Page 119 of Promise Me

HUDSON

I leave the bank with a grin on my face and hop into my truck to head to my brother’s place. He isn’t at his office today, but he still has what I need.

I’d planned to make a whole spectacle of telling Sadie about this, but in the end, just having a moment for the two of us is what she’d love the most.

Luca is grabbing something from his truck when I pull up.

“I can’t believe you bought the space and put her name as co-owner,” Luca says. “Can you even do that?”

I’m not even surprised by that greeting.

“She still needs to sign the paperwork, but yeah. It’s done. Mrs. Whittaker said she’d take down the sign today.”

“Fuck, I can’t believe this. This summer has been wild to watch.”

I head for his front door. I can’t wait to tell Sadie. She’s going to be so excited. As soon as she mentioned adding a bookstore to the bar the other morning, my decision was a no-brainer. I’ll get the space from Mrs. Whittaker, and we can remodel both spaces to make both of our dreams work. I just wanted to get thepaperwork in line before I told Sadie in case it didn’t work out the way I wanted.

But now, all is good.

I’m not sure how much she’ll like the idea of breaking down the walls to make one big space, but if she wants Sips and Stories by the big windows, we will need to move all the tables and the section of the bar on that side to the space I just bought. If she wants it, I’ll add her name to the bar’s legal paperwork, too.

“Do you think she’s going to freak out?” Luca asks as he shows me a couple of mock-up designs.

Since Luca does the majority of the construction in our town, of course I hired him to draft me a plan for how we could make this work. I’d called him that same day to get a couple of blueprints going.

“No,” I answer with complete confidence.

“You’re that sure about her?”

“Yes.”

He chuckles. “A month ago, I would not have believed this. It’s just mind-blowing.”

“You’ve told me this before. Can I take these?” I point at his blueprints. “I want to show them to Sadie when I tell her today.”

“You’re going now?” His eyes look like they are about to pop out of their sockets.

“Yeah.”

I’ve waited long enough.

“Jesus, Hud. One day you were avoiding all things that involve other people, and now?—”

“And now I’m done letting life pass me by.”

My brother claps his hands like a kid on Christmas morning and follows me to the door. “I’m coming with you.”

I roll my eyes, but I don’t tell him no.

Turns out, I’ve missed the way my brothers and I used to be connected at the hip.

We get in my truck and drive into town. I park in front of the bar, my gaze instantly finding Sadie outside the bakery.

Just seeing her is like a dose of serotonin.

I jump out of the truck, the thrill of telling her that I have plans for my life again racing through my veins.

I haven’t been this excited about something since hockey, and I know it’s all thanks to her.

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