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Why didn’t she tell me? Let me help her?
He loved her with all his heart. And she loved him. They were in the middle of trying to figure out a future together, and yet he hadn’t guessed that there was a shitstorm of this magnitude blowing through her life. She had shut him out. And he wasn’t happy about it.
What if she packed up and left? Ran back to San Francisco?
I can’t let Summer leave. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her to stay… even beg.
Because no matter what had happened in San Francisco, he couldn’t deny that Summer had put The Yummy Cowboy Diner on the path to success.
More than that, she’d given him back his life. He actually had time to date her, and watch baseball, and get together with his friends again.
When he hadn’t heard from her after four hours, he decided he’d waited long enough. He wasn’t just going to sit around here and let her hightail it out of town.
He changed into clean clothes and was picking up his wallet and car keys when saw her station wagon pull up and park in front of his house.
His heart leaped as he watched her get out of the car and walk up to his front door. She looked awful.
He waited impatiently for her to knock. When she didn’t, he suspected she’d changed her mind about seeing him.
I can’t let her go without talking to her!
He tore open his front door and met her startled gaze. It was obvious she’d been crying.
Dammit, Abigail! How could you do this to my girl?
Summer began apologizing as he pulled her inside. He stopped her.
“Just shut up, Fancy Pants, and listen to what I have to say.”
Looking pitiful enough to break his heart, she pressed her lips together and nodded. She hadn’t met his eyes since he opened the door, and at the moment, she was studying his feet.
“First of all,” he said sternly. “You arenota failure or a fraud just because you trusted the wrong person. In fact, your restaurant really was the smash hit you said it was.Youdidn’t tank the business. Your asshole partner did.”
“You—you’re not mad at me?” she asked, as if she couldn’t believe it. She met his gaze at last. Her eyes were red, her lids puffy and swollen.
“Oh, I’m plenty mad at you,” he answered honestly. She flinched, and he continued, “I’m mad because you didn’t ask me for help.”
“But—”
“Let me finish. Didn’t you teach me I couldn’t run a successful restaurant as a one-man show?”
She nodded.
“So, why are you trying to pretend that Greg stealing the money was all your fault?” he asked. “And even if you made a mistake by trusting him… well, I’ve made plenty of dumb mistakes myself. Including how I treated you our senior year of high school.”
“I remember,” she said in a small voice. “You always hated me. And I totally humiliated myself by asking you to go to the prom.”
“I never hated you,” he told her. “In fact, I had a huge crush on you. But I was an insecure little asshole. I thought that if anyone found out I wanted to date the richest girl in town, the one with the perfect family, they’d laugh at me.” He snorted at the memory.
“So… the prom?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Yeah, I couldn’t afford to go. So, I kept up the asshole act so everyone would think I was too cool for the prom and not figure out that I was broke.” He put both hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I was a real dumbass, Summer, and I hurt you. I’m sorry.”
He bent to kiss her. She responded, hot and sweet as always. “But what if Grandma Abigail reneges on her deal with you?”
“If that happens, you’ve given me the tools I need to stay profitable,” Brock answered firmly. “I’ll pay off my debts a bit more slowly, but it’ll happen. And then I’ll do what I can to help you with the Greg situation.” He kissed away her protest. “After all the work you’ve done for the diner, it’s the least I can do.”
“I love you,” she said, and finally smiled.
