6. Just a Fling

If I knew one thing, it was that Hayes Kingman was not a fling kind of a guy. He was even saving it for the right girl. Which shocked the shit out of me, and somehow at the same time made me like him even more. To be honest, I wasn"t actually a fling kind of girl. But I"d almost become one by jumping into bed with him.

He probably thought I"d been turned off by his lack of experience, but it was just the opposite. Which scared the sweet bejeesus out of me. He was a commitment guy. I was not that girl.

I saved us both a whole hell of a lot of heartbreak and walked away.

But I couldn"t stop smiling, even as Seven squirmed in my arms. The date with Hayes had been... unexpected. In all the best possible ways.And when he"d admitted to being a Trekkie? Be still my geeky heart.

Sure, he was a bit of straight arrow, just like Xander, which was a total turn off for me, but on him it was so endearing. He was trying so hard to impress me, and damn if it wasn"t working. The way I knew the whole night was out of his comfort zone, but he"d tried hard to take it all in as if every scenario I put him in was all the most fascinating thing he"d ever experienced. It was nice to feel so, seen and, honestly, pursued.

It wasn"t that I didn"t want a committed relationship. But I was not staying in Thornminster the rest of my life. Blech, blurgh, hurl. Colorado was fine and all, but for the rest of my life? No thank you. There was so much more out there to see. And I needed a guy that wanted to see it with me.

Hayes hadn"t even left the neighborhood we grew up in. Except, of course, for away games. His new house was literally down the street from his dad"s. I couldn"t even stay at my parents' a second after I graduated. But then again, the Rosemounts weren"t the Kingmans. Unwavering support of each other was not on our list of strengths.

I deposited a disgruntled Seven inside and flopped onto the couch in the now empty living room, grinning up at the ceiling like a loon. I hadn"t felt this giddy about a guy in... ever. Too bad, because it wasn"t like I"d get him to up and leave Denver and the Mustangs to go galivanting around the world with me.

The muffled sound of my uncles' voices coming from the kitchen popped my happy bubble. Curious, I tiptoed closer to the door, Seven trailing behind me. Probably because he wanted treats.

"I won"t leave Cool Beans unattended for that long, George." Uncle Liam"s voice was strained, and this was the last thing I expected after his new healthy prognosis. He should be happy-go-lucky right now. "It means too much to me."

"Sweetheart, I know. But if we were ever going to celebrate our life and love, it"s now, when I"m so fucking grateful I get more years with you." Uncle George sounded uncharacteristically subdued. Normally he was the positive gregarious one, always ready to make the rest of us feel like a million bucks, even though he was the one with literally millions of bucks.

A swell of guilt tumbled over me. This was the trip Xander had told me about.

"It was the perfect thing to keep us both going in those dark days, babe," Liam sighed. "But we don"t have to run away to get that same feeling. I get it every day when I open up the shop because it always makes me think of the day you gave it to me."

"Couldn"t we at least ask Willa? She could..." George"s hopeful voice trailed off.

"No, absolutely not. We can"t ask her to give up her job, her life. You know how much it means to her."

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes at Liam"s fierce protectiveness. He"d always been my rock with his quiet understanding and unconditional support.

My stomach twisted into a pretzel. One of those hard crunchy ones—not the soft, delicious kind. These two men had done so much for me—taking me in when I"d wanted to escape my parents" endless parade of college applications, supporting my wanderlust. And now I was the one person who could make it so they could go on this much-deserved trip of their own.

"You"re right, of course," George acquiesced, a tinge of disappointment coloring his tone. "We"ll figure something out. Maybe Javier can take on more shifts, or we can hire a temporary manager..."

Their voices faded as they moved deeper into the kitchen, but I remained rooted to the spot, my mind whirling.

They were willing to sacrifice their dream trip... for me. To protect the life I"d chosen, even if they didn"t quite understand it.

A wave of shame crashed over me, stealing my breath. Here I was, bouncing around the world trying to "find myself," while all they wanted was a chance to celebrate the fact that Liam didn"t fucking die. And I was scared to death of offering to help.

Seven weaved between my ankles, jolting me out of my spiraling thoughts. I scooped him up and buried my face in his fur, my throat tight.

I knew what I had to do. But it made me want to puke.

Well, suck it up, buttercup. I could do this for them. I squared my shoulders and marched into the kitchen, ready to face the music.

Uncle Liam startled as I burst through the swinging door, nearly dropping the mug he was drying. "Willa, you scared me half to death."

"Oh god. Too soon, Uncle Li, too soon. You"re not allowed to talk about dying for at least another fifty-seven years." I swallowed hard, my grand speech deserting me. "I couldn"t help overhearing about the cruise. And the café."

They exchanged a loaded glance, an entire conversation passing between them in the space of a heartbeat.

"Oh, sweet wild child," George said softly and pulled me into his best kind of bear hug. "Don"t you worry about all that."

"But I do worry. You two have done so much for me, and now you"re willing to give up your trip because of me, and I just..." I blinked back the sudden sting of tears, my fingers curling into George"s jersey.

"Enough of that nonsense." Liam set down his mug and crossed the room and joined us in a big group hug. "Seeing you happy and unburdened, out living your best life in the world, makes us happy. We wouldn"t trade that, not for all the cruises around the world."

"He"s right," George chimed in, enveloping us both in his big burly embrace. "You"re worth a thousand trips around the globe."

For a moment, I let myself sink into the comfort of their love, the unwavering faith they"d always had in me. Even when I didn"t have it in myself. "We aren"t done talking about this. I"ll step up if I need to."

"You don"t need to," Liam said. "You need to live your wild child life, Willa. That"s what we want for you. I can"t tell you how often I lived vicariously through you and your adventures."

Oh man. Now I was gonna cry again.

A change of subject was in order. "You wanna live two minutes of vicariousness right now?"

In unison, they said, "Absolutely."

I took a step back and simply could not hide my smile from them. "Guess who I went out with tonight."

Liam made waggly eyebrows at me, and George clasped his hands together, looked up to the sky and moved his mouth as if in prayer, then crossed himself and looked right at me. "Who?"

"Hayes Kingman."

George dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Please, Willa, please tell me you"re going to marry that boy, and then adopt me and make me a Kingman."

Seven jumped up on George"s shoulder and I swear he looked up at me in the exact same way as George. I wagged my fingers at both of them. "You two are very strange."

Liam laughed and rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

After a flurry of begging on George"s part with promises of an exotic destination wedding and an unusual number of meows from Seven, I escaped to my room.

If there was anyone in the world I"d play shopkeeper for the better part of a year, it would be Liam and George. What I needed was someone else to talk me into it, and I knew just who would. But instead of calling my mother, I messaged Xan.

Me: Should I really stay and run Cool Beans?

Xan: Duh.

Me: But I"d have to quit my job.

I"d be putting my whole life on hold. But it wasn"t like it would be hard to get it all back. There were always a million schools that needed enthusiastic teachers. With the credentials I"d gotten over the last three years, I had my choice of jobs and locations.

Xan: Willa, your life is wherever you are. This is something you need to do. It"s only temporary.

I sighed. He had a point. It wasn"t like I was signing away my future. Just taking a little detour.

A pair of earnest blue eyes popped into my head, and I bit back a smile. A detour with some appealing scenery.

I definitely wasn"t ready to tell my brother about my... whatever-it-was with Hayes. He"d flip out at me dating his arch nemesis. Not that he would have approved of me dating Hayes when they"d been friends either.

I went to bed with thoughts of Hayes in my mind, which did not help me go to sleep. I opted for a little one-handed reading to help me get my mind off him, but all I did was picture him in place of the dragon-shifter hero in the book I was reading. The combination had me moaning Hayes's name with my unicorn tongue vibrator between my legs.

Since I"d volunteered for the afternoon shift at the coffee shop, I got to sleep in and was surprised that I was adjusting back to Denver time so easily. That was going to be murder when I got back to Asia.

If I went back. Ugh.

The afternoon shift was super slow, and I was glad I"d shoved my Kindle into my bag to pass the time. I was just getting to a good part, by which I mean sexy times, in the storywhen the bell above the door jingled. I glanced up from the story and got some butterflies in my stomach for my trouble. I"d know that broad-shouldered silhouette anywhere.

Hayes stepped inside, a pretty brunette trailing behind him. Her bright blue eyes, so like his, darted around the cozy interior of the café with undisguised curiosity.

"Hey, you," I called out, shoving my Kindle into the apron pocket. "I was hoping I"d get to see you again today."

Hayes"s eyebrows went up and surprise flashed across his face, but he shut that down real fast. He probably thought I"d ignore him after last night. "Me too."

"And you brought us a customer?" I gestured to the girl, who was now openly grinning at me.

"This is my little sister, Jules."

"The infamous Willa." Jules bounded over to the counter, thrusting out a hand for me to shake. "I"m sure you don"t remember me. I was three years behind you guys in school and thoroughly ignored by my older brothers back then. But I"ve heard so much about you."

I raised an eyebrow at Hayes as I took her hand. "Oh, have you now?"

He coughed, suddenly fascinated by the chalkboard menu. "Just, you know... that we had a nice time last night."

Jules snorted. "Please. He hasn"t shut up about you all afternoon. It"s been Willa this, Willa that. I finally told him to put up or shut up and bring me to meet this goddess among women."

I bit back a laugh at Hayes"s mortified expression. "Well, I don"t know about goddess, but it"s nice to see you again, Jules."

"You too. I"ve been dying for Hayes to find a girl who can keep him on his toes. Lord knows he needs it. With all those awards and accolades and touchdowns, he"s getting a big head."

"Jules," Hayes groaned, but I could tell he was fighting a smile.

She elbowed him in the ribs and stage whispered out of the side of her mouth. "Shut up. I"m making you look good."

Then she smiled back at me again. "But also, it"s all true. He"s a literal genius and always gets whatever it is he puts his mind to. Like beating the Rebels yesterday, and if he"s real lucky, getting you to go out on another date with him."

I pressed my lips together trying not to burst out laughing because Hayes was about to combust on the spot.

Hayes might be dying, but I was charmed by their easy sibling rapport. It reminded me of Xander and I when we were younger, before life and expectations had sent us on very different paths in life.

"Alright, alright," Hayes interjected after a particularly detailed account of how he"d bamboozled the entire Rebels defense and scored before they were even facing the right way. "I think Willa"s heard enough of my exploits for one day."

"Aw, but I was just getting to the good stuff." Jules pouted, but her eyes danced with laughter.

I grinned, reaching over to pat Hayes"s hand where it rested on the counter. "Don"t worry, I still think you"re pretty cool. For a football player, that is."

He caught my fingers with his, giving them a quick squeeze. "High praise, indeed."

We smiled at each other for a long moment, lost in our own little bubble, until Jules cleared her throat pointedly.

"So, Willa," she said, propping her elbows on the counter and resting her chin in her hands. "Tell me all about yourself. I want to know everything about the girl who"s got my brother all twitterpated."

I laughed, even as a pang of guilt twisted my stomach. I"d already told myself I wasn"t going to get involved with Hayes. I wasn"t his kind of girl, and he was the opposite of the kind of guy I thought I"d ever be with. But here I was, flirting and not only leading him on but leading his little sister on. "Oh, I don"t know about that. I"m really not that interesting."

"Doubtful," Hayes murmured, his gaze warm on my face.

I fiddled with the strings of my apron. "I"ve got a wonderful job teaching English. I just started a new contract in Vietnam a few months ago."

Jules"s eyes widened. "That"s so interesting. I bet you have some cool-ass stories."

"A few," I admitted with a wry smile. "Getting to experience new cultures, connect with people from all walks of life, I love it."

Hayes was watching me intently, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. "Sounds like quite the adventure."

I nodded, a wistful sigh escaping me. "It has been. I am, was, looking forward to going back next week."

I trailed off, biting my lip. I hadn"t meant to bring that up. I didn"t know whether I was staying or coming or going.

"You"re leaving next week?" Jules prompted, leaning forward.

I hesitated, glancing at Hayes. This wasn"t how I"d wanted to tell him, but I couldn"t lie. "My uncles, Liam and George... they"ve got this big round-the-world cruise planned. To celebrate Liam"s clean bill of health after his health scare."

Understanding dawned on Hayes"s face, followed by a flash of something that looked almost like... disappointment? "And you"re going with them?"

"No, I..." I took a deep breath. "I"m thinking about staying and running the café for them while they"re gone."

Good god, had I actually said that out loud?

Silence hung between us for a long moment, heavy with unspoken questions. Jules glanced back and forth between Hayes and I, her brow furrowed.

"How long will they be gone?" Hayes asked finally, his voice carefully neutral.

I swallowed hard. "Nine months, give or take."

He blinked, clearly taken aback. "That"s... wow. That"s a big commitment."

"I know." My heart was hammering against my ribs, feeling like a bird in cage. "I just... they"ve done so much for me, you know? I can"t let them give up this trip. Not when I can do something to help."

Hayes nodded slowly, a strange mix of emotions playing across his face, surprise, respect, and something softer I couldn"t quite name. "That"s really amazing of you, Willa. Truly."

Tingles pricked along my scalp at the quiet sincerity in his voice. "I"m trying to be. I don"t know if I"m cut out for this whole responsibility thing, but... I have to try. For them."

"You"ll be great," he said firmly, holding my gaze. "I know you will."

Jules, who had been uncharacteristically silent through our exchange, suddenly clapped her hands together. "Wait, so this means you"re sticking around? In Thornminster?"

I nodded, tearing my eyes away from Hayes"s intense stare. "Looks like it. At least for the foreseeable future."

A slow, sly smile spread across her face as she glanced between us again. "Well, well. Isn"t that interesting."

Hayes shot her a warning look. "Jules..."

She held up her hands in mock surrender. "What? I"m just saying it"s awfully convenient timing." Her eyes sparkled with barely contained glee. "It"s like fate or something."

I barked out a laugh, even as my cheeks heated. Did she somehow know that my favorite romance trope was fated mates? Partly because it was so unreal. Total escapism. "I don"t know about that."

"Well I do," she declared with all the confidence of a seventeen-year-old who thought she had the world figured out. Maybe she did. "You and Hayes, thrown together by circumstance, falling madly in love as you navigate the perils of small-town life..." She sighed dreamily. "It"s like a romance novel come to life."

"Okay, first of all, we don"t live in a small town. Thornminster is an enormous suburb of a major metropolitan area. Not New York or LA, but we"re big enough to have a bunch of pro sports teams." Hayes stood abruptly, the tips of his ears flaming red. "We should let Willa get back to work."

I bit my lip to hide my smile. He was even cuter when he was flustered. I added, "Because the coffee shop has so many customers right now."

Jules winked at me as Hayes ushered her toward the door, grumbling under his breath. She twisted out of his grip to call over her shoulder, "I"ll be seeing you around, Willa. Don"t be a stranger."

"Not if I see you first," I returned with a grin.

Hayes came back and leaned against the counter, giving me such an adorably sincere look I maybe fell in love with him a teensy tiny bit. "I"m really happy you"re staying, Willa."

My fluttery bird heart stuttered in my chest. "Me too."

Maybe I was.

It was madness. It was impulsive. And that was what made me kind of like the whole idea. And just to prove it to myself and Hayes, I jumped up on the counter and kissed him.