Page 50 of Choose You

“Okay.” He pats my shoulder and leads me toward his desk. He sits behind it and waves to the chair opposite him. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll squeeze it in.”

“I don’t need much for now. There are several offices and storage rooms behind The Wine Room. If we can convert some of those to living space—a bedroom, bathroom, and small living room—that would be great. I can use the bar’s kitchen, so I won’t need that.”

“All sounds doable.” Adam makes a few notes before he pulls out acalendar. “This shouldn’t take too long to do. What kind of time frame are you hoping for?”

“Well, I’ll have to head back to Seattle soon to take care of business and pack my apartment. I have no clue when I’ll leave or how long I’ll be gone. But it would be nice to at least have a bedroom when I get back.”

“I’ll see what I can do to make that happen. The bathroom will take the longest. It depends on the plumbing and how much piping we need to put in. But once I’m able to start, it should take no more than a month at most.”

“That sounds awesome. Thank you.”

“Of course.” He makes a few more notes before he clasps his hands together and looks up at me. “Do you have time to pick out what you want in the bathroom before you leave?”

“I trust you. Just get something nice that’s readily available. It’ll be a temporary home anyway.”

“You got it. That’ll make it go even faster. As soon as I have a start date, I’ll let you know.” We both stand and he walks me back out to the front. When we reach the exit, he holds the door open for me and sighs. “You know, he bought a ring for you.”

I gasp. “What? When?”

“Before he went to your last graduation. He saved up for months to buy an engagement ring for you. He planned on asking you to marry him after you walked. When he left here, he was so excited. We all were. Even your parents knew. He was very old fashioned about how he handled it. He asked your dad for permission. When he returned, he wasn’t the same. All he said was that you two weren’t getting married, ever. Whatever happened when he was in Seattle that weekend, it broke him. We tried to get him to talk about it, but he wouldn’t. Next thing we know, he’s dating Emily.”

Tears sting my eyes as I recall what Matthew said about that weekend. “He saw me with David and misunderstood our relationship. He thought I was dating him.”

“And you weren’t?”

“No. He’s always been a great friend and business partner, nothing else. He was even married then. We graduated together. Matthew saw me walk out with David’s arm around my shoulder. He jumped toconclusions. He didn’t bother asking me about him. I didn’t even know he saw that until he told me recently.”

Adam takes a deep breath and crosses his arms over his chest. “That makes sense. That was at a time when he still struggled with his self-worth. It was probably a blow to any progress he’d made.”

I shrug and struggle to keep my eyes dry. “Not much I can do about that now. What’s done is done.”

“I suppose, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you two.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” I pull Adam in for another hug. “Thanks for telling me this. I have no clue what to do with it, but it does make me feel a little better.”

“Good. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything. Maybe I’m being selfish, but I want to see you two together.”

We say our goodbyes and I head back to the house.

For the first time, I’m finally starting to see my own role in why Matthew and I didn’t work out. I should’ve been more open with him about my life in Seattle. I hid so much from him because I was afraid he’d think he wasn’t good enough for the life I was creating. Turns out, he thought that anyway, despite my efforts. If anything, my secrets only made it worse.

CHAPTER 18

MATTHEW

“Hey, Naomi, you in here?” I call into the small office attached to the barn. I just got back from a supply run to Kalispell and I need to talk to her. Naomi has been working as my veterinary assistant since I started the clinic. If it weren’t for her, my business would probably have failed a long time ago. She manages to keep me on track and new business coming in. Now, I need her to do her magic again, but this time to find us a new location.

“I’m out back.” I hear her voice yell from around the corner.

Leaving the office, I cut through the barn and out the back door.

Even though Jessica and I had a breakthrough recently, we haven’t talked about her plans for the house. As much as I want to believe we’re going to work this thing out, I need to be smart and prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“Hey,” Naomi says as she brushes her hands off on her jeans. “Do you need help unloading the truck?”

“Nah, I’ve got that. I needed to talk to you about something else.”

She must sense from my tone that what I’m about to ask her isn’t the best news because her smile drops, and worry fills her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

---