Page 234 of Holding On To Good

And he’d thought having an adult child would make his life easier.

Life throwing him a curveball yet again.

“I didn’t think there were any houses this far up,” Willow said, looking out the window at the passing trees. She faced him. “Are you sure it wasn’t one of those houses we already passed?”

He couldn’t look at her while he lied so he kept his gaze on the road. “Positive.”

But he could feel her watching him. He’d played it cool all day. Hadn’t let anything slip during Sunday dinner with his brothers and her parents. Had just mentioned, casually, after everyone had left, that there was a new property he wanted her to consider for a future J&K project.

But the farther they climbed up the road, the denser the woods became, the more often she shot him frowning, suspicious looks.

He ignored her. A few minutes later, he pulled onto a dirt road, drove down it at a snail’s pace, bouncing and jostling them both in their seats for a quarter of a mile, then pulled to a stop at the end of the road.

And that’s when the nerves hit, full force, with the strength of a bat to his stomach.

He hoped like hell he didn’t fuck this up.

“It must have been one of the houses we passed,” she said, unlocking his phone. “I’ll check your maps app. What was the address again?”

“It’s the right address,” he told her, turning off the ignition. Then he got out of the truck and walked around the hood. Opened her door. “Come on.”

She didn’t move. “Urban…”

He held out his hand. “Trust me?”

The last time he’d asked her that, she’d trusted him to carry her away from her sister’s wedding.

Now he was going to be asking for a hell of a lot more.

“Of course.”

And she placed her hand in his.

He didn’t carry her, but he did link his fingers with hers as they went through the dense woods. It was a testament to her trust in him that she didn’t ask any more questions, just walked along, happy to let him lead her wherever he wanted them to go.

Five minutes later, they stepped into a clearing.

“Wow,” Willow breathed, eyes wide as she took in the view. She let go of his hand and did a slow turn, taking in the thick woods behind them, then hill after rolling hill, the trees bursting with reds and oranges and yellows, and finally, Mount Laurel, looking like some picture-perfect postcard. “It’s like we’re on top of the world.”

And she smiled at him, so fucking stunning even in faded jeans and a blue flannel over a long-sleeved white T-shirt, he lost his breath.

Felt, absolutely, like he was on top of the world.

Only one thing would make it even better.

“Is this the property you want J&K to invest in?” she asked.

“In a way,” he hedged.

“We don’t often do full-builds,” she reminded him.

They were riskier. A bigger investment of their time and money.

“No.”

“But I can see why you thought this would be worth us doing one now. This spot is amazing.” She shot him a grin. “Good catch.”

Usually, Willow was the one with insight into what was for sale.

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