Chapter 23

twenty-three

. . .

Easton

This woman was enjoying torturing me; that much was clear.

But two could play this game.

I’d taken a big step today. I’d admitted how I felt.

To her and to me. And to Dr. Langford.

I wanted to date her. And she felt the same.

I wanted her to be mine. She felt the same.

I wanted everyone to know it. She did not feel the same.

So, I would withhold this magical fucking cock of mine until she knew I meant what I said.

“Easton Chadwick, it’s been a while. Nice of you to grace us with your presence,” Oscar Smith said. I had always assumed that he was hard of hearing because he shouted every word that came out of his mouth. I gave Henley a side-eye; we’d started communicating without words weeks ago. Oscar and his wife, Edith, owned the place, and they were two of the quirkiest people in town.

“I was here yesterday, Oscar.”

“Well, I didn’t see you,” he grumped. “Which is saying a lot, because my wife likes to fawn all over you Chadwicks when you come in. Like you’re goddamn royalty or something.”

Oscar basically berated his patrons every time they walked through the door. I was pleased when he wasn’t up at the entrance and I could just take my seat. My brothers loved the harassment. Rafe was disappointed when he didn’t see Oscar.

“You big ole bully, Oscar. Let the man go to his table.” Edith appeared from the kitchen. She was in her mid-sixties and had the tenacity of a twenty-year-old. “You’re going to run off all the customers if you shame them every time they come in.”

“I don’t know how you landed a fish like me, with that mouth on you, woman,” he hissed at her.

Henley’s eyes were wide, and she just gaped at the two of them. Luckily, the restaurant was fairly quiet this morning.

“Well, who do we have here? You must be the new girl in town. Harley?” Edith asked.

“That’s a motorcycle, not a name.” Oscar studied Henley, and I just sat back, enjoying the show.

“It’s Henley. Henley Holloway. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Henley. That’s sort of weird, right?” Edith asked. “Did your parents not care much for you?”

Henley’s head fell back in laughter. “Henley is my grandmother’s maiden name.”

“Ahhh… well, that’s better. These Chadwicks all have weird names, too.” She flicked her thumb in my direction.

Yeah, we’d endured years of her questioning our names. As if Edith and Oscar were the most common names on the planet.

Glass fucking houses, Edith.

“Well, that doesn’t stop you from tripping over yourself every time one of them comes into the place,” Oscar said in that loud, deafening tone.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Henley and I work together, and I thought I’d show her around Rosewood River. She’s been here for weeks and has been working a lot. We wanted to start here and grab some breakfast.”

“Interesting.” Edith tapped her chin. “I can’t remember the last time you brought a woman with you here, other than your mother or Emerson.”

“Are you hitting on him in front of me?” Oscar bellowed.

“For God’s sake, you crazy old man. He’s not my type. I like my men old and grumpy!” Edith yelled back at her husband. “I’m just pointing out, woman to woman, that this guy is a bit of a workaholic, and from what I gather from the locals, he keeps his relationships very casual . That’s code for… noncommittal, Harley.”

“It’s Henley,” I snipped. “And as much as I appreciate you warning off a woman that I bring with me to breakfast, I’d like to go to our table now, if the harassment is over. I’m hungry.”

“I thought Bridger was the grumpiest Chadwick. Lose the ‘tude, dude.” Oscar chuckled, and Edith joined in.

That was the thing with these two. Once they’d completely offended you, and you pushed back, they acted like you were the crazy asshole who was being sensitive.

“Follow me.” Edith quirked a brow and grabbed two menus. “I heard you bought the big house on the river, Henley. ‘The Taylor Tea’ was delivering all the gossip when you moved to town. I’ve been waiting for you to get your butt in here.”

We slid into the booth across from one another. “You read that crap, too, Edith? I expected more from you.”

“Are you kidding? I live for that crap.” She smirked. “Oscar hates it, but I always see him snooping over my shoulder, trying to read it.”

“I’ve been wanting to come in. I ordered takeout the other day from here, and the chicken pot pie was delicious.”

“Wait till you try the breakfast. It’s what we’re famous for. What can I get you to drink?”

We both requested water and coffee, and Edith insisted Henley try the orange juice, even though she hadn’t asked for it.

Welcome to Rosewood River.

When she walked away, Henley glanced at the menu, but I already knew what I was getting.

“Guess what you won’t see on the menu?”

“What? It all looks amazing,” she said, as she looked up at me.

“A honey biscuit. In fact, there is no biscuit at all on the menu.”

She tossed her menu aside as Edith dropped off our drinks and took our breakfast orders.

Once she stepped away, Henley studied me. “You have a real hang-up with the way people name their businesses, huh?”

“I just think it’s weird. You’ve got The Green Basket with no green baskets. You have the Honey Biscuit, and they don’t even bother to put a biscuit on their menu. I mean, all breakfast places have biscuits. These two decide to serve coffee cake instead of biscuits. It makes no sense.”

“And what other businesses do you have an issue with?” She smirked, and she was so sexy it took everything I had not to move to the other side of the booth. I wanted to be near her.

“Well, you’ve got Randy’s Razor. He’s my barber. He’s everyone’s barber. And please, ask me what his name is.” I sipped my coffee, and the corners of her lips tipped up in a wide smile.

“I’m guessing it’s not Randy?”

“Correct. His name is Max. His father’s name was Henry.”

“And did his father start the business?” she asked.

“Nope. His grandfather started it.” My gaze locked with hers, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “And his name is… Sal.”

Her head fell back in laughter, and I fucking loved it.

I loved the sound of her laugh. Loved the way her smile reached her eyes.

“I’m grateful for the Rosewood River history lesson.” She paused when Edith set our food down and hurried away, as the restaurant was getting busier now.

She groaned when she took the first bite of her pancakes.

“Don’t groan in a public place, Princess,” I said, my voice low.

She gave me a devious smile. “Why?”

“Because I’ll haul your ass in that bathroom so fast, your head will spin. And then everyone will know our little secret.”

“Is it really bothering you that it’s a secret?”

I forked my omelet and popped it into my mouth as I thought over her question. “Yes. I don’t want to be your dirty little secret.”

“It’s not that it’s a secret, Easton.” She chuckled.

“Well, you don’t want anyone to know, which, by definition, makes it a secret. This is why my dick is off limits to you.”

Her gaze softened. “I know that what you’ve been through has been tough, and I’m really happy that you want to give this a shot. Because I like you. I like you a lot. But I also don’t want to get hurt. And you haven’t done this for a very long time, and having everyone at the office know, including my father—that puts pressure on us. And I guess I just feel like…” She paused as she thought about her words.

“You feel unsure if we should even go there.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. I wasn’t the safe bet, and I understood that.

“No.” She shook her head. “Is that what you think?”

“You wouldn’t be wrong to doubt me.”

“That’s not what this is.” She took a sip of her juice and set the glass back down. “I want this to work. And adding pressure means it would have more of a chance of failing. And I don’t want this to end because other people are involved.”

Damn her. She was fucking right. And of course, I was being an asshole.

“Listen, Princess.” I leaned forward, glancing around to make sure no one was watching us. “I really like you. And I haven’t said those words in a very long time. Nor have I felt like this. But I understand what you’re saying, so my dick is back on the table.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Well, that didn’t take long.”

“What can I say? I’m a sap for my girl.” I winked, and the smile I got in return made me want to say shit like this all the time to her.

“I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too. Eat up. I’ve got big plans for you,” I said, and we spent the next hour eating and talking. The more I knew about this woman, the more I liked her.

We left the café and walked the entire downtown. I pointed out Randy’s Razor, Booze & Brews, Sweet Scoops ice cream parlor, and she paused in front of The Vintage Rose flower shop, which was connected to Strawberry Dreams, a local boutique.

“Look at those peonies,” she said as she looked in the window of the flower shop before turning toward the display next door. “Oh, my gosh, the boutique next door is so quaint.”

“Let’s go in. My mom’s good friend owns Strawberry Dreams.” I held the door open and followed Henley inside.

“Easton, this is a lovely surprise.” Melanie came around the corner and gave me a big hug.

“Yeah, I was just showing a friend around town. This is Henley Holloway. We work together. Henley, this is Melanie Banks.”

“It’s lovely to meet you. I heard you were new to town. I’m so glad you’ve got this guy to show you around. He could be the Rosewood River mayor. Everyone knows Easton.” She shot me a wink.

“It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve been here for a few weeks, and I’ve just been bogged down with work, so I’m thrilled to finally be checking out all the shops down here. This place is adorable,” Henley said.

“Let me show you around.” She introduced her to Emilia Taylor, who was cutting flowers in the connecting store before guiding her in the other direction. “We’ve got a whole back room filled with home décor.” Melanie led Henley away, and I turned to see Emilia setting the bundle of flowers into a vase as she looked up at me.

“Hey, Easton. How’s it going?”

“It’s going well. Could you grab me two dozen peonies and wrap them up?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

I had been out of the dating game for a while, but seeing the way she looked at the flowers in the window made me want to get them for her.

This was very out of character for me, and obviously, Emilia knew it, too, because her eyes widened. “Two dozen peonies?”

“They’re for a friend.” I cleared my throat. “A friend who just got out of the hospital.”

I tried to think on my feet as I watched her wrap up the flowers, and I handed her the cash.

“You aren’t going to write about this in ‘The Taylor Tea,’ are you?” My voice was all tease, but she knew that I wasn’t happy about that column.

“Well, seeing as I own a flower shop and don’t work for my family at the newspaper, I definitely wouldn’t be the one writing it. But if someone in town sees you with flowers, I can’t help what they choose to print.” She shrugged, and I suddenly felt like a dick for giving her a hard time.

I tucked them beneath my arm in an attempt to keep them slightly hidden for now as I gave her a curt nod in understanding.

I made a little more small talk with Emilia before Henley and Melanie came around the corner.

“Thank you so much for the tour. I’m in love with this shop, and I will definitely be back to get a few things for the house.” Henley leaned forward and hugged Melanie goodbye, which surprised me. They’d just met, but Henley had a way of warming up to people quickly.

I gave Melanie a kiss on the cheek, and we stepped outside, heading back toward home.

I pulled the arrangement from under my arm and handed it to her.

Her eyes widened. “What are these for?”

“You said they’re your favorite.”

“I think you might be my favorite, too, Easton Chadwick.” She held them to her nose.

Yeah. You’re my favorite, too.

And I hadn’t felt that way in a very long time.