I release her hands and grab her waist, lifting her up and setting her on the island. She forces a fake pleasantsmile on her face. I step in close enough that she can’t swing a foot at me, placing my hands on either side of her hips.
“Magnolia, we just can’t seem to keep our hands off each other. We’ll try to do better.”
Grandpa waves a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’m going back upstairs. There’s nothing good in this fridge. I’m gonna have to order DoorDash.”
He turns toward the door, then stops to look back at us. “I’m so glad you’ll both be going to Pine Ridge tomorrow. I’ve been a little worried about the ranch and that property. You’ll be sure to show Magnolia around and let her talk to Henry, right?”
I close my eyes.So, that’s where the potential distillery is,I think. I’d forgotten about our conversation a few days ago. I’ve been so focused on other things. What if Magnolia moves there? What if she runs a business in my town? We would see each other all the time. I have the impossible urge to shout with joy.
But it would also mean pure torture. There’s no reason for us to pretend to be together after Grandpa recovers. We would be back to being acquaintances and would bump into each other all the time. It would be sheer misery to watch her flirt with other men right in front of me.
I groan at the thought. I know Zane Madden, another rancher in Pine Ridge, is one of the biggest flirts in the world and he would be the first to line up for a date with Magnolia.
Yeah, thinking about that get’s rid of the urge to laugh.
“I know we talked about Pine Ridge before, but I still have some questions, if you don’t mind,” she tells Grandpa.
“Of course not, ask away.” Grandpa smiles at her encouragingly.
Magnolia asks, “I’ve never been to Pine Ridge, I’ve just heard it’s rather small. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the opportunity, I just don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
Grandpa laughs. “You would be surprised at the business that comes through that town. There’s a lot of summer traffic, a lot of regulars in the community, and a lot of day-trippers. Even though the town is small, I don’t think you’d have an issue with the business, especially if you end up shipping and selling through other businesses in the local area.”
I open my eyes and look at Magnolia. She looks stunned.
“And Nash is planning on going right now too?” she asks. “He didn’t say anything to me. I thought he was going at a later date.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Grandpa says. “We just talked about what a bad communicator he is. Yes, he’s going to go over and check on things for a few days, and that will be perfect because you can just ride with him and stay at the lodge. Then you can tell me what you and Henry think of that property I purchased a year ago and tell me what would need to happen to make the distillery go in there.”
“Magnolia, for this opportunity,” I say, “I didn’t say I agreed to it. I want to see your business proposal first.”
“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. You’ll love it. Nash thinks I don’t know it, but he can’t wait to be back out there,” Grandpa says with a laugh. “So, you see? I know you two will have a good time.” He turns and walks away.
I focus on Magnolia again. “Congratulations. You’ve just won yourself a weekend away with your fake fiancé.”
She grins and tries to scoot farther back onto the counter. “In my defense, I didn’t think you would be going out there too.”
“Of course you didn’t. Grandpa knows I’m going to move out to Pine Ridge soon, so he probably thought it was a great location for you to have a business. Since we’re supposed to be getting married and everything.”
Magnolia sighs. “That does make logical sense…if we were actually getting married.”
“Well, I’m sorry you’re stuck going to Pine Ridge with me. I really did try to get you out of this last night,” I tell her with a frown.
“You’re going to be grumpy the whole way over there, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
“Will you give me time to pack a bag?”
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I? We’ll leave tomorrow night. I have to get some more work things straightened away.”
Something burns in my chest at the idea of being stuck in the car with Magnolia…and I don’t know if it’s frustration or excitement.
Possibly a little bit of both.
CHAPTER 23
Magnolia
