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My cell vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out, smiling when her name pops up on the screen. “Hello, gorgeous.”
“Hey, handsome. Where’s the fire?”
“Fire?” I chuckle while getting into the elevator. With my back to the others already in, I look out over the lobby and freeze. Tori stands off to the side, her grin growing when our gazes meet. I push out of the elevator and jog to her. Scooping her up into my arms, I hold her, the world around me no longer existing.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you. What are you doing here?”
I set her on her feet.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You definitely did that. Come on, let’s go put your bag away. I have a cab on the way?—”
“We need to talk about a few things,” she rushes out. I stop, my brows pulling together.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” she sighs, “It’s nothing bad, I’m just…Matthew is not behaving well for his grandparents. He’s missing me and throwing tantrums. Will you fly up with me tomorrow to Sacramento? I want everyone to officially meet you, and then we can figure out what is next. Christopher and Jeni, Barney’s parents, say everything is settled with their house, and they can all come to North Carolina in a few days. They’ve hired a moving company to drive their things down. They’ll be coming in the motorhome with their dog, Boots.”
I hug her and nod. “Deep breaths, okay. I’ll go with you, anywhere, anytime. We can talk it out over dinner. Come on, let’s go put our things in the room. There’s a steak the size of my head waiting on me.”
She chuckles and takes my hand. The trip up to my suite is quiet. I feel at ease for the first time in days. She does that for me.
The ride to the restaurant gives me time to just watch her as she takes in the surroundings. Her long brown hair is full of curls that blow in the breeze from the cracked windows. The heat—I should say warmth—of the night is nice.
When the cab stops outside the restaurant, I get out, slipping the driver a tip, then lead her inside. The hotel’s concierge had done us a solid and called in a reservation. With it being a Thursday night, he wanted to make sure we had a good table.
We are seated at a table in a quiet nook in the corner. The waitress, a young twenty-something, is quick to get us menus and drinks. I take a sip of my whiskey, still watching Tori.
Once we order, I reach over and take her hand. “I’m glad you’re here. I know it isn’t for just me, but after the last few days—I was going mad here alone.”
“I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for you being here already, I would have put them off a few more weeks. I love my son, I miss him dearly, but I wanted the work on the house to be finished when they came. It should be okay though. From what Mack told me this morning, they only have a few little touches to be done before it’s ready for that final inspection.”
“Yes, the main house shouldn’t have any inspection problems. I hire the best for a reason. They don’t take shortcuts. The second they pull that, they’re done working for me. Once that’s completed, we can work on the cabin, once the snow clears out more. It’s a muddy mess back in there.”
“Matthew will love it there. I want to take him to some of the places where I spent time as a kid. He loves fishing, so that will be a big win.”
“Does he know about the pond on the back of the property?”
“No. I’m keeping that nugget to myself. Along with the horses.”
I raise a brow, and her cheeks flush red. “Oh, you missed that. Mr. Jorgenson has two trail horses, George Jones and Tammy Wynette…” she trails off, laughing softly.
I shake my head and can’t help it, I chuckle. “I’ve heard some interesting names before, but those are great.”
“You’ll learn, city boy, small towns are full of surprises.”
I chuckle again, loving that she’s here. I can’t wait to experience what comes next for us.
Chapter 9
Victoria
The last six months, since Michael joined me in North Carolina, have gone great. I’ve truly never been happier.
The initial meeting between him and Ian went well; though it was a little awkward for me to explain to my son that I was dating someone. And what that meant.
Come to find out, I shouldn’t have been so worried. I’ll never forget his heartfelt words as he held my hand, while looking me in the eyes. “Mommy, Granny always says you deserve to be happy. I like it when you’re happy. Now we can all be happy together.”
