“What are you talking about?”
She squared her shoulders and faced me. “He said he wanted to keep in touch with you. I didn’t want you to get hurt by another jerk, so I told him you needed someone who would be willing to stay. Not someone who had a life on the road.”
“He’s got a kid, Abby. I don’t know that I’m ready to take on an instant family.” Sure I wanted to have kids someday. And maybe someday not in the too distant future. But now? When the bakery was just getting going? “We don’t even live in the same state.”
Abby’s shoulders slumped. “But what if he’s the one—”
“What if he’s not?” My chest ached like someone had reached in and scooped out my heart. “It would be ridiculous to think that I could fall for someone that fast. We connected and had a great time together, but he’s so out of my league.”
Abby rested her hand on mine. “Cut it out, Britt. You constantly talk down about yourself. He’d have to be crazy to not see what everyone else sees when they look at you.”
“And what’s that?” I shook my head. “Someone who lets men walk all over her, who can’t say no to anyone, who—”
“Someone who’s brave enough to take charge and change her situation, even when she’s scared. Someone who provides support to the people she loves, no matter what it takes. That’s the kind of person you are.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even have his number.”
“Lucky for you, I’ve been sexting with Spike. If I can get ahold of him, will you go after him?”
“You know I can’t do that. I’ve got to come in tonight to get stuff ready for tomorrow, and—”
“If only you had a business partner who could handle that.” Abby took the rag from my hand and tossed it in the sink. “Take off that apron and get ready to go.”
“But...”
Abby held her phone out to me. “They’re in Nashville. I’m booking you on a flight, and Spike will pick you up at the airport. Are you in?”
“This is crazy, it’s nuts, it’s...” The thought of seeing Shane again made my chest heat. Warmth radiated out, spreading through my limbs until my entire body vibrated with anticipation. “I’m in.”
“Come on. Let’s get you home so you can pack a bag. Your flight leaves in three hours.”
* * *
Shane
I’d been homefor a couple of weeks, and Liam and I had settled back into a routine. But instead of feeling the relief I usually did about our time on the road being over, I felt empty. Like I’d left a piece of me back in Silver Creek. It was hard to believe such a brief interaction with someone would make such an impression. I’d been around the world... multiple times... met celebrities, fans, and more. No one had ever had the kind of effect on me that the curvy baker in Silver Creek had.
And I’d walked away.
I hadn’t had a choice. Being a dad meant I’d do what I needed to do to take care of my son. It wasn’t likely that I’d find myself back in Texas in the near future, but at least Britt had shown me I was capable of feeling something. I thought maybe my heart didn’t work the way it was supposed to since no one had ever made me feel the way she did.
“Big plans this weekend?” Spike had conned me into helping him pick up some new equipment this evening while Liam helped our neighbor bake cookies.
“Nah. I need to work on some material before we go back into the studio again, but it’s not really flowing. Other than that, I’ll probably take Liam over to my foster brother’s place to meet my new nephew.”
“That’s right. How many kids does that make? Five? Six?”
I chuckled. “Three.”
Spike dragged his palm across the scruff on his cheeks. “Damn, seems like so many more.”
“He’d have a dozen if his wife agreed.” A lot of my foster brothers wanted big families. I did too, although the older I got it seemed like the further I got from realizing that kind of a dream. My thoughts drifted back to Britt again.
“That babe you hooked up with on the road, is she the dozen kids kind of type?”
“Maybe. But what the hell does that have to do with anything?” I looked up, expecting to see Spike’s toothy grin. Instead, he looked serious.
He ran his thumb under his lip. “Do you want to find out?”