Page 79 of Untamed Heart
‘I’ll think about it,’ I said, shrugging. ‘All day.’
He laughed, finishing the buttons and brushing my chin with his fingers before striding to the door and moving the chest of drawers back over, then checking the hallway was clear.
‘Not as much as I will,’ he replied, disappearing, closing the door softly behind him.
The day passed in a haze of nervous tension. As Jesse, Bailey and Cole entertained the guests with a roping contest, Lil and I set up at the cookout area. It was down by the small lake, towering fir trees giving way to a clearing and a thin strip of pebbled beach. A covered deck was strung with fairy lights, a couple of rocking chairs, a hammock and a long outdoor sofa right opposite a giant fire pit.
An industrial-sized grill and stone-built pizza oven were positioned on the other side, put into place on the last visit my parents and I had made out here together.
‘Seems to be going well, I think,’ Lil said, breaking the silence. I’d been so deep in thought at how to handle the situation with Kyle, as well as fighting back replayed passion from the night before, I’d barely said a word all morning. ‘They’re having a good time. Leo said he’d love to come back for real, bring his girlfriend and her family in the fall.’
‘That’s great,’ I replied, suddenly wondering if he still would, given what was about to go down.
‘So . . . umm . . . what’s the deal with you, Cole, Kyle . . . I don’t want to push you, honey, but you’ve hardly said a word. You need me to do anything?’
I paused, not knowing how much to tell. But her open face, the genuine concern in her eyes made the decision for me.
‘I want to get today out of the way, to have them all leave with the best content and get things on track for you. But after that . . . Lil, if you’ll have me, I’d like to stay, help you run things here.’
Her mouth popped open and she put down the burger buns in her hands.
‘For real? You wanna stay here?’
I laughed at her surprise. ‘If that’s okay? I’ll pay my way, I’ll help you make it work – get another job in town if the payroll can’t stretch to include me.’
‘Oh honey, I’d love that,’ she said, moving over in a rush to grab me into a hug. ‘We’ll find a way. I know it’s been a bit up and down, but it’d be so . . . empty without you.’ She stood back, frowning. ‘But what about Kyle? The job in London?’
I shrugged.
‘They can’t compete,’ I started, trying to choose my words carefully, then giving up. ‘Because I’m in love with Cole and there’s no way I can live without him.’
Eyes bulging, Lil gave an ear-splitting squeal and squeezed me so hard I stopped breathing.
‘Holy cow, Lottie! When did you—’
‘I haven’t told him yet, not in so many words,’ I said, fighting back a smile, thinking of all the action that’d said it instead.
‘And Kyle’s coming over for the cookout?’ she asked, finally gathering herself to give me a last squeeze and carry on with getting the food ready.
‘Yeah . . . that’s the last test. If we can survive that, we can survive anything.’
My own words were ringing in my ears a few hours later, when we finally lit the grill and everyone descended. Ashley and Kendra decided to get some footage by the lake, posing with their wine glasses as I topped them up.
‘Hey, Lottie?’ Ashley said, moving her phone around for the best light. ‘Can I ask you something?’
I glanced back at Kyle. He’d arrived not long ago, hungover and sulking, insinuating that we should get out of there, go somewhere nice and ‘get to know each other again’. My stomach churned at the thought of it.
‘Sure, shoot.’ I smiled, wishing I could drain the rest of the bottle right here and now.
‘I hope it’s okay, but I kinda showed one of my friends some of the content – don’t worry, she won’t share anything yet, I just knew she’d be crazy about this place. She makes travel content too, but more on weddings and girls’ weekends, that kind of thing.’ She leant over, pulling up her friend’s channel, scrolling through a couple of videos. I held my breath, realizing it was one of the influencers I’d wanted to invite over, but with a following of over 5 million and fees to match, I hadn’t even bothered reaching out. ‘She wondered if you were up for offering a free stay for a few of her followers, running it as a competition on her channel. I think she’d visit too, just for herself, to check it out – no fees.’
I blinked, trying to play it cool but unable to stop the grin spreading across my face.
‘Umm, yeah, I’m sure we can do that.’ I smiled at her and looked back for Lil, wanting to include her in the conversation. ‘That’s amazing, thanks for sharing with her.’
Ashley waved it away, glancing at Jesse.
‘Oh no, you’re welcome. It’s been the best weekend, right, Kendra? You guys are awesome and this place is like a little slice of heaven.’
