You're Still the One (18 page)

She cocked her head to the side. “What makes you think I want to be an Archer?”

Alaina shrugged. “I don't know. I get a vibe from you, like there's unfinished business for you here. With Hayden. But maybe I'm wrong.”

No, she was completely right. Bex knew that sharing a baby with him, even though they'd lost it, would tie them together forever. At least in her heart and mind. For the first time, she considered confiding in someone. Alaina would get it. She was pregnant herself. And she likely valued discretion more than anyone Bex knew.

“You're not wrong.”

Alaina's eyes lit. “Oh, well then. Let's make this happen.”

Bex laughed, but there was a bit of unease in it. She suddenly regretted saying anything. She couldn't do anything about it—about Hayden. Last night, they'd had sex. He'd said it was a one-time event. It was pretty clear to her where things were headed: nowhere. She was glad she hadn't mentioned the baby. What a stupid thought that had been.

“There's nothing to make happen. Not anymore.” She hastened to soften her refusal. “But thank you.”

Alaina narrowed her eyes briefly. “I'm not sure I buy that. If I've learned anything in my life it's that if you want something, you have to fight for it. I clawed my way out of a cycle of drugs and poverty.
I
did that.” She smiled warmly and touched Bex's arm. “Don't be complacent. Life's too short.”

Fight for what she wanted . . . What did she want? Did she truly want Hayden back? To what end? Were they going to get married this time? Would there be another baby? Her brain sputtered and started to shut down. Emotional overload. He was over her, and she needed to let him go.

Bex fished her sunglasses from her purse and put them on. “Thanks, Alaina. I appreciate it.”

“I'm glad you found us today,” she said. “See you next time!” She turned and walked in the opposite direction from Bex.

Bex went to her truck and set her drink in the cup holder before climbing inside.

Next time.
There wasn't going to be a next time. She wasn't a part of the Archer family or their club, and she never would be.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
, Hayden walked into Stella's, one of three coffee shops in Ribbon Ridge, but the only one that was just a coffee shop. Books and Brew was also a bookstore, while Beaker's was a drive-thru and maybe didn't technically count. He glanced around but didn't see Cameron. Hayden had texted him yesterday to talk about buying the vineyard, but he'd been in the Bay Area for the day on a sales trip.

Hayden walked to the counter to order and smiled at the owner, who'd established the shop close to twenty years prior. “Good morning, Stella.”

She grinned at him as she pushed her wire-rimmed glasses back up her nose. White hair pulled into a bun, Stella had a generous heart and a mouth like a sailor when she was fired up about something. “Morning to you, Hayden Archer. I'd heard you were back in town, but I wouldn't believe it until I saw you.”

He hung his head sheepishly. He'd tried to make contact with as many denizens of the town as he could in the two or so weeks that he'd been home. “Sorry, I've been in a couple times, but you were out.”

“A gal's gotta take a vacation now and again. Don't you worry—you're still my favorite Archer.” She winked at him. “You want your summer regular, or have your tastes changed since you went to France?”

“If you think I could come to Ribbon Ridge and
not
have one of your iced mochas, you're insane. I can't get anything close to what you make over there.”

She chuckled. “You always knew how to flatter a girl. Speaking of that, I heard your ex was back in town, too. She's working up at the new hotel?” Stella was also a bit of a gossip.

Hayden handed her a five-dollar bill, and she made change, which he promptly dropped into her tip container. “Yes, she's the brewer. I'm surprised you remembered her. We dated a long time ago.”

Stella moved to her left and started making his drink. “Of course I remember her. She's a lovely girl.” She clucked her tongue. “I was really hoping you'd get married. Ah, well.”

Hayden clamped his teeth together in annoyance. Five years and people were still pairing them off? Intellectually he understood why. They'd been together three years. They'd moved in together. They
had
been on a path to happily-ever-after. But that just went to show that you could never predict what would happen, no matter how good or right something felt.

The door to the shop opened, and Cameron walked in. He was dressed for work in khakis and a light blue polo shirt. He pulled his sunglasses off and nodded as he made eye contact with Hayden.

Stella shook her head, but smiled. “Uh-oh, here comes trouble.”

Cameron joined Hayden at the counter. “Always. What're you making this loser, Stella?”

“Iced mocha. I'd ask if you want your usual, but you don't have one. What's your poison today?”

“I have to go with an iced espresso. Large, please. I got in late last night so I need some extra caffeine.”

Stella finished Hayden's drink and gave it to him then looked at Cam. “What was her name?”

Hayden laughed, and Cam grinned. “Very funny. It was an airplane actually. Mechanical difficulty, so my flight didn't get into Portland until after midnight, and then I had to drive home.”

That trip took a good hour and a half, and that was without traffic.

“You
do
need caffeine,” Hayden said.

Stella whipped up his espresso then charged him for it. “I'm heading out in a bit, but if you need anything, my granddaughter Grace will be here. She's in the back washing some dishes.”

Hayden blinked at her. “Your granddaughter's old enough to work here now? Isn't she, like, twelve?”

Stella laughed. “Honey, she's seventeen now. She's going to be a senior at West Valley.”

“Wow, time flies.” He turned with Cam to sit at their usual table in the corner. “I was only gone a year.”

“A little more than that.”

“Still. Sometimes I can't help but feel like life has moved forward at an astounding speed, and I've been standing on the sidelines.”

They sat down, and Cam sipped his coffee. “Seriously? How can you possibly feel like you were standing still? Every time I talked to you in France, you had a dozen things going.”

That was true. “Maybe it's just being back home again. Everything here seems vastly different.”

Cam set his drink and sunglasses down and sat back in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him to the side of the small table. “Probably because it is. All your siblings are home now, dude. And married or getting married. It's creepy as hell, right?”

Hayden snorted. “I don't know if
creepy
is the right word.”

“Come on. Evan's going to be a dad? Liam's engaged
and
moved home? If that's not creepy, what is it?”

“How about
unexpected
?”

Cam grinned as he picked up his coffee. “That's nicer. Also accurate.” He sipped his drink then set it back down. “I'll tell you what else is unexpected—you
not
living here.”

“Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about this morning. I told Amos yesterday that we'd buy the property.”

Cam's eyes widened. He sat up sharply and leaned forward over the table. “You did what?”

“I committed. We just have to get Luke to agree.” Hayden took a drink of his mocha. “If he doesn't, we could find someone else to manage the vineyard, but I'd rather not.”

Cam pressed his lips together and sat back from the table again, his gaze determined. “He'll agree. Let me talk to him. I'll call him as soon as we're done.” His mouth broke into a wide smile. “Dude, this is
awesome
! I have to tell you, ever since we started talking about it, my job has become more and more mundane and awful. I can't wait to leave. If you'd said no, I was seriously thinking about what else I might do.”

Satisfaction warmed Hayden's chest. He was glad this decision helped his friend. “Now you don't have to.” He used his straw to stir his drink. “We need to talk about timing though. Luke won't be free until November probably. I think we can close on the property by the end of August, but harvest won't be until September, maybe into October.”

“And the profit from those grapes will be Amos's, not ours.”

“Yep, so we can start moving forward on infrastructure right away, just nothing with the vineyard until after harvest.”

Cam smiled. “It's actually great timing then for Luke.”

Just about perfect, really, provided he was ready to leave his current job. “Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.”

“Have you told your boss in France that you aren't coming back?”

“Not yet.” Hayden had relegated Antoine—and disappointing him—to the recesses of his mind. He'd been too focused on Bex and this business that he'd decided to pursue. “I'll take care of it. Also, let's wait to announce this until after the soft open next week. Everyone's caught up in that, and I don't want to steal any thunder.”

A faint smile teased Cam's lips. “You're always so thoughtful of everyone.”

Yep, that was Hayden. Nicest guy ever. And what did they say about nice guys? He pushed that irritating thought away. “So you'll talk to Luke and let me know?”

“ASAP. Did you talk to Jamie?”

Hayden sipped his mocha. “No. I wanted to tell you first.”

“I appreciate that.” He picked up his coffee and drank for a moment. He slowly put it back on the table, scrutinizing Hayden the entire time.

Hayden grew suspicious. “What?”

“You don't seem as excited as I would've expected. This is a huge deal. Winemaker at your own damn winery. Dream come true, right?”

Hayden shifted in his chair, uncomfortable that Cam had picked up on the disquiet he was trying to shield. But what should he expect from his oldest and best friend? “Definitely.”

“Then what gives? And no, I'm not going to ignore this . . . funk or whatever it is. Is it the family? I know you feel disconnected, but that will fade when you get used to the new normal.”

The new normal. He'd liked the old normal. But had he been satisfied with it?
No.
The problem was that he wasn't sure he could be satisfied with this either.

Cam narrowed his eyes at Hayden. “Or is it Bex?” Hayden must've reflected something in the affirmative, though he couldn't imagine what that was. Cam frowned. “I was worried about that.”

That rankled him. Bex was the past. Oh yeah? Then what had he been doing having sex with her? Hayden sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “
What
were you worried about?”

“Her screwing with you.”

“She wouldn't do that.” Bex was a lot of things, but she wasn't vindictive. Besides she was the one who'd left him. If anyone were going to “screw” with the other, it would be Hayden. “Come on, you know her.”

“Yes, but I'm
your
friend. And the one who picked up the pieces she left behind.”

He
had
done that. For far too long. “It's no big deal.”

Cam's eyes widened. “Shit, something happened.” He leaned forward, his gaze intent, his voice low. “Did you have sex?”

Hayden said nothing.

“You
did
have sex.” Cam blew out a breath. “You better watch yourself. I get what you're saying—she's not out to screw you over or use you or anything—but she broke your heart once. You'd be a fool to let her do it again.”

Yes, he would. But he couldn't deny that he'd relished having her back in his arms. He'd barely slept last night. In fact, he'd had to get up after trying to sleep and change the sheets on his bed because they'd smelled too much like her. It had been pure torture. Even then, with her scent gone, he could still feel her touch, taste her kiss.

“Although, I suppose there's no harm in sex for old time's sake. Or if you're just horny since your fuckbuddy's in France. Just so long as you keep things physical. Trust me, you don't want more than that. I speak from experience.”

“I know. You've spent the last five and a half years as a total manwhore.” That was perhaps overdramatizing it a bit, but not much. Cam's heart had been more than broken—it had been carved out with a spoon and set on fire. Hayden knew it was in there somewhere, but it was going to take a very special woman to find it again. “But it was just one night with Bex.”

“Hey, you can have more than one night—I do from time to time—you just have to keep it casual. Like with the girl in France.” He paused in lifting his cup from the table. “That's how it is with her, right?”

“Yep.” By mutual agreement. Bex, on the other hand . . . Since they'd split up, the thought of her with someone else had made him feel terrible. Not jealous exactly—though there was that too—but unsettled.

Deep inside he still felt that way, he realized.

Then don't look deep inside, moron. You've gotten pretty good at that.

Cam sipped his espresso. “Glad to see you're looking out for yourself. I'm still your wingman, whenever you need me.”

“Thanks.” Hayden glanced at his watch. “I need to go.”

Cam checked his watch, too. “Yeah, I've got a meeting. I'll call Luke on the way and let you know how it goes.”

Hayden stood with his drink. “Cool.”

Cam stood as he sucked the rest of his espresso down. Then he poured the ice into the waste bin and tossed the cup in the recycle bin.

“You're done already?” Hayden asked.

Cam shrugged. “Hey, I was desperate for caffeine. Like I said, I was up really late. I might've left out the part where I hooked up with the flight attendant after we landed.”

“Stella was right.” Of course she was.

“Hey, we sat on the runway in Frisco for like four hours. She was flirty.”

Hayden shook his head, smiling. “You're a regular James Bond.”

Cam grinned as he slid his Tom Ford sunglasses back on, making him
look
like James Bond. “Minus the assassin part.”

Hayden opened the door and stepped outside. “Yeah that. See you later.”

“See ya.”

Hayden went to his parents' Prius. He should probably decide what to do with his car that Kyle was driving. Unlike the house, Hayden kind of wanted his car back now that he was going to be living here. Kyle would be fine with that.

Since he was selling his house to Kyle, he also needed a place to live. His parents' house was fine, but not for a permanent residence. Even after Bex moved out.

Which brought him to his appointment—a rental that had just come on the market yesterday. An older house with two bedrooms, it sat at the base of the hills on the edge of downtown. The drive there took about four minutes.

He parked across the street. The house had good curb appeal—blue, with shutters and a small, white porch. Too bad it didn't stretch the length of the front of the house. The second story had a wide bay window in the front.

He walked up the front path and climbed the three steps to the porch. The front door was ajar. Presumably the rental agent was waiting for him inside.

He stepped over the threshold and was instantly greeted by a middle-aged man with very little hair and a broad smile. “You must be Hayden.” He offered his hand. “I'm Theo.”

Hayden gave him a brief handshake. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming out to meet me here this morning.” The rental agency was based twenty minutes away in McMinnville.

“No problem. I have several showings today. Lots of interest, but then the rental market here is pretty tight.”

“That it is.”

Theo's phone, which he was holding in his other hand, rang. “Excuse me for a minute. Go ahead and look around.” He answered the phone then stepped outside onto the porch.