by A. J. Pine
Kipp rolled his eyes as though he’d been dreading this conversation as much as Jaden. “It’s not easy,” he acknowledged. “But I’ve had three months to process things. At first I was as pissed as hell about it. Some days I still am. But I’ve also learned my life isn’t over. Hell, I’ve already been invited to be a commentator for the X Games next year.”
He should’ve been competing in those games, though. Jaden didn’t say it. Kipp already knew what he’d lost. Somehow he seemed to be on the road to accepting it. So why couldn’t Jaden? Why couldn’t he release the guilt? “You let me know if you ever need anything.” Maybe that would help. If he could just do something for Kipp, maybe he could forgive himself. “I’ll be there for you. I’ll help you out however I can.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, J.J. I’ve seen the footage.” His old rival mocked him with a smirk. “It’s not your fault you’re not as good on a board as I was.”
Same old trash talk from one of the greats but this time Jaden didn’t return fire. He couldn’t. “I should’ve pulled back.” He’d been moving too fast, too recklessly. He’d wanted to win. That was the truth of it. If he’d backed off, the accident never would’ve happened.
“I would’ve been offended if you had slowed down,” Kipp said. “We competed. We’re athletes. That’s what we do.” The man’s expression sobered. “The last three months have sucked but I’ve got a lot going for me. That’s what I want to focus on now. The future.”
And that’s what Jaden would focus on too.
Chapter Eleven
Welcome to the Chocolate Therapist.” Kate greeted the older couple with the same enthusiasm as she had greeted every other couple and family group and friend group that had walked through the doors for the last nine hours.
Her feet, which were stuffed into her favorite pair of black Manolo Blahniks, ached like a mother, but even the pain couldn’t dim the excitement of day four in her new life. All within less than a week of the big falling out with Jaden, she’d managed to fly home, pack up her apartment, and say farewell to everyone before she’d driven straight back to Topaz Falls.
When she’d driven into town, the sun was setting over the mountains in a fiery red welcome. So far it felt like this place had always been her home. Even with long days of learning the wine and chocolate business, the shininess of her new venture still hadn’t dulled.
“Would you like a table?” she asked the couple, gracefully withdrawing two menus from the hostess stand. “Or would you prefer to sit at the bar?”
Darla appeared behind her. “I can take over, Kate. Your shift was over a half hour ago.”
“That’s okay. I’m having so much fun.” Even with achy, swollen feet, this was better than going back to her room at the Hidden Gem to spend the evening by herself. Despite the homey decorations, loneliness echoed between the walls.
“All right.” Darla drifted back to the bar. “But at least sit down after they’re seated.”
Ignoring her friend, she turned back to the elderly couple.
“We would love a table near the windows, dear.” The woman appeared to be in her early seventies with white wispy hair and jewel-like blue eyes.
Her husband was a head shorter than her and just as adorable with a rim of frizzy gray hair around a shiny bald spot. “There’s something going on down the street, and we’d like to see how it turns out.”
“Of course,” Kate sang. “Right this way.” Ignoring the pinch in her toes, she led them to a quaint table for two that looked out on Main Street. Darla had been right. She was good at this. Good with people. They always smiled at her, and even though she’d only been working here for a few days, she’d managed to defuse three grumpy patrons’ complaints and had them all smiling and laughing again within a matter of minutes.
“Here we are.” She tucked the menus under her arm and pulled out each chair with a charming smile, patiently waiting until the couple had gotten situated before she handed them the wine and chocolate list.
Instead of opening his menu, the man craned his neck as though trying to see down the street. “Any idea why all that trash is piled onto the car out there?”
“It’s not trash, Gerald,” his wife corrected. “It’s sweet. There are flowers and streamers and balloons…”
Kate choked on a gasp. Flowers. Streamers. Balloons. On a car…
She tried to keep her hopes smothered under practical logic, which had never been one of her strengths. Jaden hadn’t returned any of her emails or calls. After a few days, she’d stopped trying.
“It’s so pretty,” the woman went on. “I saw the man fixing it all up nice. He was tying heart-shaped balloons to the door handles, the sweetheart.”
Sweet Lord…
Those darn hopes threw logic to the wind and sent her heart sky-high. Bracing her hands on the table, Kate leaned forward as far as she could without bumping her forehead on the glass. Each beat of her heart thumped harder when she looked down the block to where she’d parked her car earlier. Sure enough, it was covered.
“Oh my God.” It had to be him. No one else around here knew that story.
“Um…your waiter will be right with him…I mean you,” Kate stammered to the couple. The happiness burning in her eyes made her voice all weepy. She steadied herself against their table once more and pulled off her shoes, letting them dangle from one hand as she hurried toward the door.
“Are you all right, honey?” the woman called.
“I will be.” As soon as she saw him—as soon as she felt his arms wrap around her—she would be. Kate ran down the sidewalk barefoot, her pencil skirt surely making her resemble a waddling penguin, but she didn’t care. It was such a lovely sight, her car covered in orange. There were gerbera daisies and orange hearts cut out of construction paper, and yes, even heart-shaped balloons. But she couldn’t see the front yet. Would Jaden be there? Had he really forgiven her?
“Pardon me,” she mumbled, bumping her way past people.
When she finally broke through the crowd that had gathered, her knees gave. Jaden was sitting on the hood of her car with the stem of an orange gerbera daisy between his teeth.
“Look at you…” She stumbled off the curb, nearly incapacitated by the tears and laughter, sure that the happiness of this moment could fill a whole lifetime.
“Hey, gorgeous.” He somehow managed to annunciate perfectly, even with the daisy in his mouth.
The crowd around them grew, pressing in on both sides of the street. Both locals and tourists snapped pictures and selfies on their phones. He hadn’t tried to disguise himself. No hat. No sunglasses. Just J.J. Alexander sitting on the hood of her car. None of the attention seemed to bother him, though. He stared steadily at her as she crept closer. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m asking you on a date.” He took the flower out of his mouth and dropped it on the hood and then reached for her hand. “Kate Livingston, will you go on a date with me?”
“Hell yes, she will,” Darla called from behind her. “How about right now? We can set up a nice private table in the back.”
Murmurs of approval went around the crowd. Someone even clapped.
Kate shushed everyone with a frantic wave of her hand. This moment was a scene straight out of her dreams, and she didn’t want anyone to intrude.
“I’m sorry I was such an ass.” He eased off the hood and stood across from her. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you out. I’m sorry I ripped up your article.”
“Awww. I’ll go on a date with you,” some woman yelled from the other side of the street.
“No.” Kate put her hands on his broad shoulders to make sure this was really happening. “I mean yes. Of course I’ll go on a date with you.”
Jaden lowered his face to hers, her favorite grin in the entire world flickering on his lips. “Now?”
“Now,” she confirmed.
The crowds parted. Cell phone cameras followed their every move as they huddled together and hurried back to the Ch
ocolate Therapist, ducking through the doors so they could leave the rest of the world behind.
“Back here, you two.” Darla quickly ushered them down the hall to the room where they met for book club. She’d already had the waitstaff drag in a small round table, two chairs, and a vase with a single orange gerbera daisy she must’ve swiped from the car.
God, these women. They had the best and biggest and brightest hearts she’d ever seen. “Thank you.” Kate brushed away her tears as Darla gave her a wink and disappeared, closing the door firmly behind her.
They both sat down.
“You’re crying.” Jaden took her cheeks in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears.
“You humiliated yourself out there.” All for her. “That’ll be all over the news by tonight.” People were probably tweeting and Instagraming and Facebooking the pictures right now.
“I don’t care.” Something had changed on Jaden’s face. The day she’d met him, it had borne the lines of tension and stress, but now his features seemed softer. Relaxed. “I’m tired of caring what everyone else thinks. Except you.” He slipped his hand under hers and held on. “You were right. There is something between us. Something…special. Something I’ve never had with anyone else.”
Kate closed her eyes, letting those words soak in to heal all of the wounds he’d inflicted before. She looked at him again, wanting him to cut away that last bit of uncertainty that still dangled from her heart. “What changed?” she whispered. “You were so angry…”
“Yeah.” A sigh slipped out. “Levi pretty much put me in my place. Told me I’d better get my head out of my ass and figure things out before I lost you for good.”
“Levi, huh?” She smiled, thinking back to Jessa and Naomi’s secret little side conversation at Everly’s café the day she’d told them what had happened.
“Yeah, Levi.” His smirk confirmed her suspicions. “He reminded me that I had issues to work on too. So I went to see Kipp.”
Kate tightened her grip on his hand. “That must’ve been hard. How is he?”
“Still in rehab.” Jaden threaded his fingers with hers, and the power of it, the intimacy of that gesture, heated her eyes again.
“But I spent the afternoon with him. He’s exceeding the doctor’s expectations. He’s even taken a few steps with a walker.”
“That’s great news.” For Kipp and for Jaden. No wonder his appearance had changed so much. He’d been set free.
“I read the article too. Actually, Levi read it to me.” Jaden brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, sending an electrical charge all the way down to her toes.
“I’m sorry I betrayed your trust.” She’d been waiting to say those words for over a week, but before now, something told her they wouldn’t have done any good. “I should’ve told you. Right away. But I was afraid you’d keep me out. And I loved being with you.”
“I loved being with you too,” he murmured, leaning over the table until his lips were nearly touching hers. “I think that’s why I lost it when I found out about the article. It was an excuse to bail. I figured you’d turn out to be like everyone else.” His gaze shied away from hers. “I haven’t exactly had much commitment in my life.”
She kissed him, hopefully taking away any lingering doubts about her feelings for him. “I meant everything I said in the article.”
This time his eyes stayed steady on hers. “I know.”
“Levi said you were thinking about moving away.” God, when she’d heard that, she’d had to excuse herself so she could cry in the bathroom.
“I was seriously considering it,” Jaden said. “Until he reminded me it wouldn’t help. I want to stop hiding. I want to make you happy. I want to focus on the future instead of the past.”
She rested her forehead against his. “Me too.”
Just as his lips brushed hers, the door swung open.
“Don’t mind us.” Darla traipsed in, followed by Everly and Jessa and Naomi, all carrying something different. They set down truffles and a bottle of wine and glasses and small china plates.
“Carry on,” Everly said, herding the others toward the door.
“Those truffles are strawberry-filled dark,” Darla called, fighting Everly’s hold on her.
“The perfect aphrodisiac,” Jessa added before Everly shoved her outside.
“Happy date night!” Naomi said with a sly grin.
Shaking her head, Everly waved at Kate and Jaden once more before closing the door.
Jaden laughed. If she could bottle up that deep throaty sound and listen to it every night before bed, she totally would.
“Levi wasn’t kidding about their persistence.”
She leaned in to claim the kiss she’d never stop craving. “Sometimes true love takes a village,” Kate murmured against his lips.
And they seemed to have found theirs.
Acknowledgments
Thank you, dear readers, for spending more time in Topaz Falls. I hope you are enjoying this town and these characters as much as I am. It’s impossible for me to express how grateful I am for your notes, comments, reviews, and mentions. Your support keeps me going.
As always, I am so thankful to the team at Forever for allowing me to live my dream and write more books. You all continue to amaze me! With each project I learn more from my brilliant editor, Alex Logan. Thanks for everything you do to make me look good.
I will never be able to thank my family enough for their patience and perseverance, especially while I was writing this book under such a tight deadline! Will, AJ, and Kaleb, you will always have my heart.
Champion bronc rider Mateo Torres has big plans to bulldoze his newly purchased acreage so he can turn it into a lucrative investment property. Unfortunately for him, his new tenant, Everly Brooks, isn’t planning on going anywhere.
Please see the next page for a preview of True-Blue Cowboy.
In Everly’s world, happy hour used to mean a little black dress, strappy heels, sapphire martinis, and schmoozing with the law firm’s wealthiest clients in a private room at Saison. But she wasn’t in San Francisco anymore, Toto.
Walking into the Tumble Inn, the heels of her worn, thrift-store cowgirl boots crunched against the peanut shells you weren’t supposed to throw on the floor. She paused inside the door. Instead of the clean lines and sleek modern decor of her past, the place was a hodgepodge. Battered metal covered the bar. Concrete floors glistened with a generous coat of sealant. The heavy wooden pub tables bore the scars of endless games of beer pong, and maybe the occasional bar fight.
The place even sounded different than her old life. Instead of glittery laughs and muted tones of classical music and hushed murmurs of gossip, this place was as loud and rowdy as an off-color great-uncle. Country music blared from the speakers, and since happy hour had already started, it was accompanied by echoing laughs and loud chatter.
Okay. Deep breath. She raised her head with shaky confidence and waded into the crowd. Even though she loved it—wanted it to be hers—everything about this life still felt new. Like she couldn’t fully claim it as her own. After being in Topaz Falls for over two years, there were still so many moments she felt like an outsider, a foreigner trapped between two worlds. Though she looked the part of the mountain cowgirl in her simple white sundress and worn leather boots, most of these people who raised their hand in a wave or bumped her shoulder lightly as she passed didn’t truly know her.
That was her fault. Betrayal still lingered on the edges of her ability to trust people. Ever since she’d arrived in this town, she’d filled her life with animals and chores and cooking and baking rather than risk developing deep relationships again. She’d come out of her old life with none of them intact.
Everly made her way closer to the bar, clinging to the outskirts of the crowd along the wall. Now, most nights after getting all the work done around the farm, she was too tired to do anything anyway. Tonight was no different. She would’ve been happy just to curl up
in her jammies on the couch. But Darla had stopped by and demanded she meet them for happy hour since Cassidy was back in town after a two-week stint of working as a nurse in Denver.
Obviously, Everly was the last to arrive. From the shadows, she spied Cassidy and Levi; Jessa and her husband, Lance; and Naomi and her husband, Lucas. Not far away, Darla stood in a small huddle with some man she didn’t recognize and Ty Forrester, Charity Stone, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mateo Torres.
Nerves rolled through her before settling heavily in her stomach. Her new landlord had one elbow leaning on the bar top. Everything about him was dark—from his eyes to his clothes to the cowboy hat he wore tipped forward on his head. Mystery wrapped itself in the shadows of his face, hiding secrets she was sure he’d never share. Or maybe he would, but they just might kill her. The tattered jeans he wore hugged his lower body snugly, but somehow he still had room to swagger. And he didn’t have to try. Mateo Torres was a man who could swagger without moving a muscle.
Studying him, she finally understood the Zorro thing. The lustrous dark hair, the tanned skin, and the seductive eyes made him downright dangerous, but his irresistible smile fooled his prey into thinking he was harmless.
Everly had yet to have any real conversation with the man, though she’d noticed that he’d parked his palatial fifth-wheel camper on the hill above the farm’s stables like some kind of overseer. But she couldn’t keep avoiding him. If she wanted to preserve the farm, she needed to win him over as soon as possible.
She smoothed her hands down her dress, wiping off the clammy feel of nerves, and raised her shoulders the same way she had before she’d walked into the courtroom. Whatever she did, she had to show him a capable, savvy professional who could be an asset to him instead of a burden. Maybe she wasn’t yet, but she would be. Eventually.
Smiling like she believed it, she strode across the room to her friends.
“You’re here!” Cassidy untangled herself from her husband’s arms and captured Everly in a hug. “I didn’t know if you’d make it.”
