Page 42 of Willow Vale

At the same time Travis said, “Yes. Go away.”

I held up a hand and forced a laugh. “No, you’re not. Travis just didn’t know how to read Manny’s notes, and now he does. You’re welcome. I’ll get back to work now.”

“Delilah,” Travis called out to me, but I was already hurrying toward Desi who watched us with a grin the entire time.

“What’s on your face?” my best friend called out as I practically ran down the hall and locked myself in the bathroom. My heart was pounding in my ears as I slapped the faucet on to splash my face with cold water to get rid of any flour that may have stayed behind.

When I finished and stared at my reflection in the mirror,I took in my wide eyes and flushed cheeks all caused by one man.

I knew now that there was no escaping the effect he had on me when we were so close to one another. Being friends was one thing, but doing what we were about to do in the kitchen? It would throw me into a tailspin. Worst part is? I wantedhim. And not as a friend.

I groaned, “I’m so screwed.”

CHAPTER 17

Lila

It wasFriday night and The Rusty Pint was overflowing with customers.

It was all hands-on deck tonight as Willow Vale’s annual carnival commenced that morning and was still going. The rodeo was next weekend which only meant there would be twice as many people here compared to tonight.

The music the band was playing travelled through the bar, welcoming a group of women celebrating a bachelorette as they burst through the doors. They were wearing hot pink outfits with sparkling pink western boots, cut-off shorts, and halter tops to match the boots. And…sparkling tiaras atop their pink cowboy hats.

The locals stared at the rowdy bunch knowing they were clearly not from around here.

The ladies sat themselves in the corner booth, leaving Desi to serve them in her section—thank god for her peppiness and patience—while Jake and I mixed drinks behind the bar. Like Desi, Travis was on the main floor serving customers with an ease that was beyond me.

They must have had tons of nights just like this one on the weekends.

I spotted Finn pop in to drop off more bags of ice before the ice machine ran out completely. Desmond also stopped by, wearing his cowboy hat and signature smile, checking in to see if we needed anything. He and Finn did that a couple of times throughout the afternoon until we finally caught a bit of a breather.

Pulling my cellphone out of my pocket, I checked the time and my messages.

“Checking in on Mom again?” Travis asked from behind me, making me jump. How was it that such a tall man could be so quiet?

I blew out a breath. “I just hope Desmond doesn’t load River up on too much sugar. My kid doesn’t have a limit to the number of sweets he’ll eat in a day.”

Desmond and Amelia asked me if they could take River around the festival today so that he could have a change of pace. While I was glad they wanted to take time out of their day to spend it with him at the carnival, I wouldn’t be surprised if I showed up to find River decked out in chaps and a cowboy hat of his own.

Travis sidled up to me by the bar, surveying the room with a satisfied look on his face. “I’d say he knows better but…it’s Dad. He’ll spoil anyone rotten if given the chance That’s including his grown ass kids. Mom too—deep down she’s a bigger softy than he is.”

My phone started buzzing in my hand and I glanced down only to frown when another unknown number appeared on the screen. It’d been ringing all day, and every time I blocked one, another number would start calling a few hours later. I knew who it was, but I wastired. Tired of getting these callsand tired of reading all the scathing texts that threatened me in some way.

I just wanted it to stop.

How can I make her stop? How can I make her understand?

“Telemarketer?” Travis asked when I just stared at the phone until the call went to voicemail.

“No.” I sighed, tucking my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.

“Why the long face then?” he asked but kept his focus on the people coming and going from The Rusty Pint. I’d been avoiding him for a few days now since the whole kitchen incident and neither of us had tried to talk about what we almost did.

That was a good thing. I didn’t want to know what Travis had to say about that or if he regretted almost kissing me. Because that was what we were about to do, right?

I bit the inside of my cheek before saying, “Irene’s been calling me.”

Travis’s head snapped in my direction, his face grim.

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