Page 9 of Curveball

I chuckled. "Totally agree."

"Not to turn the topic of conversation back to Walker, but you know he’s back in town, right?"

My heart rate picked up as it always did when his name was mentioned. "No, I didn't realize that. I thought he would rehab his elbow back in Austin?"

Addison shook her head. "Nope. He’ll only ever work with Dr. Howard, so he’s probably back home until next season. He can't even start throwing again for several months."

Well shit.

This would make my life infinitely more complicated. It was easy to avoid the man when he was only here for a weekend or a week or two. I somehow even managed to avoid him when he was home during the off-season, but I wasn't sure I could avoid running into him over the next nine to ten months, especially since I was renovating his parents' tasting room. Our families were close, often having Sunday dinners and celebrating holidays together.

"That's right, I forgot about his relationship with Dr. Howard. Well, I'm sure your parents will be thrilled to have him around for a while." I wasn't sure what else to say, because internally, I was panicking.

Addison tilted her head, studying me. The girl knew me too well. "Y'all really just need to talk and move on. Let the past be the past, so both of you can be in the same room without it being awkward." She played with the hem of her shorts before continuing. "I was going to ask you in a cute way, but whatever, I'm just going to do it." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I want you to be a bridesmaid, and I want Hadley to be my flower girl, but that’ll mean more than you and Walk just being in the same room together. You two will be in our wedding party. He’s going to be one of Dean's groomsmen."

A wave of guilt washed over me; the last thing Addison should worry about on her big day was her brother and me. "I would love that, Addi." I reached for her hands. "It would be an honor for me and Hadley to be a part of your big day. This is about you and Dean, not Walker and me. We’re adults; we can be around each other without issue. Don't worry about us." I squeezed her hands in reassurance.

Addison smiled. "Good, because I wasn't going to take no for an answer." She pushed up out of her chair. "All right, well as much as I want to sit here all day and chat with you, I need to get going. I have horses to ride, and I'm sure you’re super busy too." She came around my desk to hug me.

"Thanks for bringing me a coffee. Feel free to do that every day if you'd like," I teased.

She laughed, then pointed her finger at me and narrowed her eyes. "Now don't you forget to text me all the details of your date."

We said our goodbyes, and I walked her out.

My mind immediately went back to Walker, as it often did. How was I going to survive almost a year of him being back in Primrose Hill?

Today was the day I was meeting with Laurel James at Primrose Estates Winery and Vineyard to discuss my plans for renovating their tasting room. Before I left my office, I stopped to chat with Emma and Maddie to make sure they were good for the rest of the day in my absence.

"I'm pretty sure this is the guy I ran into in Austin last weekend," Maddie said as she showed her phone to Emma. I couldn't see what was on her phone screen, but I could hear explicit rap music playing, which told me it was likely a video on Instagram or TikTok.

"How would you even know? He has a helmet on. I mean, he looks hot as hell. I am all for those biker guys and their thirst traps on social media lately." Emma fanned her face.

"Oh, I know, I built my hot biker algorithm brick by beautiful brick." Maddie punctuated with a chef's kiss. "Anyway, I follow this guy, and you can tell based on the buildings in his videos that he’s in Austin. I was out with my friends last weekend, and this guy on a bike pulled up next to us as we were walking to a bar. All he did was hand me his phone so I could put my number in. Didn't say a word, but he looked just like this guy." She pointed at her phone.

"Damn girl, I hope you put your actual number in there," Emma said while lifting her coffee mug to take a sip.

Maddie scoffed. "Of course I did, I'm not an idiot. He texted me the next day. We’re planning to meet up tomorrow night."

Emma's eyes widened. "Will he be wearing the helmet during the date… or will you get the big reveal? What if he only has a hot body and his face sucks?"

Maddie started laughing. "Ugh. That would be tragic. I'll have a friend on standby to get me out of the date if that happens and for safety purposes in general, of course."

I stood behind their desks, listening in on their conversation, shaking my head. Ah, to be young again. I mean, I was only twenty-nine, but still. I cleared my throat to get their attention, causing them both to jump and turn around to face me.

"Oh, hey, Farrah, I didn't realize you were standing there," Maddie said quickly. Emma just started laughing. Busted.

I laughed. "I'm looking forward to finding out what this biker guy looks like underneath that helmet after you meet him tomorrow."

A smile spread across Maddie's face. "Oh, I'll totally text you." She glanced down, noticing I had my work bag slung over my shoulder. "Are you heading over to Primrose Estates now?"

I nodded. "Yup, leaving now, but wanted to check in with y'all before I left. Maddie, can you start working on our proposal for Lisa Porter's place, and Emma, can you find me some options for chairs and lamps that would work in the primary bedroom for the Mack project?" They both smiled and nodded. "Well, I'll see y'all on Monday. Since it's Friday, feel free to head out early today. Maddie, have fun and be safe." I winked at her as I made my way out the door.

I knocked on the doorframe to Laurel's office before entering. She immediately stood up and made her way around her desk, pulling me into a hug. I loved Laurel—as my mother's best friend, she was a second mother to me. Addison and Walker looked most like Laurel, with lighter brown hair and green eyes, whereas Ava and Weston looked like their father, Travis. They both shared their father's darker brown hair (well, before it went gray), but while Weston shared the same hazel eyes as Travis, Ava was the only James sibling with dark blue eyes.

"Farrah, it's so good to see you, and I’m so excited to get started on this renovation!" She motioned toward the leather couch that sat along the wall in her office.

I took a seat and laid out all the samples I’d brought, along with the vision board I’d created, to show her what I wanted to do with the space. Laurel grabbed us both waters from the small fridge tucked behind her desk before taking a seat next to me. Her eyes scanned over my vision board, and a smile slowly spread across her face. "Wow, Farrah, this looks great. I love the soft color palette and the airiness you’re going for."