Page 45 of Hometown Hottie

22

CARSON

Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t seen this girl for a decade, but even I knew she was ready for a fight as soon as she spun on me. Well, actually, I’d known she was ready for a fight as soon as I had walked in and seen her sitting down with my mom, but either way, if it was a fight she was after, she was going to have to pick it elsewhere and not with me.

“What the hell, Carson?” she snarled.

I sighed, slid my key fob out of my back pocket, and hit the unlock button.

Since she’d only just wrenched herself free of my gentle grasp, I didn’t touch her again, but I did nod toward the truck. “Come on. Get in. We’re not doing this here.”

Her eyebrows shot up as she scoffed. “Like hell, we’re not. I’ll do this wherever I damn well please. You’re trying to buy my house and my bakery, and you don’t even have the decency to give me a heads-up. You knew Dad would consider it if it was you, didn’t you? You⁠—”

“Not here,” I ground out, kicking into motion and walking backward toward the truck, my gaze firmly locked on hers. “If you want your answers, you’ll come with me. I’m really not doing this here.”

I spun around and headed for the driver’s side. Nova let out a puff of air. Then her hurried footsteps smacked against the paving of the driveway as she followed me. Without a word, she climbed into my truck but turned her back on me, her arms crossed. I backed out and headed toward a bluff that looked out over the town.

It was the old party spot, the exact place where I’d kissed her for the first time a decade ago, and as I parked, my heart still skipped at the memory of how it had felt to finally have her lips against my own. It had been a hell of a rush—until Ryan had jumped in. Then it had just become hell.

As soon as I’d looked into my friend’s eyes, I knew I’d crossed a line I shouldn’t have been anywhere near. I’d known he would be pissed at me, but not like that. The way he’d looked at me that night, not only with anger, but the hurt and the betrayal?

It had stayed with me for a long time.

The lights glittered below as the town got settled in for the night. I remembered the last glimpse of this exact view as I had climbed into my truck, knowing that I wouldn’t be coming back here for a long, long time. Now here I was, once again with Nova by my side, and it felt like no time had passed at all.

Obviously thinking about the same night I was, Nova scoffed down a laugh as she finally turned to face me. “What, are you going to kiss me and run away again?”

Yeah. Okay. That’s it.

Now mad myself, I narrowed my eyes and turned so my back was resting against the door and my body was fully facing hers. “Let’s get one thing straight. You might have jumped to conclusions because you’re always ready to believe the worst about me, but I was never going to take your family’s property from you, Nova. I contacted a realtor when I first decided I was coming home and asked him to find some properties for me. This afternoon was the first time I saw the guy, and as soon as I realized whose property he was trying to sell me, I fired him.”

Her nostrils flared, all that fight still simmering like furious embers in her eyes. “I’m not ready to believe the worst about you. Why else would I have gone to your mom’s to talk? And if all that’s true, then why did my dad know that you’re the buyer and how does he have an offer on the table? I don’t want to believe it, Carson, but it’s looking like you’re lying right now.”

“I’m not,” I said forcefully. “I don’t know what he told your dad or why. Hell, I don’t even know how much Frank offered your dad for the property, supposedly on my behalf, but I do know what he’s up to now and you’re not going to like it.”

Her breath caught and she shrank into herself, something that looked a lot like fear taking over from the fight. “What are you talking about? What is that snake up to?”

“Pretty much exactly what you think,” I admitted. “Pushing you off it piece by piece. Subdividing and selling each part on to different developers as he goes along.”

“You’re sure?”

I grimaced but nodded. “He’s not going to stop harassing you, Nova. If you were thinking that he was just going to go away, he’s not. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but he’s gunning for that property. Hard. The way he’s selling it and tried to push it on me, I won’t be surprised if he’s already got a whole line of developers just waiting for word of it becoming available.”

All the color seeped out of her cheeks. Her brow furrowed and she let out a shaky breath. “Shit. Fuck. Okay. Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry I thought you were being dishonest.”

“Frank really told your dad I was the buyer?” I asked, the corners of my eyes tightening. “Where the fuck did he get that from? When did he say this?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I found out about it just after lunchtime today, but it sounded like Ryan knew earlier. Not that it was you. Just that Dad was considering an offer.”

My teeth gnashed together. “What a dick. I wish I could say I was surprised he’d pull something like that before I even knew he wanted to show me a property, but I’m not. These guys tend to go off on their own tangents when they’re trying to win over big-money clients.”

“I knew something was going on, though. Once I got over the shock of hearing your name come out of Dad’s mouth, I mean. I knew there had to be more to it.”

I exhaled deeply through my nostrils, wishing I could reach for her but not following through. “Will you be honest with me about your family’s financial situation? Just how deep in the hole are you?”

“I’m not telling you that,” she said immediately, her eyes refocusing on mine. “Why would you even ask that? You’re not a bank or an investor.”

“No, but I could be.” I kept my voice calm and even. “Before you jump to conclusions again, just hear me out, okay?”