s a nice girl who happens to be really pretty. She’s also my fiancé’s cousin, so whatever you’re thinking, it’s not happening.”
“Which is why you looked like you wanted to take my head off just thinking about me dating her,” Jake says as he closes Meredith’s stall. I glare at him, and he holds his hands up. “I’m not dating her. I get the message. But do you? You’re engaged to Jordy and falling for her cousin. Now you’re going to be around her every day. How are you going to manage that?”
“The same way I manage everything,” I say. “I’ll stick to the plan and wait for my heart to catch up.” Then I jog off toward the cabins before Jake can say anything else, or ask what exactly I mean.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I fish it out to see who’s texting me.
Jordy: Hey stranger, call me when you can.
Fuck. I usually text her first thing in the morning, but it’s already closing in on noon and I haven’t even thought about her. I immediately hit her number and wait for her to pick up.
“I’m so sorry,” I say as soon as she answers.
“For what?”
“For not calling sooner. You just moved here, and I should have called or taken you out to breakfast, but I got so engrossed in work that I completely forgot to—”
“Brayden, it’s fine,” Jordy cuts me off. “You were busy, and today was Nina’s first day. She just got home and hopped in the shower, so I thought I’d check to see how she did.”
I have a vision of her riding on the beach, her long hair streaming behind her in the wind. The way she kept looking back at me, her smile brightening the whole goddamn beach and making me want to feel it against my mouth.
“She was fine,” I say, shaking myself from the vision of her. “My mom and sister love her, which is probably most important. She officially starts tomorrow morning before the guests arrive in the afternoon.”
“That’s great! I know your dad will be happy.”
No, he won’t. But I don’t say that.
“So, what are your plans for the day? I can leave the work to the guys here if you want to go grab a bite to eat.”
“Nah, do your thing,” she says. “I still have lots to unpack, and there’s plenty to do around the house. I’ll probably be swamped the next few days. But if you want, I could break away this weekend and we can look at venues, maybe?”
“For what?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel stupid. The wedding. “I mean, yeah. Venues.”
“We don’t have to,” she says, and I realize how unenthusiastic I just sounded.
“No, I do. But the weekend is never a good time. We have guests until Sunday, and several beach rides. You know, the usual.”
“Oh, right. I keep forgetting the tourist gold mine you have there.”
The way she says it, it’s almost like she thinks this is a hobby, not my family business or my life’s work. I’ve had the same schedule every day since I left college and took over the ranch.
“Yeah, our little corner of the Sunset Bay tourist trap.”
“Brayden, that’s not how I meant it, and you know it.”
But I don’t know it. What I do know is that as soon as we get serious about planning this wedding, the more serious we’re going to have to be about our future—including my role in the ranch. Because Jordy’s plan is to leave for New York, but my whole life is here in Sunset Bay. And I either tell her to give up her dream, or I give up mine, because you can’t run a ranch in Southern California if you live on the East Coast.
“So, Monday then?”
I’m snapped back into the conversation. It’s just venue shopping, though it’s one step closer to the decision I have to make. Stand my ground to stay, or upend my life so she can live hers.
But then I think of five years ago. The hospital bed. The doctor telling her the awful truth as I squeezed her hand. As she sobbed.
I owe her.
“Monday,” I say.