Page 31 of Hoax and Kisses
“Three customers picked up their orders. I noted them over there.” He waves a hand vaguely. “And one woman asked to see you. Didn’t recognize her. I told her to come back around lunchtime. I’m not sure she will, though. Seemed like she was in a rush.”
My heart skips a beat. “What did she look like?”
James studies me, curiosity glinting in his gaze as he pushes his glasses up. “Tallish, in her thirties, medium-length dark brown hair.” He narrows his eyes. “Why? You know her?”
Fuck. She’s the last person I want to see.
With a long exhale, I get to work setting out my supplies. “Her name is Zoey. She’s from Vancouver. She arrived in Pine Falls about a week ago.” My tone is flat. I can’t help it. “I almost ran her over when she crossed the street without looking. She had ridiculously high heels. I bet she would have face-planteda second later with those on anyway. And then we had sex the same night.”
James sucks in a breath. “You wh—”
I hold both hands up. “There’s more. She came in here yesterday, and I made her a bouquet. And then…” I swallow thickly, irritation bubbling in my gut. “She got a call. You’ll never guess from whom.”
I almost choked on my saliva when I saw the name.
“Who?”
“Oscar.”
Honestly, who the hell saves their dad’s number with his first and last name? “Oscar…” His eyes go wide. “ThatOscar?”
“The very same. Oscar Marchiatto.”
His jaw practically unhinges.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen that reaction out of him. Usually, he just nods, maybe raises an eyebrow—never much more. He’s the type who chews on information in silence, waiting until he has something useful to contribute, if at all.
“You slept with—”
“Please don’t say it out loud.” I wince. “I’m upset enough with myself. I didn’t know who she was when it happened.”
I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it since his name flashed on her screen. Since I overheard her conversation. That fucking idiot’s voice was so loud, I could hear it even after she stepped a few feet away.
What game is he playing? Sending his daughter to woo us? Not a fucking chance.
Says the guy who already slept with her.
I shut my eyes tight.
“So what does she want with you?” James asks, visibly confused.
“With me? Nothing. She wants to buy Emile’s land.”
His brows lift so high they disappear under his shaggy hair. “What for?”
“From what I gleaned from her conversation yesterday, she wants to build a fucking hotel.”
Anxiety flares, heat crawling up my neck. When will they leave our town alone? When will they understand that we do not want to become a mega complex with Targets and Walmarts and resorts packed with rich assholes who couldn’t care less about the damage they’d do to a small town like Pine Falls? They’re not here for the nature, our history, or our “quaint” streets. Their only true interest lies in gentrifying another corner of this world. It’s about ownership. Power.
For years, we’ve fought off these assholes. And I damn sure still have some fight in me. I’ll gladly go against one more corporation trying to dictate what they swear is best for us, when their only goal is to line their pockets.
I wassoclose to asking Zoey out yesterday.
What was I thinking? With Daphne at home right now, with the shop busier than ever and in dire need of a cash influx… Maybe it’s a good thing that she turned out to be the exact kind of person I imagined during our first encounter. A deceitful, spoiled city girl.
No more second-guessing my gut, that’s for sure.
“That’s unfortunate,” James says, cutting through my thoughts.
