8. Willa’s Bean

The bell above the door jingled, announcing a new customer, but I barely glanced up from the inventory spreadsheet Uncle Liam had me poring over. "Be with you in just a sec," I called out, my brow furrowed as the numbers blurred from staring at them for so long. Was that a three or a nine?

"Take your time, kiddo." Uncle George"s amused voice had my head snapping up, a grin already tugging at my lips.

"What are you two doing here? I thought you"d be knee-deep in the fifth repack by now." I saved the spreadsheet and closed the laptop, giving them my full attention. "You don"t have time to be here, you leave in, like, three hours."

Uncle Liam hefted a suspiciously full tote bag onto the counter. "Had a few last minute things to go over with you before we jet off into the sunset."

I eyed the bag warily. "Please tell me that"s not more paperwork. I"m already drowning in coffee order forms and employee schedules."

He chuckled, patting my hand. "Just a few essentials we forgot to mention. Like the fact that we have a standing arrangement with the local cat shelter."

He opened the bag that was full of brand new cat toys, containers of cat nip, and one exceedingly long peacock feather. My eyebrows shot up. "Cat shelter?"

Uncle George nodded, snatched the peacock feather, and hid it behind his back. "Oops, that was supposed to go in my bag not this one."

He winked at Liam, and I pretended not to notice how freaking adorable they were.

Liam didn"t pretend for one second and gave George a playful pinch. But then they remembered I was standing there and that they were leaving me in charge of the coffee shop. "Once a month, they bring a few adoptable cats to the café. We set up a little play area in the corner, let customers interact with them. It"s been great for business and for finding those furry angels forever homes."

I blinked, trying to process this latest information. "Any other grand marketing schemes you"ve got in your back pockets?"

"Nope, that"s the main one," Uncle Liam assured me. "You just need to coordinate with them on dates and logistics. I"ve got all the contact info in here." He tapped the tote bag.

I blew out a breath, mentally adding cat adoption facilitator to my ever-growing list of responsibilities. "Okay, got it. Anything else I should know?"

Uncle George exchanged a glance with Liam, his expression turning serious. "Willa, we just want to say... thank you. For doing this, for putting your life on hold for us. We know it"s a lot to ask?—"

I held up a hand, cutting him off. "Stop right there. You guys have done so much for me, been there for me through everything. This is the least I can do."

Uncle Liam"s eyes misted over, and he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "We"re so proud of you, and I promise you can go back to being the wild one soon. In the meantime, you"re going to do great."

"Just remember," Uncle George added, joining in on the hug, "it doesn"t really matter what you do with the place. As long as it"s still standing when we get back, we"ll count it as a win."

I laughed, extricating myself from their octopus embrace. "Be careful what you wish for. It might be a European nightclub when you get back."

Uncle Liam grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Fun. While you"re going crazy, make it a cat café disco. You"re halfway there. Just adopt all the kitties at the next cat rescue day and voilà, Discothèque Chat Noir is born."

We all burst into laughter at the absurdity of the idea. Or maybe it was nervous laughter on all our parts for being crazy enough to leave me in charge of their business. I was never labeled the reliable one. But I was going to do my best. It was only for a few months.

Still giggling, I shooed them off to finish packing, promising to give the café my all. As the door swung shut behind them, I leaned against the counter, shaking my head.

A cat café discothèque. Honestly, where did they come up with this stuff?

My phone buzzed with an incoming text, and I fished it out of my apron pocket, expecting a last-minute reminder from my uncles.

Instead, Xander"s name flashed across the screen. I thought it might be a teasing message meant to tell me good luck with the shop. But it sure as shit wasn"t that.

I saw you with Kingman. What the hell, Willa? I told you to stay away from him.

I stared at the screen, my heart pounding. How did he know about my moment with Hayes on the porch? Had he been watching the house? That was over the top and unacceptable.

A flutter of unease stirred in my gut. I knew my brother could be overprotective, but this felt different. Darker.

I closed my eyes, remembering the soft brush of Hayes"s lips against mine, the promise in his words. I couldn"t let Xander"s misplaced anger ruin this. Nope, wait, no, no, no. I wasn"t even getting involved with Hayes. I"d already told him not to fall for me, and he"d taken the hint and walked away. Although without some loaded promises about no promises.

Didn"t matter. Xander didn"t get to tell me what to do. Jaw set, I typed out a response.

Back off, Xan. My life, my choices. I mean it.

I hit send before I could second guess myself, then shoved the phone back in my pocket. I had a café to run and future adventures to plan. With a half a year of savings in my pocket and hardly any expenses since I"d be living at the Guncles" house while they were gone, I didn"t even have to find another teaching job right away. I could explore some places first and pick someplace I was willing to stay for a whole contract, without getting bored.

But even as I daydreamed about places like the ice hotel and the northern lights, or the famous mountain hot springs and bath houses in Japan, somehow Hayes was in each of those fantasies with me. Which was unlikely. He had a whole-ass family and a successful football career here in Denver.

So I don"t even know why Xan was worried in the first place. It wasn"t like I was marrying a Kingman. I"d more likely open a cat café first.

Stupid overprotective twin brother.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, just a few coffee orders, inventory checks, and a minor mishap with the espresso machine that left me smelling like a walking latte. I was adding more herbal teas to the menu immediately if not sooner. Thank goodness it was almost closing time. I did love having the evenings off for the first time in forever. I was more than ready to throw in the towel and call it a day. What I needed was some Netflix.

But, of course, my mind went to whether Hayes might want to come over for the chill portion of the evening. Bad brain. No nookie with Hayes. That was a dangerous path that led to feelings. Ain"t nobody got time for feelings.

But then the chime over the door dinged, I looked up, and my heart did a little flip.

Hayes stood in the doorway, looking like a big, yummy snack. He was freshly showered, his hair still damp, and I"d bet he"d come straight from practice. He had no right to look that good.

"Hey," he said, his voice sending a shiver down my spine. "How"s the official first day of being a café owner?"

I bit my lip, torn between the giddy flutter in my chest and the nagging voice in my head reminding me that this couldn"t go anywhere.

"You need to stop coming in here looking like that."I waved my hand up and down to indicate his utter deliciousness. "I told you not to make me fall for you."

He held up a hand, cutting me off. "No pressure, no expectations. I"m not going to take anything you don"t want to give. If you just wanna be friends while you"re here, we"ll be friends. But might I suggest friends with benefits?"

It would be so easy to say yes, to let myself fall into the promise of his words and the warmth of his smile. What if we did just have a fling? We were young, nobody was looking to get married at twenty-two. I don"t know why I was so fixated on this having to be some long-term commitment with him. We were flirting. We"d been on one whole date. He hadn"t proposed or anything.

"What kind of benefits are we talking, Kingman?" I waggled my eyebrows at him and waved a finger at him to come a little closer.

I could do this. I could have a fling with a Kingman.

Unless of course Xander threw a monkey in the wrench. Like he was about to. "Shit, my brother just pulled up out front. You"ve got to hide."

I didn"t even give him a chance to respond before I shoved him toward the back room. But Xan could just as easily go back there as I could. My gaze shot everywhere, and I definitely considered shoving Hayes under the espresso machine. But I looked at the cubby, then up at all six foot eleventy-billion inches of muscle standing in front of me, and rethought.

The cleaning supplies closet.I shoved Hayes through the door and slammed it shut behind us, leaning against it with a shaky exhale.

Hayes raised an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Well, this is cozy."

I smacked his arm, fighting a smile of my own. "Shut up. I"m trying to save your ass from my brother"s wrath."

His expression sobered, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. "Willa, I don"t want to cause problems between you and Xander. If me being here is too much?—"

I covered his hand with my own, my heart in my throat. "I want you here, Hayes. I do. But Xander... he"s not going to make this easy on us."

Hayes leaned in, resting his forehead against mine. "Then we"ll just have to be sneaky about it."

A laugh bubbled out of me, some of the tension easing from my shoulders. "Sneaky, huh? There is something fun about a forbidden—" I almost said romance. Eyeroll to myself. This wasn"t some rom-com. This was my actual life. "—adventure."

"I like adventure." Hayes leaned forward, put both his hands on either side of my head against the door behind me, and kissed the holy bejeezus out of me.

For being the guy who was saving himself for the right girl, he sure was a good kisser. Like, my knees just about went out from under me and I had no intention of leaving this broom closet until they did, kind of kisser.

The little bell at the cash register made us jump apart, reality crashing back in. "Willa, customer, hello?"

I sighed, giving Hayes an apologetic look. "I"d better go deal with him. Wait here, okay? I"ll get rid of him and then we can... talk more."

Hayes nodded, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "I"ll be waiting."

Steeling myself, I slipped out of the supply closet, closing the door firmly behind me. Xander was pacing the length of the café, his agitation palpable.

"Xan, stop. Please."

He whirled on me, his eyes flashing. "What the hell? My life, my choices? Really? Like I"m Mom or something?"

I had said something similar, or perhaps the exact same words, to her when she tried to forbid me from going to Europe instead of college.

I crossed my arms, meeting his glare head-on. "You can"t tell me who I can and cannot be friends with, or see, or date, or whatever. I"m home for a while and I"d rather not fight with you the whole time."

Some of the fight drained out of him, his shoulders slumping. "I just... I don"t want to see you get hurt, Willabean. I know you don"t see it, but Kingman can be a dick. All he cares about is his career and he doesn"t care who he steps on to get what he wants."

I softened, stepping closer to lay a hand on his arm. "I know you"re trying to protect me, Xan. And I love you for it."

I didn"t want to straight out lie because I was going to spend time with Hayes. It would be better just to keep that part of my life away from him.

Xander was quiet for a long moment, his jaw working. Finally, he blew out a breath and rubbed his eye with his thumb like he had a headache. "I don"t like it. I don"t like him. But... I"ll try to back off. Just... be careful, okay?"

Of course I hadn"t fooled him by omitting the truth. He was my twin brother after all. But it also meant I could see something going on with him too.

I hugged him, and at first, he flinched, like he"d forgotten what it felt like. "Thank you, Xan. That"s all I ask."

He held me tight for a beat before releasing me, his gaze sliding to the supply closet door. "He"s here, isn"t he?"

I bit my lip, fighting a grin. "Maybe."

Xander rolled his eyes, but I caught a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "Right. Well, I"ll leave you to... whatever it is you two are doing. But I"m watching him, Wills. One wrong move, and he"s toast. I won"t fucking let him hurt you."

With that, he strode out of the café, the bell jingling merrily in his wake. I wasn"t sure exactly what had just happened. And I wondered how much of it Hayes had heard. Hopefully the mops cut off some of the sound.

The closet door creaked open, and Hayes peeked out, a hopeful expression on his face. "Is it safe to come out now?"

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in days. "Yes, you dork. Now get out here and help me close up. I believe we have some sneaking around to do."

I"ll say one thing about football players, they are hard workers with the right motivation. Those floors had never been mopped faster or been cleaner in the history of ever.

When we were done, I"d convinced myself to ask Hayes to climb over the fence into the backyard of my house to come over. Mostly because it was kind of hot to think of sneaking around with him.

He beat me to the punch. "Come over to my place?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"No way anyone in your family is going to interrupt our evening if you come to mine."

Good point. I checked up and down the street to make sure Xander wasn"t parked somewhere nearby and spying on us and then got into Hayes"s car with him. But when we pulled into his driveway, the lights in his living room were not only on, but flashing.

"Shit. I forgot. There's a live stream tonight." He looked at me like the last piece of pie that someone else had just ordered. "I can cut it short. I swear. Come in and I"ll kick the guys out in just a few minutes."

"You"re cute. Don"t hurry. I"ve got my Kindle." I reached into my bag and pulled it out to show him. "I"m happy to read for a bit while you play. I don"t want to take away time from hanging with your brothers."

He leaned in and brushed his lips across mine. "I"ve been hanging with them my whole life and I"ve only got a few months with you."

I grabbed the shoulder seams of his shirt and yanked him close. "You listen to me now, Mr. Kingman. You kiss me and tell me to enjoy my book while you play video games, and we"ll get along just fine and dandy. You hear me?"

"Yes, ma"am." He grinned and did as he was told, once again kissing me till I forgot all about my book and his games and his brothers.

Until one of them knocked on the window.

"Quit making out and bring your girl inside already," one of Hayes"s older brothers hollered at us and walked toward the front door with a curvy woman on his arm.

"Wait, do your brothers bring dates to games night?" Why did I have the feeling I was about to walk into a Kingman orgy or something?