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“Were you ladies looking at this property for yourselves?” he asked.
“Um…” Ashlynn had no idea how to respond to that right now.
“We’re thinking about it,” Billie said without pause. “Nothing’s in writing yet, but we wanted to come over and check it out just as a preliminary, you know?”
He nodded. “All these buildings are solid. Most of the work they need is cosmetic and some updated electrical, I’m guessing. Of course, with the new building codes and all, the landlord will make sure everything’s in perfect working order for you. You know, in case you were worried.”
“Our cousin is one of the investors, so we planned on holding him to that,” she said with a grin.
“Then you’re in good hands, I’m sure,” he said. He was about to turn and walk away when he faced Billie again. “Any chance I can order a whole lemon pound cake from you?”
“Absolutely,” she told him. “Come into Books & Beans tomorrow afternoon and I’ll have one ready. What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion. Just really enjoy them and one slice is never enough.”
“I’ll be sure to tell my grandmother how much you enjoy it. She always loves hearing things like that.”
“You do that. And I appreciate you being willing to sell me one like that. Thanks!”
The firefighters all waved and smiled as they walked away, but Reid held her gaze longer than any of them—like until he was out of sight.
“Okay, what was that about, AJ?” Billie asked with a laugh. “I mean seriously. What in the world?”
“Yeah, Reid Baylor and I knew each other briefly in the tenth grade before he moved away. It was a little embarrassing and apparently he’s a friend of Leo’s. We ran into each other at the engagement party and naturally, he was rude enough to bring that situation up.”
“Yikes! What happened that was so embarrassing?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ash said as she walked back to her car. “I’ll meet you back at your place and we can talk about this some more.”
“You mean about…?”
“About the salon, not the whole Reid thing,” she quickly corrected.
“Why can’t we talk about both?” And the thing is, she knew Billie was just teasing her, but she seriously did not want to talk about this.
“Or maybe I’ll just go home and wait to come over until it’s time for our video call with Marissa.”
“Okay, okay…no need to pout. Jeez.” Billie walked over to her own car. “Just meet me at my house and I promise the only thing we’ll talk about is hair and salon equipment, okay?”
“Thank you.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter if she talked about her awkward encounter with Reid.
Both awkward encounters with Reid.
Because she might not be talking about them out loud, but they were playing on a continuous loop in her head.
The following Monday, Reid was the guy assigned to do a coffee run for the squad—not that he minded. It was fun walking around town and meeting new people. Tonight after his shift, he was meeting with the rental agent of the apartment complex Ashlynn lived in to see a one bedroom that they had available. It was crazy how fast things were falling into place, but he wasn’t going to complain about it.
“Books & Beans,” he said as he walked up and read the sign. This was the place Ashlynn mentioned to him the night of the engagement party. Her sister was the baker here, so maybe he’d grab some muffins or something for the squad while he was at it.
He stepped inside and saw there was a small line ahead of him, so he took a moment to appreciate how cool the place was. It was a combination coffee shop and bookstore. Reading was a favorite hobby of his and he actually preferred holding a paperback or hardcover book as opposed to a tablet or e-reader. Each of the four corners of the shop was dedicated to a different genre: non-fiction, children’s, mysteries and thriller, and romance.
Interesting…
Yeah, he was definitely going to come in and browse when he wasn’t on the fire station’s time.
When it was his turn in line, he froze and had to stifle a laugh. Ashlynn was standing behind the counter looking less than thrilled to see him.
