Placing a palm on my lower back, Hal guides me around the side and down an alley that’s pretty sketchy at almost three in the morning. Now would be the time to start worrying that he’s planning to murder me and stash my body in a freezer.
But I can’t think of anything other than the warmth burning through me at his hand on my back and the way my heart skips a beat at the contact.
We stop in front of the back door to the shop, and Hal punches in a code. The door unlocks with a disgruntled beep, and Hal pushes it inward. He gives me a smug smile before walking through and holding the door open for me.
I roll my eyes at him but can’t keep the grin off my face at his antics. “Why, exactly, do you have the code to open a random ice-cream shop? And won’t we get in trouble for stealing their ice cream?”
Hal leads us through the back of the shop toward the front. Our boots click on the checkered tile floor as we weave through the industrial equipment and massive freezers. I have the urge to look inside to see all the ice cream they’re storing, but I manage to resist.
When we reach a set of swinging pastel pink doors, Hal pushes one open. After he walks through, he holds it open for me to do the same. “We own it, so no, we won’t be in trouble.”
I glance around the interior that’s just as cute as the outside. Baby blue tables are ringed with light-pink-and-white-striped chairs. Blue-and-pink neon signs of ice cream decorate the walls, and the whole place smells like vanilla, cream, and sugar.
When I’m done inspecting the shop, Hal’s statement registers. I turn to him with my lips parted in shock. “Why do you own an ice-cream shop and a dealership? Aren’t you supposed to pick one type of business and stick with it?”
He laughs softly. “To make money. And it’s called diversifying our income. We own a ton of different businesses in Willow Bend and nearby towns.”
“So your… whole pack is well off?” I try to say it casually, like I’m not fishing for answers about what Hal and the rest of them are.
I’m not sure it works, because Hal flashes me an amused smile and shakes his head. “Something like that. Now, what flavors do you want?”
He gestures at the display freezer full of ice cream in front of us. Each container is covered, but the handwritten cards for all the flavors are still out.
I grin when I find my go-to ice cream. “Cake batter, please.”
“Anything else? I won’t charge you extra for picking multiple flavors, I promise,” Hal teases.
“I’m good. Cake batter is the best ice cream on the face of the planet, so what else could I possibly want?” I’m not a huge dessert person, but I’m always down for ice cream, especially when it’s cake batter. Something about stuffing cream and sugar with unbaked cake mix just does it for me, I guess.
He snorts. “See, I’ve never been a fan. There’s something off about it. I much prefer the classics, like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Cone or cup?”
“Cone, please. And you just haven’t tried the right kind. There was an ice-cream shop near my school that my sister would take me to every chance she got. They put real yellow cake chunks in their cake batter ice cream, and it’s still one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.”
My heart squeezes in my chest thinking about those days, back when life was a little easier. Sure, our parents still sucked, but Wren and I had each other.
Now, I’m out from underneath my parents’ thumb, but I don’t have my big sister anymore. I’d give anything to still be stuck in that fucking house if it meant Wren were still here.
Hal slides open the display case door and opens the cake batter tub, breaking me out of my melancholy thoughts. He expertly starts scooping the ice cream into a cone as he asks, “Where ya from?”
I drop my gaze. “Not here.”
The three of us came to Willow Bend for a fresh start, and I want to keep my life today as far from the past as I can. I don’t want Hal to know where I grew up in case he starts digging into my old life.
Hal and the others are definitely involved in some illegal activities, if not organized crime. I wouldn’t be surprised if his pack or organization or whatever launders money through this cute ice-cream shop and the dealership we met at.
With his probably absurd amount of money and connections, he absolutely has the resources to find out everything about my past. If he does that, he could accidentally let Andrew know where I am.
And the last thing I need is my ex-fiancé finding me and trying to drag me back home. I can’t go back. I’d rather die than go back there.
He makes a humming noise but doesn’t push the issue further. After handing me my waffle cone overflowing with cake batter ice cream, Hal dishes himself up a scoop of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
With his hand on my back, he leads me back out of the little ice-cream shop and out onto the main street.
I give the creamy treat an experimental lick and moan softly at the smooth birthday cake flavor exploding over my tongue. It’s hard to find good cake batter ice cream, and this has to beone of the best I’ve ever had. Not the best, mind you, but pretty damn close.
Hal makes a strangled sound, and I look up at him in alarm. He ducks his head, but not before I see a flash of heat in his mint-green eyes. My own eyes widen in surprise before I brush it off. I must’ve been seeing things because there’s no way someone like Hal is interested in someone like me.
Clearing his throat, Hal’s voice is rough as he asks, “So, when did you move out here?”
