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I have bills to pay.
Only Fans isn’t an option.
I love food.
This asshole can’t win.
Sugar daddies want sugar.
The bookstore!
H.
I laugh so hard. Oh my God, she’s hilarious. I’m guessing I’m probably the asshole she means. Also, what exactly am I supposed to be winning here? And if I’m not the asshole, who is? I don’t want anyone bothering Paige, and the thought of that makes me mad.
I flip the light on in my office, and it’s still the same. It doesn’t look like she did anything in here other than take the extra key I had laid out on my desk to give her. I’m relieved she figured that out. She didn’t even call me with a single question all day. She just performed a miracle in the front office.
Damn. If she can do all of this in one day, I wonder what else she can do. I run my hand over my jaw and quickly respond to a few emails.
Then it dawns on me. Where’s my dog? I figured she’d take care of him, and he’d still be here when I got back. But he’s gone. It’s already five o’clock, so she’s probably taken him with her to the inn.
I finish up and head to the front. I scan her desk and finally see the note in bright pink ink. I also notice all her rainbow pens are neatly in a cup all facing the same way. I pick them all up and put them back in the cup upside down. That’s for trying to poison me by mixing candy. That’s a hate crime against Skittles if I ever saw one, mixing them with M&M’s. Her note in big bubbly handwriting says:
I have Theo.
P.
Ready to see them both, I lock up and head toward the inn with my music playing and the windows rolled down. I have a playlist of ’70s classic rock, including some of my favorites by Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, and Tom Petty, playing as I drive. It feels good to be headed back to the inn.
Summer’s in full swing. I drive by people mowing their bright green lawns and others pulling into their driveways from work. An American flag flies in someone’s yard, and kids ride bikes on the sidewalks. I wave at a few people I recognize. This is home. I breathe out a big sigh of relief and rest my head back on my headrest as I drive.
When I finally get to the inn, I park next to Paige’s old VW bus. It’s faded teal and white. It’s hideous and kind of cool at the same time. I wonder if she’d let me look inside it. Maybe someday if she stops hating me.
Theo bounds toward me with Chip and Bossy running behind him. Evan rescued these two as pups, and they’ve become as much a part of the family at the inn as any of the humans. I reach down and give pets and belly rubs to all three dogs. I love that Theo has best dog friends here.
Kase and Caleb wave from the playground area. “Hi, Preston,” they call out.
“Hey, guys, been taking good care of the dogs?” I call.
“Yep. Theo ate Bossy’s food again, and he got in trouble,” Kase says.
Caleb runs over to pet Nova, who’s chewing on a bone by the side of the firepit area while she watches over her kids diligently.
“Uh-oh, I’m sorry, buddy. He does that sometimes. I’ll get her more.”
I look up to find Pancake sitting on a windowsill, his face pressed against the screen. “So weird.”
“No weirder than you,” Paige says from behind me, and I turn to face her. She looks tired from working all day, but she’s still beautiful. Her wild red hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and loose tendrils frame her face. She has on a baggy t-shirt and shorts. And still, even in the most casual clothes, she looks stunning.
“What kind of psychopath mixes M&M’s and skittles?” I hiss at her quietly as Evan walks toward us.
“Oh, I’m just getting started,” she murmurs with a smirk. “Oh, hey, Evan,” she calls in a high-pitched voice, ignoring me.
Just getting started? Okay, Paige. If this is the game you want to play, then I have tricks of my own up my sleeve. Game on.
“Hey, Paige. Preston,” Evan says as he walks up and leans down to give each of the dogs a pet on the head. “How’s the new job working out?”
“It’s perfect. Today was quiet and great because Preston was gone all day.” She grins as she heads toward the inn. “See you tomorrow, Preston,” she taunts in that singsong tone I know she’s using to bother me.
