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God, I miss her. As much as I loved being with the guys, I miss touching her, feeling her against me, waking up next to her supple body, breathing in her vanilla-and-peach scent.
I’m ready to go home to her. Listen to her tell me about her weekend, share mine. And like every night since she unpacked her suitcases and made Pine Falls her home, I want to love her until she forgets her own name and I can’t feel anything but her all over me.
“Oli.”
I snap out of my thoughts and find Matt looking at me, amused. “We need to go.”
“Put this on.” James holds out a black blindfold to me.
“What? Why?” I look at Matt. “This really does sound like a Mistress Munch situation all over again.”
“Put. It. On,” Matt says. “Trust me.”
We’re parked a few blocks away from the edge of Pine Falls’s main street, an eerie quiet hovering over the town. I don’t understand what’s going on, but whatever the guys have planned, I want no part of it. I just want to go home. So the quicker I play along, the quicker I can get away.
“Give it.” I grab the blindfold and slide it over my eyes, and just like that, Matt resumes the drive, only to kill the engine two minutes later. “Can I take it off now?”
“No,” Matt and James say at the same time.
“Okay, okay, calm down.”
They get out of the car. I hear my door open, and a hand grabs my forearm. “Careful with the step,” James warns.
Fresh air whips my face, and is that water I hear rippling in the background?
“Stay here. We’ll be right back,” Matt calls as his footsteps echo away.
“What the fuck, guys?”
But no answer.
I shake my head, resting my hands on my hips. I’ll never get home at a decent hour. I hear a door open, and a waft of air carries a sweet smell I’d recognize in a heartbeat.
“Charlee?” She lays her fingers on my chest, and my arms circle her waist, bringing her closer to me. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”
“If I take this off,” she says, ignoring my questions, “will you keep your eyes closed until I say?”
“Yes,” I breathe, my heart picking up speed.
Gently, Charlee pulls the band off my face, and light filters behind my eyelids. She slips her hand in mine and laces our fingers together. “Open your eyes in three . . . two . . . one.”
She squeezes my hand. I flutter my eyes open, and stare at . . . my grandparents’ restaurant. The newly renovated facade . . . and the closed curtains . . .
What is this?
I look up at the wooden sign over the entrance. The one I spent months perfecting in my woodshop.
Oli’s.
I whirl to face Charlee, who stands next to me in a beautiful summer dress I somehow feel like I’ve seen before, tears streaming down my face. “What is this? What is going on, Charlee?”
She smiles warmly, stroking my hand with her thumb. “This is yours. Oli’s is yours.”
I huff a sharp breath. “What d-do you m-mean it’s mine?” My sobs drown my words, and I choke on the emotions that flood me. “What about the potential buyer Rob told me about?”
She wraps her arms around my waist, holding me tightly against her as she guides me to the door. “It’s me. I’m the potential buyer. I’ll explain everything when we get home and it’s just the two of us. But right now . . .” She pushes the door open, and a room full of people yells, “Surprise!”
“Right now, you get your restaurant back.”