The regret is instantaneous, but it’s too late to walk it back.
He grins.
That smile does unholy things to my body. Death by spontaneous orgasm caused by a Griffin Hayes smile.
This man.
My husband.
He spent two and a half months trying to make the perfect sourdough because I told him, in passing, I was craving it. He could’ve given up after the first failure, but he kept his promise.
He gave me Denver.
We’ve been splitting our time between my place and his. I have to admit, I’m starting to feel more at home out on the ranch. This place holds a lot of unwelcome memories for me. My entire relationship with Tyler existed within these four walls, and now it’s just one more bitter reminder of his abandonment.
Maybe it’s time for a clean slate.
Part of me is still wary of jumping into things too quickly, but Griffin’s as immovable as an ancient redwood, rootedand steady.
Griffin gave me Denver—a taste of my past and the memories that came with it. I don’t have much to offer him beyond my messy, imperfect future. Maybe that would be enough.
I run my hand along my growing bump.
Maybe we could be enough.
Chapter 25
Live, Laugh, Lose the Baggage
? Someday, Someone - Kenzie Cait
Angelina
Griffin: Good morning, wife. I took your car for an oil change. My keys are on the counter if you need to go anywhere today. Drive safe. xo
“Oh, come on!”a feminine voice says as she steps inside the coffee shop in downtown Willow Valley. “It’s just a little paint.”
“Fuck no,” a heavily tattooed man replies. “You’ll pick some ugly ass yellow, or worse, pink.”
“Anything is better than the color you chose. The walls are grey, Noah! I can’t thrive under these conditions.”
This is probably the part where I should stop eavesdropping, but I can’t help being nosy. I watch the pair out of the corner of my eye as the heat emanating from my coffee cupwarms my fingers. Micah’s standing next to me, waiting for his name to be called.
“It’s too early for this shit,” Noah responds. “I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”
“Are you under the impression that your attitude gets better after you’ve been sufficiently caffeinated? Allow me to disillusion you,” the copper-haired woman says. “You’re just as annoying pre and post-coffee.”
“Back at you, Princess.”
She rolls her eyes and turns her back on him just in time for the line to move forward.
Willow Valley is a quaint town thirty minutes east of Oak Ridge. It boasts a gorgeous cliffside view of the lake, an old-school movie theatre that hosts a vintage romcom marathon every summer, and the best ice cream shop in a hundred-mile radius whose signature flavor is maple bourbon crunch.
Callie works at the local public library, and Micah’s husband, Hudson, has a hobby farm in the north end of the valley. I could never live here—it’s far too quiet for my taste—but it’s perfect for a homebody like Hudson who prefers spending time in his vegetable garden to interacting with people, and it’s a great place to visit when I need to clear my head.
“Order for Micah,” the barista calls.
He steps forward and claims two cups from the counter, and I follow him out onto the sidewalk as the early October chill seeps through my thin plaid jacket. Leaves crunch underfoot as we make the short walk over to the gazebo in the center of the town square, where we meet up with Hudson and their two-year-old sable corgi, Delilah. She’s dressed in a brown cable knit sweater, and her tail is wagging so forcefully her entire body is moving with it.
