Having a bed and breakfast with just one communal bathroom wasn’t working, and it was past time to bite the bullet and upgrade the inn.
There was just one small problem: In the small town of Deacon, Texas, there was only one contractor.
Yep, just one: Jonathan Oaks.
But it didn’t matter how skilled he was at building things when all I knew about him was how good at breaking my heart he was.
Five years could put a lot into perspective, but it wasn’t enough time to make me forget that he was the wrong boy for me then and he’d be the wrong boy for the job now.
I should have known better.
Jonathan Oaks wasn’t about to lose the chance to renovate my inn, or to rub in my face that he’d been right about us all along.
All I knew about him was how good at breaking my heart he was.
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Excerpt:This place was breathtaking in the spring and charming in the summer, and in the winter, she had the fire roaring and thick, wool blankets out for all the guests to use while watching the rain pour from the porch. I had wanted Tilly to upgrade this place years ago, but we always fought whenever I brought it up, which made this entire situation even more frustrating because she’d finally decided to upgrade, just not with me.
“Well, thank you for your time…” I heard Tilly say gently while tugging open the screen door and holding it for the man exiting her inn. He had a white head of hair and a matching white beard to match.
“Not a problem, ma’am.”
He gave me a swift nod of acknowledgment and headed to his truck. Meanwhile Tilly’s eyes were on me as if I were a werewolf that had just snuck onto her property.
“What are you doing here?”
I stalked up the creaking steps and joined her on the porch, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my worn jeans. Just like every other time, I felt naked in front of her, as though she was seeing all my weaknesses and everything that made me vulnerable.
“Got a visit from your sister today.” A few bees hovered overhead near the flower baskets as a cool breeze made the blooms sway back and forth.
Tilly let out a soft breath as her eyes darted to the side, which gave me a free pass to check her out.
She had changed over the past five years, a lot. I mean, we lived in the same small town, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen her around, but we were usually goin’ in the other direction if one of us was in the same vicinity. It was an unspoken rule that we never frequented the same spots at the same time, and our friends and family had learned over time not to invite us both to the same events, so it was rare that I was actually in front of her like this.
Her hair was red gold, as if each piece of auburn hair was intertwined with sunshine. It hung down to the middle of her back in thick, glossy waves. Her petite frame was similar to her sisters’: big chest, curved hips, and an ass that made my brain empty and my dick hard as stone. She was still as perfect as she’d been five years ago, and the years I’d seen and wanted her prior to that. My mother once guessed that Tilly Banks would be the great love of my life, but because I couldn’t seem to keep the girl, she’d be the great loss of it too, which explained my perpetual grumpy attitude.
My mother was wrong, though. I was over Tilly. I had been for years; I just couldn’t help noticing God’s fine handiwork. The man deserved a medal for what he’d done with Telissa Banks.
“Oaks…”
I snapped my attention from Tilly’s chest back up to her face. “What?”
“I asked why you came.”
I shrugged. “Told you, your sister—”
“Yeah.” She waved me off, heading inside. “Honey is always marchin’ and talkin’—doesn’t explain why you suddenly jumped to it.”
I followed her through the foyer, bypassing the small service desk being managed by a much younger Banks sister, the youngest of the six.
“Hello Hennessey.” I tipped my head in her direction.
She had her cell phone shoved under her nose as her eyes tipped up. “You’re still the enemy, Oaks, at least according to my father.”
“That’s enough, Henny,” Tilly warned as she stormed past the desk and toward the small alcove under the stairs that acted as her office. There wasn’t any fire in her warning to her sister, though, so I knew I’d become the butt end of a joke in their family…which sat in my chest like a spiked barb.
Slowing my steps outside of Tilly’s office, I watched as she took a seat at her desk. There wasn’t enough room inside for two people, so I placed my hand along the doorway and leaned down.
“Competition, Ms. Banks. You’re callin’ in outside contractors when the good people of Deacon could use that work.”
She shuffled a few papers at her desk, completely unaware of the fact that with her sitting and me standing, I could see right down her dress.
“Well, I’m sorry to say, but it was a wasted effort on your end. I’ll be having Tack Construction handle the renovation.”
I let out a loud scoff, because this girl was ridiculous. “They’re going to travel all the way from Austin to handle this every single day?”
She nodded but didn’t look up from her monitor.
“What was their bid on this place?” I pushed off the frame and looked down the hall. “And what all are you doin’ anyhow?”
“Nothin’. Now if you’ll please find your way out, I’d appreciate it.”
Cold and mean as a honey badger—that was all Tilly had been to me for five years, and I was fucking tired of it. Heaving a sigh, I shook my head and decided I’d get my answers elsewhere.
“I’ll go, but plan on me bein’ back,” I warned as I turned to leave, but I didn’t miss the little comment she made as I turned my back.
“Not likely, Oaks…you never come back.”
About Ashley:
Ashley resides in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her four children and her husband. She loves coffee, reading fantasy, and writing about people who kiss and cuss.
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