Runaway Bride’s Guide to Love (Guide to Love #1)

21. Emmett

21

emmett

One of the best parts of my job is that every day is a little different, but has enough continuity to keep me sane. Some days I can stay in Nashville and inspect our properties here. Some days I can work from home and check on permits and do any coordination I need to do.

Every Tuesday I drive to Rolling Hills to check on our work down there, which again, I don’t mind. It’s only an hour drive, and I’m promised to get the best coffee and breakfast in Tennessee from Mona’s, which is Charlie’s diner.

Today is Tuesday. Today I was met with a text from Simon on my way into town asking me to meet him for breakfast. Today is the only day I wanted to skip my weekly ritual, because I didn’t want to face my boss and best friend.

He’s going to ask me about Florida. He’s going to ask me about Stella and how she was down there. And I’m going to have to lie. I can’t say that I fucked her brains out and it’s been three days since I’ve been back and I can’t get her out of my damn head.

“He’s alive!”

I chuckle under my breath as Simon waves at me from the breakfast counter. “Yes, I’m alive. I went on vacation, not on an extended medical leave.”

“For you it’s the same thing.”

“Can you not be dramatic?”

This earns me a haughty laugh from Charlie as she pours me a cup of coffee. “If you didn’t want dramatic, you should’ve never said yes to this partnership.”

She’s not wrong. I knew what I was getting into when I teamed up with Simon last year and left my cushy job at a high-end firm in Nashville. Usually I’m not one to wonder about what could be or to take the risk for more. I like stability. I had a well-paying job in a field I enjoyed. Sure, the pipe dream I once had about owning my own construction company was still there, but I wasn’t chomping at the bit to take the gamble on that when I had a six-figure job with a healthy retirement plan and bonuses.

Then I came into Rolling Hills one day, sat on this very stool, and met Mona, the original owner and namesake of this diner. I came to try to get her to sell to my firm, but something about the interaction felt different. I’d approached numerous people over the years asking if they’d be willing to sell. Hell, I was sent on those missions because I was good at getting people to say yes. But there was something about her, and this town, that made me not want to be the guy that my corporate bosses sent out on buying missions. I wanted more than just being the guy on the other side of the email when people needed something.

And then Simon Banks sat down next to me, and the rest is history. Before I knew it, Simon was buying this diner, I agreed to work for him, and a year later we’re growing Magnolia Properties on a daily basis.

And I get the perk of free coffee when I’m in town. I’ll take that any day of the week.

“So how was Florida?”

I feel my face instantly flush. I hurry and take a sip of coffee to try to hide any blush creeping in. I knew he’d ask me this. I even practiced what I was going to say. I just thought I’d have a better handle on my outward reactions.

“Good,” I say. “A much-needed break.”

Well done. The less words the better.

“A break? That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

“What do you want to know? It was Destin. I worked. I played some golf. I laid on the beach. I went to a few bars. That’s it.”

Simon’s raised eyebrow means he doesn’t buy my half-ass, and half true, story. “Oh come on, you had to do more than that! You were gone for two weeks. I highly doubt it was because you suddenly found a love for the beach.”

I mean, I did, but not for the reasons he’s thinking.

“My guess is you met a woman,” he continues. “But Charlie thinks I’m crazy. And I know meeting a woman and spending time with her is a little out of the box thinking, but that’s how well I know you. I know when you go off script and meet a woman and have a sex vacation.”

I nearly choke on my coffee when he says the words “sex vacation.” Because essentially that’s what I had, even though it was much more than that.

“Oh my God, you did!” Simon yells. “Bug! Come here! I was right! Emmett got laid!”

Charlie responds to her nickname and walks over to us. “Emmett Collins! Did you have a vacation fling?”

“Change the subject,” I grunt before taking a sip of coffee. The two of them laugh at my expense, and I will myself to fix my face. I need this line of questioning to stop. Right now.

“Sorry,” Simon says as his laugher dies down. “Anyway. I’m glad you had fun. Got laid. Blew off some steam. And thanks again for checking in on Stella. I hope she didn’t bother you too much.”

“No problem,” I choke out. “Was happy to help. So what’s new with you?”

I say that answer a little too fast, which Simon doesn’t pick up on. He also doesn’t say anything to the fact that I rarely ask what’s new with him. Not that I don’t care. I do. Simon just has a tendency to ramble.

As he’s going on about what he’s been doing the past few weeks, and pulling up videos on his phone of his three-month old daughter, Lainey, I see Charlie giving me a questioning look. I try not to make eye contact to avoid the guilt that I’m sure is written all over my face, but I can tell she knows something’s up.

“So, you might be wondering why I asked you to meet me here,” Simon says.

“Not really.”

“Really? Not even an inkling?”

“Simon, you’re technically my boss. For starters, it’s Tuesday, and I always come here on Tuesdays. And a boss asking an employee to meet is one of the most basic tenants of a boss-employee relationship.”

“Huh, I guess so,” he says with a shrug. “Anyway, the reason I brought you down here today is because while I was on paternity leave, I had a chance to think about the future of Magnolia Properties. More specifically, how we can make this bigger than either of us imagined.”

This makes me sit up a little straighter. Simon might be a tad on the ridiculous scale. But when it comes to business, he doesn’t mess around.

“Okay?”

“When I brought you on, I was at the brim of what I could handle myself. Between my real estate deals, and the properties I’d already acquired, I needed you to help manage the day to day. You were my saving grace and the reason we’ve been able to double the amount of properties we have in less than a year.”

Damn…has it been less than a year? “Thanks, man. It’s been everything I’d hoped.”

“I’m glad. But that being said, we’re about to be in a similar situation. We’re at our max. You handled so much for me on paternity leave, and honestly, I don’t know how you did it all. ”

“It was nothing,” I say.

“No. It was a lot. I tried to do what you normally do when you were in Florida, and I was in tears.”

“It’s true,” Charlie chimes in as she walks by with an arm full of plates. “He missed you.”

“Don’t listen to her,” he says. “Actually, do listen to her. She’s right. I was a wreck without you.”

“Aw, Simon…you flatter me.”

“Don’t go getting a big head. The reason I’m telling you all of this is because I’ve been debating for a while now about expanding Magnolia Properties. Actually having an office. Hiring someone to help us with more day-to-day so I can focus on buying properties and you can focus on managing. Hell, I’m hoping even one day we can grow even more, put that construction background you have to good use and build developments in and around Rolling Hills. High-end homes. Affordable starter houses. You name it, I want us to create it.”

Now that gets my attention. “Simon, wow, I’d love to.”

“I thought you’d say that,” he says. “Which is why I already started our expansion.”

“Explain?”

“The space next door to here?” Simon signals to the left, like I don’t know what we’ve been working on. “We’d already been turning it into offices, so I took the listing down and decided that’s where we’re setting up shop. Plus, now I get to work next door to the love of my life.”

“Yay,” Charlie deadpans. “I can’t wait for you to be here more than you already are.”

“Oh quit,” he says, leaning over to give her a kiss, which she accepts with fake reluctance. It’s their thing. He’s a cocky, mildly ridiculous man, and she keeps him grounded but also can’t resist him. They’re truly made for each other. “You love me.”

“Yeah, yeah…” she says with a smile before turning to me. “This means you’ll need to figure out something else to order. Unless you’re going to eat a patty melt every day. ”

“I don’t see a problem with that.” I’m a man of routine. On Tuesdays at breakfast I get coffee and eggs. Lunch I get a patty melt and an iced tea. Why mess with a good thing?

“Yes! Patty melts for all!” Simon says, clapping his hands. “Now, I know right now you only come to town once a week. Are you good coming in more? Not every day, as I know we have a lot of business in Nashville. But it’s a decent commute, and I know you aren’t interested in moving.”

He’s right. I’m not. I built my house myself and have no intention of selling it. Plus, my sister and nephew are in Nashville.

“The commute is fine,” I say. “Maybe I’ll start listening to some audiobooks.”

“You can expense them for all I care, as long as I can see your handsome face a few times a week.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I say as I tip my cup of coffee to him.

“Great! It’s settled. We’ll move in next door. We’ll both have offices. You have a space to work when you’re in town, but also are free to work from home when you need to stay in Nashville. When you’re here, you’ll clog your arteries with patty melts, and we’ll continue to take over Middle Tennessee one house and building at a time!”

“Sounds like a plan,” I say.

“Fantastic.” Simon stands up. No—he jumps up. Because he has more energy than he knows what to do with. I told you: golden retriever on crack. “Want to go next door and see your office?”

“Would love to.”

Charlie pours me a to-go cup of coffee and we take the thirty steps we need to go next door.

“Welcome to Magnolia Properties,” Simon says as he switches on the light. “Front desk here. Your office is in that corner and mine is across the way. Glass walls so we can see each other all day. ”

“Please don’t make inappropriate gestures while I’m working.”

Simon dramatically gasps. “I would never.”

I narrow my eyes. “Yes, you would. It’ll be freshman year business management all over again.”

“Hey, we both got A’s in that class.” Simon points to rooms to the side. “I set up two small meeting rooms, so that way if we need to bring clients in we have some private space. Plus, there’s a lounge area in the back that will also serve as the space my daughter sleeps in when I have to bring her to the office.”

“Smart.”

“Why, thank you. I know it’s not a big-time firm like you were at in Nashville, but it’ll do the trick.”

I give his back a pat. “It more than does the trick. It’s perfect for us.”

I take one more look around and can’t help but feel excited. He’s right, it might not be big and lavish like my old firm. But the look and design feels as high-end as it comes. Glass walls for the offices and meeting rooms. Expensive desks. Hardwood floors. Modern and sleek lighting fixtures. He spared no expense. “I’m guessing you called in Maeve to decorate?”

“Was my first phone call,” he says. “What’s the good of having an interior decorator sister if you aren’t going to use her for her services?”

Simon chose to use the word “use,” but it’s not what he meant. Most people would use family members for free services, especially if they are as sought after in their field as Maeve is. But not Simon. If I had to guess, he paid double her normal rate because that’s the kind of guy he is. He might talk a big game, but at the end of the day, he’s one of the best men I know.

“This is great,” I say. “Did you hire anyone for the front desk yet?”

At that moment the front door swings open and I’m frozen. I feel the color leaving my face and my stomach dropping to the floor .

“Stella?”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Simon says as he walks over to where Stella is standing at the doorway, holding a cardboard box. “I’m bringing Stella on to help us get going.”

Excuse me…what did he say?

“You’re what?”

I try to keep the shock and panic out of my voice, but I don’t think I did.

“It actually worked out perfectly,” Simon says, not realizing that Stella and I haven’t taken our eyes off each other since she walked in the door. “She had to leave her job at the law firm. It was best for everyone involved. So she needed a job. I had a job to give her. What better way to get this place up and running than with a woman who has run the office of one of the best law firms in Nashville?”

Neither of us say anything. Neither of us move. I figured I’d see Stella again at some point. Birthday parties for Lainey. Random get-togethers. Maybe she’d swing through Rolling Hills at some point while I was here.

But never in a million years did I expect to see her so soon.

Or looking so beautiful.

Or in the same room as her brother.

“What’s the problem?” Simon asks as the silence becomes deafeningly noticeable.

I let out a cough before speaking. “No problem. Just…surprised.”

“Yeah! Surprised!” Stella says a little too enthusiastically.

“Good,” Simon says. “I was nervous for a moment. The staring was weird. Almost like you were seeing a ghost. Or even more ridiculous, that you saw each other naked.”

Oh Simon…if you only knew.