And the thought of failing Willow?
I’m not sure that’s something I could ever stomach.
Pulling up in front of the barn, I put my truck in park and kill the engine before grabbing the drink carrier from the center console and hopping out. I’m immediately greeted by a slobbery face attached to a wagging tail and body.
Noah pokes his head out from the barn. “Jace? What are you doing here?”
Good fucking question.
Can’t seem to get your sister out of my head.
Shrugging my shoulders, I pull a coffee from the carrier and lift it up to show him. “I brought drinks for everyone.”
Noah lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head as he meets me halfway to retrieve it. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“Just killing time before I have to meet Harrison and the roofing company at the rink.”
“You know I’ll never say no to coffee.” Noah lifts his cup to his lips, taking a slow sip of the hot liquid. “Will and Finn are in the house,” he says, walking past me as he waves his arm. “Come on.”
Falling in step behind him, I follow Noah across the drive and up the steps onto the front porch. He pulls open the door, pausing as he lets me step in first. Finn’s sitting at the table, scrolling on his phone, and Willow sits across from him, facing the door. Her eyes lift, widening as they meet mine. She pulls her lips between her teeth, biting down as a pink hue stains her cheeks.
“Look who I found,” Noah says, walking past me as he kicks off his boots and moves deeper into the open space. Finn lifts his head, turning to look at us. “And he brought coffee too.”
Willow’s gaze is still on mine and for a moment, I’m transported back to last night. At the way her tongue danced with mine. The way her fingers confidently undid the buttons of my shirt. The way her nails felt raking down my torso as she slowly lowered?—
“Miller.”
My eyebrows lift, my stomach dropping as my gaze flashes to Finn’s.
“What are you waiting for?”
Clearing my throat, I shake my head, shelving the memories from last night until sometime later when I’m alone. I kick offmy own shoes and walk over to the table, setting the drink carrier down in the center.
“My bad,” I mutter, pulling one of the drinks out for Finn before getting the one that is Willow’s.
When I extend my arm to hand the coffee to her, her fingers brush mine and her eyes widen, just subtly enough that if I weren’t already looking at her, it would have gone unnoticed. She takes the drink from me, her hand retreating like I burned her.
“What brings you out here this early in the morning?” Finn asks after he takes a sip of his drink. “Mmm. I swear, Sweet Grounds has the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”
“You guys will have to try the drink they’ll be featuring during Harvest Fest,” Willow says quietly, as a sheepish grin tugs on her lips. She lifts her drink to shield her lips.
Noah tilts his head to the side. “Why’s that?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she shrugs, lowering her gaze as she twists her mouth to the left. “Sofia and I are collaborating on one with our maple syrup to help drive business.”
“No shit,” Finn says, slowly nodding as a smile stretches across his lips.
I bite back my own grin, my eyes focused on nothing but Willow. “Your meeting went well then?”
“How’d you know about their meeting?” Finn chimes in, his forehead creasing as he levels his gaze on mine.
“He’s helping her fix up the shop, remember?” Noah reminds him, rolling his eyes. He directs his attention to Willow. “I’m proud of you, Will. You’re really doing the damn thing.”
“Thanks,” she says, smiling at Noah. He steps over to her, wrapping his arm around the tops of her shoulders as he pulls her into a sideways hug. “Honestly, it hasn’t just been me. Jace has been really helpful with ideas and the heavy lifting.”
“I don’t know about all that,” I retort, a smirk tugging on my lips. “Maybe the heavy lifting and reaching the spots you can’t reach.”
“No,” she says, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she shakes her head. “You’ve been helpful for a lot more things than just that.”
