Page 30 of Somewhere You Belong

Squinting at him, I take a sip of my martini.Damn. Of course it’s perfect. “I am.”

“Then I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, won’t we?” One of his dark eyebrows arches.

“Not if I can help it,” I tease, more playfully than I intended. But there is something about verbally sparring with this guy that is making my heart flutter. And the longer I talk to him, the more I get to stare at his stupid face, those stupid lips, and that stupid beard that are making me feel stupid inside.

This is not good.

“Well, then I guess you won’t be needing my help with the geese after all.” The snark in his voice brings me back to the present.

Fuck. The damn birds. I’ve forgotten all about them. “Ummm…”

“No. It’s probably best this way, right? You don’t trust me. Who knows if I would be giving you accurate information anyway?” Unfortunately, a small growl climbs up my throat and Dallas catches it, laughing at the sound. He taps the bar in front of me before saying, “Good luck, Willow. You’re going to need it.” And then he walks off, leaving me to stare at his beautiful backside as he does.

Not wanting to get caught, I shift my focus around the bar, watching Astrid wait tables, Penn help clear dishes, and other employees smile and assist other customers as I fight with my own willpower not to strangle Dallas and the notion that maybe part of me is happy to be back more than I care to admit.

There’s a familiarity here, a sense of community that, before this trip, scared the living shit out of me.

But maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world to be in a place where people know you by name, remember your favorite drink, and are eager to help make you feel at home. As long as you can make sure to separate business from much needed pleasure—the kind I feel a man like Dallas could definitely deliver.

Chapter seven

Willow

Standing on the balcony of my bedroom sipping a cup of coffee as I stare out at the ocean on a Monday morningalmostmakes up for the fact that I have to jump on a call later this morning.

Working remotely will definitely be an adjustment for me, but when this is the view you get to wake up to, I guess the sacrifice is worth it.

A feeling of peace washes over me as I stand here, such a contrast to the anxiety I felt the first time I stepped into this house. But like Shauna said, I need to treat this as an adventure. Keep an open mind and do something out of the ordinary.

So that’s what I’m going to do.

I drop my head down to look for a place to sit on the balcony, even though I know there isn’t one. Looks like there’s one more item to add to my mile-long to-do list—get a chair.

After I finish my coffee, I hop in the shower, make myself look presentable, and then log in to my call a few minutes early, ready tosync up with Katrina. When I’m satisfied with the plan we’ve laid out for the week, I end the meeting and decide my schedule is light enough today that I can knock off a few things for this house as well.

As I make my way into town to look for some furniture, I make a pit stop at the bakery to see if they have any muffins left. It’s almost noon, but there’s no harm in trying. Plus, I kind of want to see if Astrid is there. I need her input on something else too.

“Well, looky here. You’re awfully late!” she calls out as soon as the bell rings above the door.

“Yeah, I had a conference call this morning. I know it’s a long shot but...” My eyes drift to the display case, where I see nothing but a muffin-shaped void. My heart instantly deflates. “I guess the early bird also catches the muffin.”

Astrid flashes me a knowing smile and then reaches behind her for a box, popping the lid open and revealing a dozen muffins. “Call it intuition, but I set these aside for you this morning, just in case.”

My jaw drops in shock, and appreciation. “Oh my God. I swear, I think I might cry.”

She just laughs and moves to the register, taking her time since the place is empty.

“Thank you so much, Astrid.”

She waves it off as I hand her my card. “Don’t mention it. In a town this small, you learn to look out for your neighbors. The little things mean the most sometimes.”

And her words resonate with me. “Yeah. That’s true.”

When’s the last time someone did something thoughtful like that for me that wasn’t related to my job? Better yet, when’s the last time I did that for someone else?

“Well, Willow, since you’ll be sticking around for a bit longer, I’d like to know more about you. Like what kind of work you do thatallows for such flexibility.” She slides my card and the receipt across the counter for me to sign.

If it were anyone else pushing me for information, I’d have my guard up in a flash. But there is something about Astrid that makes me want to open up, at least a little. Still, I think I’ll keep my millionaire status to myself. People tend to look at you differently when they see dollar signs. “I work in advertising. Basically, people pay me a lot of money to help them make a lot of money.”

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