“Well...” Oliver coughed, then huffed in the phone. “When are you coming back?”
Good question. “Can’t honestly say right now. Kind of depends how things go here.”
“I see.” He sighed. “Actually, I don’t see. Perhaps this isn’t my business, but what exactly are you doing in Tennessee? Are you perhaps thinking of moving there? Making things more permanent with your lov—uh, secret male companion?”
McKenna gritted her teeth. “Can’t a girl just take a break from Nebraska? I needed a change of pace, okay? New scenery. A little excitement. A chance to—” Her breath caught as she spotted the goats. Their rustic wooden shed. The rolling green acreage spread out for miles. Even the B&B with all its wear and tear held a certain farmhouse level of charm.
Maybe coming here wasn’t just about finding a family heirloom to ensure her sister’s happiness. Maybe coming here was a chance to pave a path to her own desires as well. “Don’t say anything to Bobbi, but I’m bulking up my portfolio a bit.”
“For what?”
For a dream job in LA. A girl could hope anyway. So long as the ring turned up. “I’ll tell you more later, Oliver. In the meantime, just trust me. I’m exactly where I need to be.”
The woman had to go. That’s all there was to it.
First time Nate stood in her presence he’d jumped off a bridge. Second time he’d landed in an airport security room with his wrists zip-tied together. No imagining what would happen if he spent a third time with her.
She had to go. Plain and simple. The woman was simply too troublesome. Too distracting. Too tall. She ought to be shorter. Like Winky Wendy. Nate never once thought about howherlips lined up so perfectly with his.
McKenna’s were just...there. In front of him. Moving. Always moving. What man wouldn’t be tempted to lean forward and capture those lips simply to hold them still for a little peace?
Nate gripped the front of his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, McKenna was still standing on the other side of the check-in desk, looking all tall and... McKenna-ish.
“You can’t stay here,” he said.
“Why not?”
“We don’t... we aren’t...” He continued shaking his head as if that could fill in the blanks appropriately.
It didn’t. McKenna piled her red mop of curls into a ponytail and pointed her chin at the sign-in book splayed open on the check-in desk. “Thisisa bed and breakfast, is it not?”
“Technically speaking.”
“Youdohave vacancies, do you not?”
“Technically speaking.”
“Then why can’t I stay here?”
“Because.”
“Ah. That clears things up. Thank you for explaining so thoroughly.”
“We’re not technically open, okay? My mom’s technically gone. She’s the one who technically runs this place, so...”
“I should technically go. Got it.” McKenna nodded and tightened her wild ponytail. “Guess I’ll just head back to Nancy’s Airbnb then.”
“No,” Gus shouted from the other room. “No. Not happening. I don’t care if she is a silly stranger-kissing goose, Nate, just give her a room.”
“Goodness, you guys know how to make a girl feel welcome.”
Nate let go of his hair and grabbed a pen out of the pen holder. “Fine,” he said, tapping where she should sign. “But don’t get any ideas about getting comfortable. You’re not staying for long.”
McKenna scribbled her name and hometown. “Does Nancy know the upper hand you have on her when it comes to hospitality? Surprised she hasn’t already thrown in the towel.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t thrown in the towel on this ring of yours. You do realize there’s a good chance they’ll never find my luggage. And an even greater chance the ring won’t still be in the pocket, right?”
“Why wouldn’t the ring still be in the pocket? It had a zipper.” McKenna set the pen down and looked up.
