Page 69 of Do It With Me

CHAPTER 30

HOLDEN

When I showed up at Second Story Sunday, the first thing I noticed wasn’t the colorful string lights or the crowd spilling out onto the sidewalk. It was the street name outside of Ellora’s store.

My blood went cold.

No fucking way.

For a long second, I just stood there, staring at that godforsaken name and realizing what this meant. I’d seen these window displays and the block itself in so many pictures. I’d spent months preparing to pitch these exact storefronts to the board, using those pictures of what the place had become as the before to strengthen my case.

This block was the one that was about to be torn down and rebuilt under the Renewal Initiative. Her shop, her beloved little store that Sara had helped her conceptualize and bring to life, was right in the middle of it.

Oh no, oh shit. Oh no, oh shit. The words kept repeating in my head like a blaring alarm.

All the times we’d talked about it, I’d never asked where her store was. I’d never even thought to. I’d just thought of it as her shop, this cozy little dream she talked about and was working so hard to keep alive.

I was the one holding the wrecking ball. Almost literally. I’d signed the papers to order the damn demolition machinery this morning.

Oh no, oh shit.

I wasn’t a man who panicked. I dealt in pressure, in billion-dollar decisions, and boardrooms full of sharks, but this sent a jolt of sheer, gut-deep panic straight through me.

All the necessary contracts were signed. Our permits were in motion and the construction plans had been approved. Millions of dollars were already moving. I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to.

Oh no, oh shit.

I’d spent my whole career fixing problems before they exploded, but this one was about to blow up right in my face and take down the woman I cared about right along with it. My company was about to wipe all this out.

Every table lined up on the sidewalk, colorful tablecloths underneath candles, paintings, handmade jewelry, and jars of marmalade, all of it would be gone in a few months. These weren’t just vendors. They were Ellora’s people. Her neighbors. The heartbeat of this block.

And I was the guy about to pull the plug.

My feet felt like they’d been planted in the concrete. My heart pounded against my ribs. All I could do was stare at them, these people who were talking and laughing, looking so excited to be showcasing their wares.

An elderly man selling birdhouses refilled a feeder hanging from a branch nearby. A young woman carrying a basket of muffins handed them out with a huge smile on her face. It was all so wholesome and sweet, and I was the monster about to ruin everything.

A woman high-fived Ellora, who mercifully hadn’t noticed me yet, after another woman walked away from her table with a box of mugs that seemed to have been hand-painted. Kids ran down the street, squealing when people who appeared to be random strangers but obviously weren’t scooped them up and gave them cuddles.

Balloons floated outside one of the storefronts. The windows were already boarded up, but a graying woman handed out cupcakes anyway. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she hugged her neighbors and spoke quietly to the adults while the kids devoured their cupcakes.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she’d already accepted our offer, and the other people would either take the buyout they’d been offered or we’d force them out once the construction permits cleared.

It was business. Progress. My legacy. That was everything I’d told the board to believe, but now, standing here, it felt like destruction. Empty, cold-hearted demolition.

“Holden!”

Fuck. She’s seen me.

For a minute there, I’d hoped she wouldn’t. I’d hoped I would have one more moment to gather myself before she noticed me, but I was shit out of luck.

As I turned, I saw her racing toward me. Wintery sunlight caught her hair, warming the coppery strands to a fiery halo. If she ever found out I was behind what she no doubt already knew was happening on this block, she’d for sure turn into an avenging angel, smashing my heart to pieces with that apparent halo of hers.

Yet right now, she was beaming at me like she’d never been happier to see anyone. I wanted to be happy too. I really did. It’d been days since I’d last seen her, but my stomach was in knots, and for the first time in my professional life, regret was coursing through me like lava.

“You came,” she said happily when she reached me, her voice sing-song and her eyes brighter and happier than I’d seen them in a long time. If not ever. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

Without hesitating, she came right up to me, molding her soft body against my front and wrapping her arms gently around my neck. On instinct, my arms looped around her hips, and when she tilted her head back, I bent to kiss her lips, but it was all happening on autopilot.