Page 22 of My First Mistake
She smiles. “Thanks, Dad.”
“If you do need any actual help, I’m sure Chase here would be more than happy to lend a hand.”
I nod. “Sure. More than happy to.”
The smile she gives me is tight and forced. “I’m sure I can handle it on my own.”
Jack kisses her forehead. “I know you can. You’re incredible at what you do. And I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. You saw what you wanted and you went for it. You turned that old flower store around and made it the successful business it is today.” Then he turns his attention to me. Fuck! I think I know what he’sabout to say and I give him a subtle shake of my head, but it’s too late. “You sure made a good investment there, son.” He nudges me in the arm.
Addie blinks at the two of us in confusion. Of course she does because she has no idea what I have to do with her store, on account of me swearing Jack and Maggie to secrecy. Way to throw me under the bus, Jack! “What do you mean, Dad?” she asks innocently.
Immediately realizing his error, Jack Kinsella mumbles something about needing another Scotch and then he practically runs to the bar, leaving me to clean up the can of worms he just opened. Great!
“What did he mean, Chase? Why would he say that about my store?”
I take a breath and hope for the best. There’s no easy way to tell her this, so I simply rip off the Band-Aid and blurt it out. “I own your store, Addie.”
She blinks. Once. Twice. “You what now?”
“I own your store.”
“I know that’s what you said, but what? How? Why?” Each question gets progressively louder and I steer her away to a less crowded part of the lobby. She plants her hands on her hips. “You’d better start talking, Chase Hunter.”
Again with the full title. “It’s not that complicated, Addie. The guy who owned your store and the other half dozen around it was selling up. Some sportswear giant was looking at it for some superstore, so I bought it to stop that from happening. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me. Youownmy store, Chase! How could you not tell me that? Does everyone know?”
I shake my head. “Only your mom and dad, and I asked them to keep it between us.”
She folds her arms across her chest and it makes her already distracting cleavage even more apparent. I work to keep my eyes on her face, because I’m not a sleaze and I don’t look at women’s boobs when I’m talking to them as a rule, but I happen to know what these ones feel like, taste like…
“What the hell, Chase? How dare you keep that a secret from me?”
“And this is exactly why I did, Addie. You’re so pissed there’s practically steam coming out of your ears.”
“Because you and my parents lied to me.”
“We did not lie…we merely didn’t disclose all of the facts. And why am I the only one getting reamed for it?”
“Because”—she jabs a finger in my chest—“I am one hundred percent certain that it was your idea to keep it from me. Am I right?”
“Technically, yes. But be honest, Addie, what would you have done if you’d found out it was me buying those stores? You’d have closed up and moved to another part of town just to avoid having anything to do with me, wouldn’t you?”
She at least has the good grace not to lie to my face and deny that, because we both know it’s true. Instead, she covers her eyes and sighs. “Why on earth did you do that, Chase?”
“It was a good business decision. Those stores on your block are prime real estate.”
Her hand drops from her face and her eyes widen in surprise. “You own them all?”
I nod.
She’s still glaring at me. “You could have bought real estate anywhere. Why Juniper Ridge?”
“Because it’s my home, Addie. I care about the town, and the people in it. But if you want the honest truth, mostly, I did it for the same reason I helped Brax out with his repair shop.”I shouldn’t have admitted that last part, should have kept it all about business, but she gets under my skin so damn easily.
“But that’s because he’s your best friend.”
“No, he’s my family, Addison.”
