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“Hmm, don’t jinx me yet. I’m just getting on my feet, you’ve been there for a while.”
He ignores my point. “That pool would look incredible with some blue and white tiles, very old Hollywood or European vibes.”
I study the murky pit in the ground and watch it come to life with my imagination. “Yeah, it really would.”
Warren turns to me. “I’m buying it. And I want you to run it.”
We’re silent for a few minutes, both of us just surveying the decrepit grounds and inn, and I know I’m personally imagining everything it could be.
“So what, I’m your nepo baby now?” I half-joke.
He shrugs. “The difference between you and those kids is that you trudged through shit to get here. You never had it easy. Why not take the ‘easy’ way out for once and let your relative hand you something?”
God, I want this place so badly I can taste it. Adding it to the Ashton portfolio makes sense; a small-town family revitalizing an old gem with enough space to put in a sister restaurant to Hope Pizza. Plus, Warren has more than enough money to buy and gut the place, then build it from the ground up exactly how he wants.
This is the dream hospitality job. It’s a beautiful property in a desirable area, and he’s giving me free rein to mold it into my fantasy. But he’s right, this is too easy. It feels like there should be a catch.
“But what if I don’t want to stay? What if I should venture out into the world, cut my teeth a little? I have those other offers.” Because since when has it not been required of me to pay my dues and pay them handsomely.
His expression grows concerned.
“Don’t leave Hope Crest, Auggy. You were meant to be here, even if you hated it for so long. Believe me, I dealt with those same feelings. But there is something that keeps drawing you back, and there is a reason you haven’t left yet. There is a reason you haven’t taken those other job offers, even when you had the debts and could just work from a different city to pay them off. Think of all you have here; the people you love, a fresh start, this town that you’d cherish if could look past the bad that’s done and over with. Stay here.”
Between him and Evan, they’re making my heart equally break and heal. I’ve never felt so wanted, and obviously not in a lustful way. I’ve never felt like I truly belonged anywhere, and here are two people I genuinely care for making heartfelt pleas for me not to go.
“I’m also going to let you pay me for it, if you want. You want to financially contribute to your future? You want to pay me back? Designate a portion of your salary each month to owning a part of the inn. We can set up a payment plan and percentages for you to one day own this place outright. Not that I won’t give you full creative and managerial control from the start, but I know you. You want to have something all on your own, without help, if it’s possible. With this payment plan, you can earn it fair and square.”
Warren is trying to sweeten the pot while I remain silent, but I can tell he put thought into that plan. He wanted to pitch this to me in the best way possible, and damn him, it’s working so well.
“You’d give me full control over the construction and redesign?” I’d never done any of that, but hell, if it wasn’t exciting to think about.
He nods. “You call the shots.”
“You know you’re driving a very hard bargain, right?”
“I couldn’t let you leave without a fight. Manipulation seemed like the right way to go.” He shrugs. “Say yes, you know you want to.”
I really, really do. “What happens if you buy it and I don’t stay?”
“Someone else will come along to do the job, even though it’s yours for the taking. I’m buying it either way, but it’s you who I want at the helm.”
That makes me feel a bit better that he’s not just scooping this up to give me a pet project.
“I want to say yes, I do. But … I need some time. I haven’t gotten a minute to just sit with my thoughts and hash out some plans since I got home. I’ve been in attack mode until now. You understand, right?”
He loops an arm around my shoulder. “I get it. You take all the time you need. But know that we need you here. Not just Evan or me, but all of us.”
I need all of them. I need this place. Taking the time is the responsible thing to do, but I know that at the end of the process, I’ll choose to stay.
31
EVAN
The rest of the summer goes by at what feels like hyper speed.
Hope Pizza is packed to the gills most days and nights with tourists and townspeople alike. Every moment in between my time in the kitchen is spent with August, whether it’s just in our house alone, on dates, or attending many of the summer festivals or events in town.
While she’s still trying to figure out her next move and working her ass off at Lily in the meantime, we’re more committed than ever to one another. We may have started as roommates, but now we’re a couple living together. One of us moving out made no sense, considering we function quite well as a romantic pair inside and outside of our home. Some might say moving in this quickly is not a wise step, but we technically didn’t. We were already there, everything else just came after.
