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One corner of her mouth tips up, but she still pins me with a serious look.
“And what about shaving? It’s time.” She pats my shoulder like I’m a scared child on a playground, and she’s the adult pushing me to be brave.
“Same for the shaving. But I do need to talk to your mother about all of this first, okay?”
She nods aggressively, biting her lip like she’s trying to keep her grin from spreading over her face.
“Now, as for the clothes issue,” I begin. “I’ll follow your lead, but remember—”
“No crop tops or short skirts,” she mimics over me. I grin and ruffle her hair before standing. She complains, frantically trying to smooth down her hair. She continues to grumble until we make it to Hollister.
It physically pains me to step foot inside, but Willow is grinning from ear to ear, hurrying around the racks in excitement. A few stores, a few hours, and a few hundred dollars later, we’re finally walking out of the mall.
Both of our stomachs are grumbling, so I let her choose where we go for lunch, knowing she’ll choose a local Italian place that serves her favorite pasta and breadsticks. After stuffing our faces, we get back in my truck and begin the routine of Willow setting up her music.
“Hey, can we skip the movie?” she asks. “I’m kind of tired, and I really want to get back home to Mom.”
“Yeah, we just need to stop by the office real quick so I can give Uncle Drake some paperwork, okay?”
She nods and then buckles into her seat.
She’s not quite as bouncy on our way home, seemingly lost in thought as she stares out the window. I want to ask her what she’s thinking about, but I also don’t want to ruin our fun day with serious talk, so I let her be.
When we pull up to Prescott Enterprises, she jumps out of the truck and runs inside without a care in the world. I know she’s going straight to her grandpa, who will surely sugar her up, but at least she’s no longer frowning.
I head to my office, log into my computer, and find the paperwork Drake needs from me. It takes a few minutes, but once the printer finally spits it out, I sign my name and hunt down a manila folder to place it in. I log out of the computer and lock up on my way out.
I stop by Drake’s office with the folder, but the room is empty. I hear his laughter floating down the hall from the front of the building and can only assume he’s out there flirting with the receptionist, Paige. I thought he and Rachel were still a thing, but I can never keep up with those two, nor do I really want to.
I drop the folder onto his desk, then head down the hallway. When I walk into the room, Drake is talking to someone on the opposite side of him, Paige still sitting behind her desk. I get close enough to see around him, and my breath gets caught in my chest, my heart flying into overdrive.
I never thought I’d see her again, and here she stands, looking so damn gorgeous with her waves falling down her back and her jeans sticking to her like a second skin. I want to walk right up to her, throw her over my shoulder, and whisk her back to my office, showing her with my lips and my hands, and other unmentionable body parts, how much I’ve thought about that sweet little body since I last saw her.
Before I can utter a word, Willow’s running into the room and right up to us. I think she’s talking, but I can’t seem to register what she’s saying because my eyes are locked on a pale and terrified Addison while my mind runs a mile a minute.
Drake turns around, and when his face meets mine, it reaffirms that I’m fucked. Everything I know is about to change, and there’s no going back. Maybe it’s a good thing or maybe it’s not. I don’t fucking know. I can’t really say until I can talk to Addison, but that’s not something I can do with Willow beside me.
I’m not sure how long I stand there, but finally I blink and shake my head slightly to clear away the fog in my mind. I grab Willow’s hand and take a few steps forward.
“Hey, Addison,” I say gruffly. “What brings you to Gamble Springs?” I sound like a dumbass, but I don’t know what tosay. It must not have been the right thing, because Drake shakes his head beside me and leans up against the receptionist desk, enjoying the show. Paige is looking back and forth between Addison and I like we’re one of her daily soap operas.
“I was just... wondering if we could talk. Maybe?” The worry on her face causes my heart to clutch. Her eyes shift to Willow, and I can see the recognition as it hits her. She must remember her from the pictures at the cabin.
I look down at her too, watching as she smiles politely at Addison but stays quiet. She’s smart enough to feel the awkwardness in the room, but not grown up enough to jump to conclusions. Hell, I can only imagine what Paige is thinking right now.
“Sure. Yeah. Of course.” Okay, you idiot, get it together. “I just need to get this one home first.” I tug on Willow’s hair and look to Drake pointedly.
It takes him a second, but he perks up. “Yeah, I was just on my way home. Why don’t you come back to my place and Chase can meet us there? Did you drive here?”
“Yeah,” she croaks. “I have a rental.” The three of us are silent, eyes ping-ponging back and forth between one another.
Paige’s eyebrows are raised high as she turns her attention to Willow. “Did you have a good shopping trip with your dad?” Paige asks, her smile a bit too bright and cheerful.
“It. Was. Awesome! He let me shop at Hollister. And then we had DeAngelo’s for lunch.” Willow links her arm with mine and grins.
A sharp gasp comes from Addison, and all eyes turn her way. I feel like shit. Complete and utter shit. I wish I had the opportunity to talk to her before this bomb was dropped, because she didn’t deserve to find out like this. Whatever brought her here today, she didn’t deserve to deal with this ambush.
I want to explain everything on the spot, to tell her I’m sorry she had to find out this way, but it isn’t something I can get into in front of Willow.
