Imagining Love on Willow Road (Island County Series Book 13)

by Karice Bolton

  I swallowed down the memory as his gaze connected with mine.

  “You weren’t trying to hide from me, were you?” He folded his arms across his chest.

  I rolled my eyes. “Why on earth would I hide from you?”

  He shrugged. “Just a hunch.”

  “I don’t hide from grown men unless—”

  His brows arched.

  “Unless it’s Clayton, the mattress man.”

  Walker smirked. “I wish I could believe that.”

  “Well, you should.” I stepped onto the sidewalk, so I wasn’t so diminutive in his presence. I was already a good six inches shorter than him, but once you added the curb, I felt like one of Snow White’s dwarves.

  “We haven’t had any time to catch up.” Walker smiled. “And something tells me that there’s a lot to catch up on.”

  I drew in a shaky breath, which Walker caught. “I’m swamped right now, Walker. I have to head over to the restaurant, and I’m working the next six days straight. Plus, I need to find a more permanent place, so I don’t have much time left over for visiting. I still have to fit in grocery shopping and laundry.”

  Walker looked amused after my laundry list of to-dos. “Yet, you found time for Clayton.”

  I sighed and hid a smile. “If you must know, my boss’s wife set me up. I had no choice.”

  He smiled, and I saw a dimple surface that I’d thought he’d outgrown.

  “But maybe sometime, we can catch up.” I licked my lips. “Just not at the moment.”

  It was like everything I’d just said didn’t register with him. He studied me for a few seconds and nodded.

  “I like your hair color. It looks like your natural color. It’s gorgeous.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I don’t even remember what my natural color is.”

  “I do. I never forgot about it. It’s a beautiful chestnut brown.” He smiled again, and my heart fluttered unexpectedly.

  “Well, uh . . . thanks.” I touched my hair. “But I should probably get to the restaurant. There’s a lot to do before we open tonight for dinner.”

  “Right.” He nodded and stepped back. “See you around.”

  I smiled and climbed into my car. “See ya.”

  And something told me I couldn’t avoid it. Whether I liked it or not, Walker Malone was back in my life. The storm had definitely arrived.

  Chapter Six

  “If I have to fold any more napkins because Tanya won’t . . .

  I overheard Staci, one of the servers, whispering to her best friend, Todd, about the latest employee spat. I tried not to get too involved, but sometimes, I didn’t have a choice. I think the newest scandal had nothing to do with folding napkins and everything to do with who had slept with whom two weeks ago. I hid a chuckle. There was one thing I knew for sure. I was so glad to be out of my early twenties.

  I popped my head into the kitchen. “Thanks for the prep. We’ve got three tables of six tonight, but at least one table is the mayor and her family.”

  The mayor and her family came once a week on the same day and always ordered the same thing, which was nice for planning’s sake when we had a busy evening like tonight. I was a big believer in an organized kitchen. The more prep work before the rush meant less chaos, and in a kitchen, that was always a plus.

  Even though I was the head chef, I managed the restaurant more than anything. I’d hired a fantastic cooking staff so I could focus on creating, and so far, the formula was working. Every night, we had a full house.

  “Those are the prettiest tulips I’ve ever seen.” Tanya smiled.

  She was polishing the silver and smiled, knowing full well that two tables over, she was the hot topic.

  “They really are gorgeous. I’m glad we’ve hit spring.” I smiled at the small brunette.

  “Me too. It’s my favorite time of year.”

  I nodded and walked over to the other table.

  “Menus need to be wiped down, so Todd, why don’t you work on that? I need to have a chat here with Staci.”

  Staci traded a nervous glance with Todd.

  “It’s fine.” I nodded in Todd’s direction, and he went over to collect the menus.

  “Why are you so hard on the new hire?” I asked quietly.

  “I’m not.” Staci glanced in Tanya’s direction.

  “Well, you’re certainly not making it easy.” I grabbed a stack of ivory napkins and began folding.

  “I took her under my wings, and she betrayed me.” Staci turned her attention to me. “She slept with my brother.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. “Which brother?”

  “My oldest brother.”

  “Isn’t he married?”

  Stacy pressed her lips together and nodded.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “As sure as I can be.”

  “How do you know?” I whispered.

  “Todd overheard our mutual friend talking about it, and she happens to be the sister of my brother’s wife.”

  I let out a sigh. “Whether it’s true or not, you can’t let it take over here at work. We’re a place of business, and I don’t have time for pettiness.”

  Stacy scowled. “It’s not petty.”

  “In my book, it’s still gossip. Until you’ve confirmed it with either party involved . . .” My voice trailed off. “Besides, Todd is a master manipulator. Maybe he made it up.”

  “He wouldn’t.”

  “All I’m saying is that I don’t want an attitude in my restaurant, so leave it at the door. Got it?”

  Staci swallowed and nodded. “Got it.”

  “Thank you.” I slid a pile of folded napkins to Staci and stood.

  The door swung open, and both Staci and Tonya’s eyes whipped to the man standing in the opening.

  Staci whistled behind me, and I let out a sigh.

  “Walker, we’re not open yet.” I moved toward him. “And we don’t have any reservations open.”

  “That’s too bad.” He strode into the restaurant anyway. “But I wasn’t planning on staying. I just wanted to give this to you.”

  He handed me an envelope, and I cocked my head.

  “You can open it later. I would have dropped it by the house, but I don’t know where you live.” He ran his fingers along his jaw. “And I thought the island might starting talking if I tried to find that info out.”

  I laughed. “You’re probably right.”

  I watched Walker take in the restaurant before he returned his gaze to mine. “So, you did follow your dreams.”

  I drew a steady breath and nodded. “I did.”

  And I knew that was the time to thank him, but I couldn’t.

  “I hope it’s been everything you always wanted.” His eyes stayed on mine, and it was like everything from our past came crashing down around me.

  Walker Malone knew every dream I’d ever had. He understood the conflict inside me. He grasped what I was giving up to go after my dreams.

  And here he was, seeing them unfold around us both.

  “It is. It’s been great.” I nodded and waved the envelope at him. “And thanks for dropping this off.”

  “You can open it at your home.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, tucking it into my white apron.

  He spun toward the door, and my breath hitched in my throat.

  Even though I’d hidden from Walker earlier, I suddenly didn’t want him to leave. It was like the more I saw him, the more my heart began to open up, and that scared me.

  “Oh, Walker?”

  He turned, and his gorgeous blue eyes found mine.

  “I live on Willow Road.”

  “Good to know.” He smiled and left the restaurant as I stood speechless and wondering what on earth I had unleashed.

  “Wow. You know that guy?” Staci came up to me and laughed as Todd placed all the clean menus at the hostess station.

  I spun around and smiled. “Yeah, an old friend.”

  “He has to be the
hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” Staci said.

  I laughed. “Yeah, and he knows it.”

  “I don’t care if he does. He’s got to be amazing in bed.”

  I turned around. “Are you seriously telling your boss this?”

  “Oh, please. You’re not just our boss. You’re our friend. If I remember correctly, just last week, you had mentioned that Fireweed had the most amazing selection of men.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Your memory is going to get you in trouble.”

  “Do you think you could introduce me to Walker?” she prodded. “I mean, if there’s nothing between you two.”

  I laughed. “I haven’t seen him in so many years . . .”

  Staci narrowed her eyes on me. “I think you like him.”

  “I’m not in first grade. The truth is I don’t even know him. We were both young and—”

  “I doubt he’s changed much,” she offered.

  “Which is precisely the problem.” I grinned. “He’s probably the same old Walker Malone.”

  “Ooh, this sounds interesting.” Staci wiggled her brows as Tanya walked over.

  Tanya was a sweet girl, and I couldn’t ever imagine her sleeping with someone’s husband.

  Unless she didn’t know he was someone’s husband. I glanced over at Todd mindlessly walking through the maze of tables, lighting the tea candles for the evening. Something told me there was a bit of jealousy going on.

  “Okay, enough about me. How about you two?” I asked. “Have you been dating anyone?”

  Staci scowled at me.

  “No, I haven’t dated anyone for two years. I’m beginning to believe I should think about joining a convent.” Tanya grinned.

  “Yeah, right.” Staci rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “What?” Tanya tilted her head slightly.

  “That’s not what I heard.” Staci turned her scowl to Tanya.

  “What did you hear?” Tanya asked slowly. She glanced at me for support, and I nodded.

  Staci brought in a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “About what? Is it why you haven’t returned my calls and have given me the cold shoulder here?” Tanya asked.

  I glanced at Todd, who had frozen in place to watch these two talk, and I could tell he knew he was about to get busted.

  “You slept with my brother.”

  Tanya gasped and shook her head. “I don’t even know your brother. I only met him once.”

  “So, you have met him.” Staci glared at Tanya.

  “Yeah. When he was home from college a weekend ago.”

  “Not that brother,” Staci continued. “My other brother. The married brother.”

  Tanya looked completely confused and like she was about to cry. “I didn’t even know you had another brother, and I’d never—”

  “Tell her, Todd.” Staci turned toward our eavesdropper as his face paled. “Tell her what you told me.”

  “What?” Tanya asked, her lips trembling.

  “Maybe I heard wrong.” Todd bit his lip and took a couple of steps back toward the kitchen.

  Staci squinted her eyes at Todd to get a better look. “What do you mean?”

  I let out a sigh and wrapped my arm around Tanya. I knew what it was like to be falsely accused of something this awful.

  “I . . . I must have heard wrong.” Todd walked into the kitchen, leaving Staci stunned.

  “You thought I slept with your brother?” Tanya shook her head. “Why didn’t you ask me?”

  “Todd was . . . I’m . . .” Staci looked like she wanted to cry.

  “I know this seems earth-shattering.” I squeezed Tanya. “But it will be okay. You two can get through this.”

  “I feel like such a wretched person.” Staci sighed.

  “It’s okay,” Tanya said. “I’d be pissed too if I thought you slept with my married brother.”

  I let go of Tanya and smiled at the two girls as they began to slowly mend a relationship that had been tampered with.

  I’d deal with Todd eventually, but I was pretty confident that he’d make it easy for me.

  And I had to confess that I wasn’t exactly thrilled with his work ethic, so if he did give notice, it would be a blessing.

  I hated to let people go.

  I wandered toward the kitchen, and my hand dug into the pocket of my apron, touching the edges of the envelope.

  Part of me wanted to run out back and tear open the envelope, but the other part knew better. Walker knew women. He knew how to seduce us, calm us, and make us believe things.

  He’d led me to imagine love in a completely different way.

  Until the end.

  And there was an end.

  Without realizing what I was doing, I tore into the envelope and knew my life would never be the same.

  Chapter Seven

  “He can’t just show up and expect you to have feelings for him.” Ashley shook her head and snuggled into the couch. “But that is so very typical of my cousin.”

  I let out a deep breath and took a sip of soda. “Yes, it is so very Malone.”

  “I still can’t believe the odds. My cousin is your ex . . .” Ashley grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

  I laughed and stretched my legs in front of me. “It’s not your fault, but I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about Walker and me hooking up while you’re in Montana.”

  “Something tells me you’re right.” She smiled. “I still can’t believe Maddie set you up with Clayton.”

  “What I can’t believe is that everyone seems to know this Clayton person.”

  “He’s kind of infamous.” She giggled. “He feels that he’s Fireweed’s gift to women.”

  “I got that message loud and clear from our date.” I laughed. “I still can’t believe your cousin had the nerve to roll on up to our table.”

  “And you had the nerve to leave them both to talk to themselves.”

  I smiled and narrowed my eyes on Ashley.

  “I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell you that part.”

  Ashley blushed and laughed. “Okay, I will confess that Walker filled me in on everything.”

  “By everything . . . ?” I pressed, thinking back to the note he left for me.

  Ashley let out a groan. “I can’t wait to get back to Montana. It’s far less complicated there.”

  “Is it, though?” I teased. “I can text and message you just as much there.”

  “Okay, fine.” Ashley shrugged. “Walker won’t shut up about you. You’re his new obsession.”

  “But you didn’t want to tell me because you’ve seen him have many obsessions.”

  “Something like that.” She shrugged, her lips puckering into a frown.

  I let out a sigh. “I know Walker Malone better than I know myself.”

  “Walker seems to think he knows you.”

  I pressed my lips together. “He probably does. Just like him, I haven’t changed much.”

  She nodded. “Young love can really be damaging.”

  “And freeing,” I added, but she looked puzzled.

  “You said he came here to escape . . .” My voice trailed off.

  “Yeah.” She drew a breath.

  “What’s he escaping from?”

  Ashley blushed. “I can’t. You need to ask him yourself.”

  “Come on, Ash. Can’t you give me some hint?”

  “Things got crazy for him.”

  “By things, do you mean his last relationship?” I asked.

  Ashley nodded, and my stomach clenched.

  The one thing I knew about Walker was that he’d never be celibate. No matter how much I’d tried over the years to forget about Walker, he always remained in me, threaded through me like an extension of what we’d had.

  But I always tried to force those feelings away, and I definitely attempted not to imagine him with any other women. I didn’t want to believe that he could share what we’d had with another human.

  I was one
of the dummies who wanted to believe that what we’d shared had been special even though he’d left.

  That he was somehow always searching for what he’d once had.

  But now that Walker Malone was in my town, on my island, I wasn’t sure who was doing the searching any longer.

  I collapsed against the couch. “All I know is that Walker Malone is the exact type of trouble I need to stay far away from.”

  “What do you call Clayton?” she asked. “Is he trouble?”

  I started laughing and couldn’t stop as images of Clayton’s yellow mustache came to my mind. “Definitely not trouble. Definitely not anything.” I drew a breath. “At least, for me.”

  Ashley nodded. “I know everyone has someone out there, but I’m not sure he does.”

  I chuckled and thought about her statement. “Do you believe that? That there is someone out there for everyone?”

  “I do.”

  “It’s a nice thought, but I don’t think there’s just one special someone out there for me.”

  “Do you think there are many special someones?” she teased.

  “Maybe.”

  “Have you ever had someone special? Someone you thought was your forever?” Ashley asked, and I swallowed the emptiness.

  “Your cousin weaves a good story.” I chewed on my bottom lip and shifted on the couch. “I’d say his storytelling skills are so good I’ve been ruined.”

  She stared at me.

  “Are you saying you haven’t been with anyone seriously since Walker?” Ashley looked surprised.

  “I’ve been with men.” I shrugged. “They just weren’t special, and I decided not to keep putting myself out there. It was exhausting.”

  “How so?”

  I groaned. “Why do I feel like I shouldn’t be talking about this with you?”

  She giggled. “I’ll completely put the fact out of my head that he’s my cousin.”

  “Thank you. Now, if only I could.” I laughed. “But seriously, the exhaustion isn’t worth it to me. I get seriously worn out by the entire process. First, you meet the person, impress the person, wonder if the person is impressed by you, and then the dance begins.” I shook my head. “And I’m already tired by that point. So, I’d just sleep with the guy and hope that there’s a spark.”

  “And?” she prompted, folding her legs under her.