“I should look at those stairs,” he said, taking pity on her frozen state.
Ava could only nod, the water bottle clutched in her hand like a lifeline.
Owen grabbed his drink from the counter and left the kitchen. Ava hurried out the door and back to the fire, taking her seat next to Summer instead of following Owen to demand they finish what they started. She tried to tune into the conversation happening around her.
“Hey, Ava. Hope you don't mind, I dropped by. I could smell the fire from my parent's lot next door and couldn't resist,” Matt greeted her. Ava had seen Matt in passing a few times around town, but he was no stranger to the cabin. As Owen's best friend, he spent a lot of time with the rest of them during the summers.
“Of course, it's like old times,” she said.
“This is way better than going out to the Mucky Duck,” Summer announced. “Free booze and the old crew back together again.”
Noah reappeared with the extra chair for Matt and set it up next to Lucas. Matt and Lucas fell into conversation about work, only stopping when Owen came back to the fire with a drink for Matt. Owen sat on the other side of Matt, putting Noah on the other side of Ava.
Taking in the scene around the fire, relief trickled through Ava, loosening the tension she’d held since coming to town on her own. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she could admit pangs of loneliness had rattled in her chest far longer than anyone knew. Long before her dad died.
And despite the confusing mess of feelings inside about almost kissing Owenagain, her heart swelled with contentment, being surrounded by the family and friends that shaped her childhood at the cabin. For tonight, Ava felt she was right where she needed to be.
Chapter 18
The Proposition
Owen slapped down the latest denied blueprints on Matt’s desk. “Look at this bullshit.” Owen stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at the offending paper.
Matt picked up the document, his eyes narrowing at the contents. “Denied. That’s what, the third time?”
Owen kept pacing. “Three times. I don’t know what more they want.” Owen stopped his pacing and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “The plumbing crew is already onsite, and the materials have been delivered. The Agatha Building needs a complete repipe to be up to code.”
“I’m sure they’re hung up on technicalities. Let me give Tori a call,” Matt offered.
“Please do. I’m too annoyed to deal with Tori right now.”
Matt said nothing as he dialed Tori’s number on the conference phone. Owen resumed his pacing, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t the blueprint denial, not really, that had him worked up. Of course itbothered him, but even Tori didn’t have the power to bypass building code ordinances. It was the pent-up frustration from his interrupted kiss with Ava.
For thethirdtime.
A kiss he never should have initiated in the first place, no matter how tempting she looked with her flushed cheeks and her guard down. Or how right she felt caged in his arms.
He could dismiss the first time, maybe even the second time, as a fluke. Charged moments between two people with history. But last night? He wanted to kiss her, and he was confident the feeling was mutual.
“Matt,” Tori’s voice filled the room. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Owen’s eyes cut to Matt leaning back in his chair.
“Good morning, Tori. I’ve got you on speaker in my office with Owen. We’re looking at the latest blueprints for the Agatha Building. There seems to be some confusion about the scheduled plumbing job. The crew is onsite, and the county has approved the plans, so why is the Historical Society board opposed? Whatever the concern, I'm sure Owen is more than willing to accommodate to make sure we stay on schedule.”
“Ah, yes. Hello, Owen,” she cooed through the phone.
Owen suppressed a shudder. “Tori,” he said in a flat tone.
“As for the blueprints, I thought the denial was clear. The polybutylene pipes are historical and shouldn’t be removed from the building to preserve the history.”
Owen scoffed, ready to go on the defensive before Matt cut him off. He held a finger up in Owen’s direction to stay silent. Owen bit his tongue.
“Tori, let’s cut to the chase and call bullshit here. Polybutylene pipes were banned in 1995. There’s nothing historical about bad pipes that caused flooding. In fact, the building fell into disrepairbecauseof the pipes failing. So what’s really going on here?”
Tori’s throaty laugh floated through the room. “This is why you and I were co-captains of the debate team back in the day. What good times we had back then.” Tori sighed. “I suppose there is something Owen could do to earn my favor and make this entire issue go away. Especially since you mentioned he’d be willing to be soaccommodatingis the term you used, I believe.”
Owen opened his mouth to demand what she wanted, but Matt shot him a glare to stay silent.
