Page 152 of Good For Me

I think about my conversation with River’s grandpa. Him telling me that all he wants for his grandkids is to be safe and happy. His assurance that if my grandfather was here, he’d say the same thing.

“No,” I say, before I can talk myself out of it. “I don’t give a shit about an MBA. I don’t want to work in some office for the rest of my life.”

It almost feels scary, admitting it. But it also lessens a weight on my chest that I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.

“Then let’s not do that,” he says fiercely. “Let’s figure out a way to be happyandtake care of each other. Let that be the example we show our kid.”

I look over my shoulder to see his face. “I take it you have some idea of how we can do that?”

“I talked to your uncle this week. About him selling this place. What kind of asking price he’s considering.” He takes a deep breath. “What kind of work would go into making it whole again.”

“River…”

“He asked me if I wanted to buy it.”

Now I turn in his arms so I can look at him fully. “Are you kidding?”

He shakes his head. “I told him I was looking into business opportunities. I have experience working in a bar. My grandma could help me figure out what the hell I’m doing as far as running one.” He shrugs. “Maybe it’s not the craziest idea.”

I gape at him, completely shocked. “Is that…are you in a position to buy something like this?” I’ve been doing the books for my uncle for years. I know better than anyone what property in this neighborhood is worth.

River looks a little sheepish. “I should be able to use my trust fund as collateral to get a loan. Or maybe Dad could arrange it so I can access the full trust early. I’m not sure. But either way—I have this money, Jas. I’m so fucking lucky to have this money. I want to make it count. I want to do something with it that will last, that will matter to me.”

That’s exactly how I felt about the money my grandpa left me. I thought the only way to really make it count was to spend it on school. But now I’m wondering if I had it all wrong.

“I think you should do it,” I say immediately, the words sounding right. “I think that would be a great career for you.”

He grins. “Not just for me. For us.”

“Us?”

He rolls his eyes. “Obviously we’d be doing this together.”

“River.” My instinct is to tell him it’s too much of a risk. Going into business together when we’ve only been dating for a month sounds insane. What if we don’t work out? What if this doesn’t last?

Looking into his eyes, I can tell he’s anticipating those very arguments. But he looks certain. Completely confident about this crazy plan.

“We could use the money from my grandfather,” I hear myself say. God, am I actually considering this? “Add that to whatever you take from your trust. Then we could be equal partners.”

River grins. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He lifts me from his lap than stands. “We have one more stop.”

I blink at him, confused. “You don’t want to talk about this some more?” Already my brain is spinning with ideas, questions, things we’d need to hash out. But River just repeats his earlier question. “You trust me?”

“Of course.”

So I follow him back to the Jeep and somehow manage to hold my tongue as he turns west, heading back in the direction of the house. After ten minutes or so, he stops in front of a non-descript warehouse. I raise an eyebrow at him and he smirks. “It’s killing you not to ask questions, isn’t it?”

“I’m not a huge fan of surprises.”

He laughs. “I never would have guessed.”

This time he doesn’t pull me out of the Jeep. Instead, he just nods up at the building. “This is for sale.”

I study the industrial grey walls, trying to figure out what this place has to do with us. “Okay?”

“It’s pretty massive inside,” he goes on. “Tons of square footage. And there’s a loading bay on the other side of the building, so there’s plenty of outside room, too.”

“River,” I warn, curiosity and impatience darkening my tone.