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“One time.” Grant expelled a sigh. “I’m glad the visit went well, and I’m staying in touch with my mother, but my father and I aren’t suddenly going to become best friends. Or friends at all.”
“Maybe when you come up to visit me, we could take a quick trip to see them.”
“If you want to, sure.”
She hesitated, then said, “I wantyouto want to.”
“Rory.” Despite his instinctive resistance, his heart ached for her. She probably didn’t even realize that the undercurrent of her words revealed how much she missed her own father. Moving away from her mother and sisters must have brought her grief and loneliness sharply back to the surface.
All the more reason for him to bend time itself in order to be with her again.
“Maybe you and your father both need to try a little harder,” she urged. “For your mother’s sake, if nothing else. I mean, you and I have been apart for a week, and I miss you like crazy. I can’t imagine what your mother feels like with you having been so far away foryears. You have this tendency to grow on people, you know. If you left Bliss Cove, the town wouldn’t know what to do with itself.”
A mixture of guilt and tenderness stirred through him. “If I can swing a visit for longer than a day, then yes, we’ll stop and see my parents. Did I tell you I love you?”
She laughed, and the warm sound settled right underneath his heart. “You’re still not getting Bob back.”
“You haven’t thrown him away yet?”
“He’s hanging on the wall. He might be growing on me, too.”
“Does he still make you smile?”
“Not really, but he doesn’t make me frown either.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
They stayed on the phone for another hour, eventually veering off into dirty talk that left them both panting and a little sweaty. Grant caught a few hours’ sleep before waking to finish the payroll and inventory.
Close to nine, he went for a jog and ended up on the historic Mariposa Street, which Aria and Hunter had turned into a major project for both themselves and Bliss Cove. Hunter’s company, Monarch Enterprises, had spent the past six months consulting and partnering with architects, construction firms, historians, and structural engineers to assess every building in the district before they created a building and reconstruction plan.
“Morning, hon.” Destiny waved from the doorway of Moonbeams, her jewelry twinkling in the sunlight. “Joe brought me one of your pumpkin pies the other day, and it was scrumptious. If you don’t mind me saying so, it also proved to be something of an aphrodisiac.”
Grant grinned. “Good to know. I might have to put that in my advertising.”
“If you need a quote, just let me know.” She wiggled her fingers at him.
He lifted his hand and started back to Sunshine Road. A pure white cat blinked at him from the window of the Meow and Then Cat Café. He walked up the porch steps and went inside. Aria was standing on a stepladder, writing a list of bakery items on the chalkboard menu.
“Hi, Grant.” Dusting off her hands, she descended the ladder. “Did you run out of coffee?”
“No, but I’ll take one. Large, please.” He dug into his pocket for cash. “Nice not to have to make it myself.”
An image of Rory bringing him a cup of coffee appeared in his head. He put a ten on the counter. “A blueberry muffin, too.”
He shook his head at her attempt to give him change, and in response she added a croissant to the plate.
“Go have a seat in the Cat Lounge, and I’ll bring your food in after heating up the croissant.” She handed him a mug of coffee. “Hunter’s in there working. Don’t take his glower personally.”
Opening the door of the adjoining room, Grant blocked a tabby cat’s attempt to escape. About a dozen cats lolled on the sofas and chairs, stalked around the tables, and slept in the hideaways.
Hunter was sprawled on the sofa, his sock feet on the coffee table and a laptop balanced on one knee. An old, one-eyed orange cat with a fanged tooth and torn ear was stretched out beside him, his head resting on Hunter’s other knee.
“Hey, man.” Hunter lifted his chin in greeting. “What’re you doing here?”
“Just went for a jog.” Grant sank into an easy chair. “Are you looking at the software Rory sent you?”
“Yeah. She said your dad helped her out. Thanks for that.” Hunter frowned at his laptop screen and punched a few buttons. “It’s a pain in the ass, though, because I don’t know what a program is missing until I try and do something with it. Then I find out I can’t, and I have to email Rory to see if there’s a way to add it, or if there’s another program with that exact function.”
