Broken Beginnings: A High Heat Small Town Romance Suspense (Citrus Cove Book 1)

“YOU THINK I can just be bought, Harlow?”

Haley slammed the gift bag down on the counter in front of me, crossing her arms. I regarded her over the top of my laptop, trying to focus on the situation and not how damn gorgeous she looked. Morning light poured into the winery, catching the ends of her curls and turning them golden.

“Good morning to you,” I mused.

“Seriously. What the fuck is this?”

“I ruined your dress.” And was determined to do whatever I fucking could to replace it. I’d buy her ten thousand dresses if it would take that hostile look out of her eye.

She let out a frustrated noise. “And? I can buy my own dress. I’m not a teenager anymore. Besides, the cider came out in the wash.”

I shrugged, trying to ignore the way my heart pounded a little faster. My stomach twisted, but I kept my poker face of steel. “Consider it a gift. No big deal.”

“It’s an expensive gift.”

“And?”

“I don’t need it.”

“Then donate it, Haley.”

“You can return it and get your money back,” she said, tapping her foot on the concrete floor.

“I threw the receipt away,” I responded, giving her an innocent smile. Well, as innocent as it could possibly be. Her expression told me I wasn’t fooling her.

“And what if they don’t fit?”

I raised a brow now. “Have you tried them on yet? I have a good eye.” Giving gifts and being prepared for anything were two of my love languages.

Not that I was in love with her.

Her gaze narrowed, her lips pressing together. My gaze fell on them, on how soft they looked.

“They’ll fit,” she finally said.

We both stayed silent, simply staring at each other. I shifted in my seat. It seemed that everything I’d felt the other night when I saw her was real, despite my attempts at convincing myself otherwise. Heat crawled up my spine, the kind that made me feel like I was baking on a blacktop in the July sun. It spread through my body, and I swallowed hard.

Was I blushing?

Fuck.

This woman was making me blush.

Her brows furrowed. She finally spoke, ending our standoff. “What is this? What are you doing? And how come you just showed up on my grandma’s front porch like that? I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s not going to work. You can’t buy your way to my good side. Not after everything that happened.”

I snorted now, pushing my laptop aside. “I’ve been showing up on her doorstep for years, Haley. That’s what we do around here. I try to help everyone I can, in fact.” I drummed my fingers on the counter. She was already getting under my skin again.  “What do I have to do to prove that I’m not evil? And that we might even be good friends?”

She let out a laugh, a low, sultry one that went straight to my cock. “Stop harassing me,” she said. “Stop being…”

“Being what?”

“Annoying. Rude. Mean. An asshole. A fucking small town stupid bastard that I want nothing to do with.”

Ouch. “I’m trying to make it up to you,” I said, my jaw stiffening. “And I’m asking—what do you need from me? Because right now, you’re the only person I’d like to hire to help out around here because I’m drowning. Slowly and painfully.”

“Good,” she sniffed. But her eyes flickered with something else. “I don’t actually need a job.”

“I know that. I’ve heard about how well you’ve done. You’ve made a name for yourself.”

“I have a job in Baltimore. One that pays me a lot of money. One that let me buy a Corvette my first year,” she continued. “I won’t even be here for very long. Maybe just the summer.”

I fought off a smile. I was proud of her, but I was sure if I expressed that, it would piss her off. So I just kept my words simple. “Cool.”

“It would be temporary. But…”

I raised my brows again. There was a “but”.

Everything before “but” was bullshit, right? Did that mean I had a chance?

“I’d like to be out of the house more. And I’ve worked in bars before. It’s not hard. I could do it easily.”

“Okay,” I said, doing my best to play it cool.

Haley Bently was going to work for me. Which meant that she’d be around me more. Which meant I might get to show her the real me and make up for every time I’d ever hurt her.

“I’d only do three days a week. I’m still going to write while I’m gone from Baltimore.”

“So you’ll be here all summer?” I asked, curious.

In fact, I was curious about a lot of things and had gotten almost no answers. She’d blocked me on social media, and then when she left Citrus Cove, she’d cut the entire town from her life. I’d thought about making another account to follow her, but that felt like crossing boundaries.

I did, however, sometimes read her travel articles. I had a list of places I wanted to visit one day because of her. Not that I would bring that up now, or admit that I knew what she did for work. Or how good she was at it.

She shrugged and surprised me by taking a seat opposite, sliding into the barstool. “Maybe. Maybe not. None of your business.”

All I could think about was that I was sitting with her.

“So, you’re a writer?” I choked out, reaching for my sweet tea. The glass was sweating from the heat, just like me.

Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, I write for a travel magazine. I also freelance for websites and such. Most of what I write is about destinations and hot spots I’ve visited. Good restaurants, how to get deals, and all of that.”

“That’s really cool.”

“I love it,” she sighed, relaxing just the slightest. “It’s taken me all over the world. I’ve seen things I always only dreamed of. And I love it when I find the right vacation for a couple, family, or even an individual. It opens their eyes to what’s out there. New cultures, new people, new cities.”

I could see that she loved it. Her smile reached her eyes, lighting up the whole room. I’d never seen her like this up close, and it was as if all my worries were being chased away.

How do I keep her smiling like that?

“What’s your favorite place you’ve been?” I asked, leaning forward a little.

“Oh, that’s hard. I loved the beaches in Australia. But nothing can compare to this Texas heat, so it’s not like it bothered me. I was driving through the tablelands in Queensland one day and stopped by this roadside restaurant. It was such a hidden gem. That’s my favorite, when I find the small places no one knows about.”

“That sounds wonderful,” I murmured, enchanted.

She nodded and then frowned, as if realizing she was sitting with me. Her back went straight, her shoulders stiffening. “I should get going. I’m seeing the boys tonight.”

“Sarah’s?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together. She was observant and noticed my change.

“What is it?” she asked. “My grandma had that same damn look.”

“I can’t get involved,” I said. Because David Connor had tried to get a restraining order on me multiple times over the last few years. He was permanently banned from all the bars in Citrus Cove and knew if he stepped foot on my property, I’d probably shoot him. And if Colt was around? He was a dead man.

But I didn’t tell her any of that. It wasn’t my place to, and while I no longer really knew Sarah, I worried about her. I worried about Jake and little David. They were young and helpless, and it ate me up that their father was such a bad person.

She rolled her eyes, blowing out a breath. “Fine. Thanks for nothing.”

“Wait, so do you want the job?”

She slid off the stool and grabbed the bag with the dresses. “Yeah. Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays. Five to close.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, amused.

“Thirty an hour plus tips.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “That’s a lot.”

“I’ll throw an article out there for your business and I’ll unblock you on Instagram,” she said, smirking. “See you Wednesday.”

With that, she left me sitting there.

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Sammy had been right though. The truce gift worked.

I spent three hours in that damn store yesterday. Finding the right color of dress, the right size, second-guessing myself. Letting myself sink into the fantasy that I was buying gifts for my future wife.

It was fucked-up, maybe. But something about her stirred me up. I’d dropped $1,500 on two dresses without blinking. It hadn’t been about the money though; it had been about finding the right dresses. All because I wanted her to know I was sorry. It still didn’t feel like enough.

But maybe I was one step closer to proving to Haley that I wasn’t the asshole she thought I was. And I couldn’t complain about her working here, not when that meant I got to be around her more.

I picked up my phone and called Sammy, humming to myself.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Want to trade shifts? I’ll work Wednesday if you work Saturday.”

“Sure, I guess. Why?”

“Training the new hire.”

He snorted. I narrowed my eyes.

“I just have one question for you, Cam.”

“What?” I gritted out.

“Should I consider her a no go? As in no flirting, no asking out, no taking to bed⁠—”

I hung up on him, fuming. What kind of question was that?

I shoved off my stool and grabbed my drink, snapping my laptop closed. I needed to take a walk. Maybe through the orchard. I could go check on the trees and grapes and… anything that would distract me from thinking about her.

I fished out my keys from my back pocket and made my way out to my truck, locking up the barn behind me.

Within a few minutes, I was pulling up to my parents’ house. I grabbed my baseball cap and fit it over my dark hair, studying myself in the rearview mirror.

I was slowly going crazy. It felt that way anyways. I shouldn’t have been feeling this possessive of Haley. She hated me. I’d bullied her for years when we were growing up and made her life a living hell. But damn it, I didn’t want someone else to take her out.

I wanted to take her out. I wanted to take her to dinner, to find out what she liked and disliked. It was the same obsession I’d had when I was younger, except now I was grown and not a complete dumbass.

Fuck, if only I could go back.

It was a shot in hell that I’d ever hear her say yes to a date, but I was going to try.

I slammed my truck door and stretched for a moment before going to the house. I hoped they were enjoying Tampa, but I was never going to agree to housesit again if Hunter was out of town too.

Plus, it felt strange when they weren’t home. The pale white wood gleamed in sunlight, the front porch decorated with all sorts of plants. Honeysuckle climbed up the lattice on the side of the house, the familiarity calming me.

Our house had been here for what felt like forever. The foundation was as rooted as the trees that grew in the orchard, the farm a heart that gave our family its lifeblood. I was proud to call it home, proud of the memories that I had here.

And for once, even though I missed my parents being in town and Hunter too, I was happy for the silence.

I went up the steps and unlocked the front door, greeted by their black Lab, Benny. Part of the reason I was splitting my time between here and the taproom was because of him. At eleven years old, he was getting up there in age. At least Colt was able to help out some too.

“Come on, boy,” I said. “Going for a walk.”

He scampered out behind me as we went back down, his nose on the ground as we rounded the house and went down the path that led through my mother’s garden. She’d always had a green thumb, able to grow almost anything.

I pushed out the small gate and started into the orchard, letting out a breath. One that I felt like I’d been holding since Haley left.

Fuck.

I had to win her over. I had to keep trying. I’d taken a step forward today with her, and now I just had to make sure I didn’t trip and fall.