“Bye, Ava. Bye, Dad,” Avery said.
“Thanks, O. We’ll see you at home later,” Maddy said as the two of them took off.
Owen watched them go, then turned back to Ava when they were out of sight. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“O?”
He tried and failed to not stare at the way her red lips formed the syllable. He blinked and shook his head. “What?”
“I didn’t realize you went by ‘O’. Thought you hated that nickname,” Ava clarified.
“Right. Just Mads calls me that. It’s better than when she used to call me ‘baby daddy’ un-ironically.”
Ava’s mouth gaped before pinching shut like she didn’t know how to respond to that. Probably because she didn’t, because he didn’t think before he spoke.
What the hell is wrong with me? Baby daddy? Really?
He hiked a thumb over his shoulder, cringing internally at himself. “I’m sure you have work to do. Sorry we all disturbed you. I should get back.”
Owen turned on his heel and hurried back to the safety of the counter, not wanting to humiliate himself further. He avoided looking in her direction and glanced out the front window at the Agatha Building once more, where the Historical Society members seemed to cast a vote. People raised their hands in the air while Tori scribbled on her clipboard. All too soon, the members disbanded, and Tori swept through the entrance of the café.
Owen drummed his fingers once more, eager to dispel the adrenaline riding him. Tori approached, her clipboard held close to her chest as if to guard the secrets they had discussed. Her painted red nails tapped lightly on the wood of the clipboard. Red might be his favorite color, but the color on Tori incited zero attraction for him.
“Owen, have a moment to discuss your application? We’ve come to a decision,” Tori said.
“Sure, let’s go back to my office for some privacy.” He chanced a glance at the patio, hoping to usher Tori in and out before Ava could see.
No such luck.
Ava’s hazel eyes met his, a furrow between her brows. He quickly broke their eye contact and led Tori to his small office behind the counter. Her nose twitched with distaste at the small space, but she said nothing as he directed her to the chair in front of the desk. He crossed to sit down in the creaky leather office chair, resisting the compulsion to reach up and tighten the hair in his bun out of restlessness.
“We’re expediting your application. We have our annual fundraiser coming up in August and decided showcasing the renovated AgathaBuilding would be the perfect inspiration to have attendees open their wallets.”
“Okay,” Owen trailed off, unsure of what to say.
That seemed sufficient as she nodded and continued, “Because of that, the vote was unanimous to grant you the Cedar Falls Historical Society renovation funds, so you can begin renovations right away. Congratulations.”
Tori removed a piece of paper from the clipboard and slid it across the desk to him. The form had Tori’s signature at the bottom alongside a blackapprovedstamp.
When did she have time to stamp this thing?
“We let it slide you didn’t provide a name for the bed-and-breakfast yet, but we need that. The sooner, the better,” she said.
Owen scanned the piece of paper, making a mental note to stop by Matt’s office to drop off the original for him to make copies.
“Thank you. I’ll get you the name as soon as I can.”More like as soon as I can come up with one.
“You are most welcome. We’re excited at the prospect of working with you to revitalize our town. The economic impact of your bed-and-breakfast will be substantial. We’re going to be spendinga lotofquality time together to get this project off the ground.”
Owen winced inwardly at the implication.
“Now, because we’re dealing with a historical building, there are some stipulations to the vendors, and we will need to approve any construction before it takes place. Can you stop by our office at City Hall tomorrow at three to go over the logistics and next steps?”
Owen had a feeling the question was rhetorical, and he was expected to be at the meeting. Luckily, Maddy was in town for another day and could be with Avery.
“I’ll be there. And thank you. Without this grant, I doubt the renovations would be possible. I appreciate the efforts of the Historical Society,” Owen told Tori. Despite the discomfort of working with a former one-night stand, he was grateful the town supported his new venture.
“Of course. Now I need to file some paperwork with the county to kick things off. I’ll see myself out.”
