Later in the week, after my conversation with Tucker, I found myself on my back porch drinking some bourbon, contemplating my life. The impending engagement really threw me. Sure, I’d seen plenty of people I associated with in New York take that step, but they were mostly acquaintances. My once-close friend proposed to the girl he had always had eyes for, and that made me smile from afar, but for whatever reason, the thought of Maeve getting engaged hit different. It felt like a reality check. Everyone else was moving on with their lives, and I was stagnant. Sure, I’d made strides in my business and bank account, but not with people. Not emotionally. I knew I was the one who’d fallen off the face of the earth and run away, first figuratively, then literally. My mind had convinced myself I was better alone because no one could hurt me, trick me, or use me. And I had been fine with that.Until recently.
Maybe I finally felt safe somewhere, and that’s why I was having these newfound feelings that clashed with the life I’d created. I hadn’t felt safe to let my guard down since my lateteens, and the walls I kept up with everyone were evidence of that. But Maeve had been chipping at my defenses for over a year, and I had finally let her in. Since then, that downed guard had evolved to the first whisperings of jealously over what she had here. I had to remind myself that most people didn’t share the kind of experiences I did, so I understood the reasons behind my madness, but still, when she would talk and conversationally share stories, both mundane and significant, I felt like I was missing that component of my life. Friends to laugh with, maybe even a woman whose company I enjoyed. Just general trust in people would be grand. Her best friend, Cora, recently got screwed over by an ex-fiancé who canceled their wedding. From the things we talked about, it sounds like she’s slept over to comfort her, dragged her out, and found her a building to open the store she’s been dreaming of for years. I didn’t have that. After Tommy died, I sank to the lowest I’d ever been. I knew I shut the world out, but it also felt like the few people I would call genuine friends gave up on me, too. Then, too much time passed, and reaching out became awkward.
And Audra King. I didn’t even know where to start with that one. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but I was inexplicably drawn to Audra in a way I’d never experienced before. Even before the broken bone incident, she had my attention when she came to the office. I didn’t realize quite how indifferent and aloof I’d been coming across, but I did it to keep my boundary. That being said, the fact she told me she assumed I didn’t like her tells me I may have overdone it, but not liking her was never the case. After the couple of run-ins I’ve had with her, my instinct to keep distance between us was correct. Now that I’ve gotten a taste, she’s exactly who I had made her out to be, and I was dying to see her again.
With a million thoughts speeding through my mind, I drained my drink and resolved it was time to start putting myself out there instead of hiding away.
By the end of the week, I had the dates that Tucker asked for and sent them to him when I was sure Maeve was at her desk.
Donovan
Good morning, Tucker. The only time it would be extremely difficult to have Maeve out of the office is the first three weeks of July. Any time before or after would be great. Thank you.
He texted back quickly, asking for the dates he’d like to whisk her away. Christ, that was coming up fast. Who would I find that quickly? I hated replying yes, but I’d figure it out. I’d have to. I couldn’t even ask Maeve her opinion about whom to hire because I didn’t want to give her the slightest inkling that something was going on. Putting my head in my hands, I groaned at the headache this impending vacation was giving me. If I had a staff, it’d be one thing, but it was just her and me running the show.
“Hey, Maeve, can you come in here? I wanted to brainstorm everything we need to do for the resort for the next six to eight weeks.”
The resort was my baby, and it meant everything to me. When I breezed into Savannah Springs fourteen months ago, after spending an additional twenty in a couple of other cities, my goal was to open it and then take off again. If a therapist looked at it, they might surmise that it was a literal manifestation of me trying to outrun my past.
The life left behind, I wanted no part of. My parents cared about the numbers in our bank account and how we looked inpublic more than they cared about my sister or me. We were a box to check and an opportunity to show off. Not being an idiot, I played nice until I aged into my trust at twenty-five, drained it, and took off. They made the mistake of not adding a marriage clause like many of their friends did, especially given how hell-bent they were on trying to make me take a wife. But my mother only wanted a wedding to show off to their friends. She even told me she didn’t care if I even got along with my spouse, as long as she was beautiful and the wedding was picture-perfect. I shudder at thinking about how they used to parade me around all the parties, galas, and events, trying to play me off as a suitor from the age of twenty-two on, like we were some Victorian-era aristocrats. I wanted none of that bullshit. The people that were at those events were the kind that made my skin crawl because they were just like my parents: How much money did you have, how did you show the world how much you had, and did we look good together? No thanks.
The answer was … I had a lot of money. I got my first huge payday when I designed and sold an app when I was eighteen. I managed and invested it wisely, but when I aged into the trust, I doubled what I had. After that, I took some big risks and had some bigger rewards. I’ve done well for myself thanks to a healthy mix of skill, relentlessness, and luck.
Now my biggest attention was this adventure resort that I was calling Quest, and it was deeply personal. My accountant tried to talk me out of it, and from a business perspective, I understood why, but this thing was getting built no matter what. It was going to be the second resort in South Carolina that would have winter skiing and snowboarding, which I was excited about. But more than that, it was going to be a recreation destination experience with one hundred fifteen guestrooms, an exceptional spa, a five-star restaurant, a host of activities for every season, a butterfly garden, spectacular hiking, mountain biking, fall bonfires, horse stables, everything. It was going to be my living, breathing memorial for my friend, Tommy, and a nod to all the fun we had. He was part of the unhinged travel years, but he passed away when we were twenty-two. Giving people opportunities for their own adventures was how I planned to memorialize him, and I know he would have loved it. I had big plans for Quest.
“The next six weeks? Jesus, that’s a monumental list, Wright. Give me a couple of minutes to get some shit together.” Maeve shot back. She really was instrumental to this office and me. A double major with degrees in both data science and marketing, she claimed she never really found her place after she graduated. One time, I tried digging for more on it, but she clammed up. If anyone knew about keeping information close to your chest, it was me, so I never asked again. But she excelled here, which wasn’t a surprise considering how grossly overqualified she was. I paid her accordingly, but still, I hoped she felt fulfilled by what she was doing.
“We have to make this quick, Donovan. I am coffeeing with my girls today,” she announced, as she walked in with her notebook and pen and sat down across from me.
“Is that even a word? You lunched with them yesterday.”
“In my world, it is. But yes, I did, and I can do it every day forever now because they’re here. I think you underestimate how much time I could spend with these women.”
Though I rolled my eyes at her outwardly, at the same time, it struck that lonely chord that felt like it had been growing recently. I knew they all had been getting together at Flyers the last couple of Fridays. Maybe I could join them one night? Logically, it made sense. I had beenhoping to find time with Audra again, knew Tucker and Bennett, and had shouted hello to Cora from a window on a day Maeve was screaming about her being back. Come to think of it, the only ones I hadn’t met were Juliette and Murphy. “Ok, but seriously, Donovan,” her voice broke my thoughts, “Are you thinking we should timeline this out, or just make a checklist?”
“We can come back to timeline it, but I would like to just kind of list things out.”
Over the next thirty minutes, we sat and went over everything that would need our attention, then prioritized the list. These kinds of meetings reminded me all the ways that Maeve’s skill set was far beyond a personal assistant role. When we were done, she dramatically bowed to me and took off for Savvy Sips to meet Cora and Audra.
She had no idea that I was going to disrupt her lunch today.
10
AUDRA
Iwas the first to Savvy Sips, and that surprised me because I knew I was running late. Ordering a vanilla chai for me and coffee for my ladies, I caught up with Noelle about our night out and a couple of other things, then sat to wait. Truth be told, the solo decompression felt good. I had been picking up too many shifts, and it was taking a toll on me. Last shift, I had that little guy again, and his parents weren’t any nicer than before. Moreover, he was getting sicker, and though the big decisions were out of my control, it weighed heavily on me. Multiple times, I suggested that we move him to a hospital more equipped for a case like his, but as usual, I was ignored. While I waited, I scrolled social media, did some crosswords, and caught up on text messages. I was about to text them when Maeve came busting in almost twenty minutes late.
“I’m sorry! Sir Donovan felt like making a list, and I was held hostage! Wait, where is Cora?” She asked, looking around, confused.
Shrugging, I responded, “No problem. It was nice to just sit and catch my breath today.” Even just sitting and laughingwith Maeve for that brief spell recharged my emotional battery. Cora walked in at the last minute, and I picked up a weird vibe from her immediately. I was pretty in tune with people, and something was definitely up.
“Girl, what took you so long? I only have like ten more minutes before Sir Donovan comes to find me!” Maeve whined.
After profusely apologizing for her tardiness, she started talking about her new store, Grá, that she was opening down the street. She and I had talked about the name before, but she was starting to tell people, and Maeve was next. We both took time to properly gush over it because loving on your friends never gets old, but when Maeve threw out an off-handed comment about her glowing, Cora turned red immediately.
Bingo. There it was. I knew there was something different about her vibe today. She was glowing because she totally got laid, but who was she sleeping with? The obvious candidate was Maeve’s brother, Maverick, because watching the two of them interact was electric. You could see how into each other they were, as well as feel the tension between them. We were so preoccupied with trying to figure out what was happening with Cora that we completely missed Donovan walking in. He just appeared tableside with a bag of treats for us to eat, and asked to sit and join us. I didn’t hesitate and scooted right over, but I was curious as to why he was interrupting our coffee date.
This man was so freaking stunning, and he was sitting even closer to me than the night at The Yard. He had the body of an Olympic swimmer: tall, broad, and perfectly muscular. His long legs hardly seemed to fit under the table, and his thick thigh was brushing up against mine. Damn. He was naturally just a little tanner than everyone and had dirty blondish hairwith those chocolate brown eyes. Sir Donovan Wright was easily the most gorgeous guy in this town.
