Love Next Door (Lakeside #1) by Helena Hunting

“Yeah. Everyone’s out on a job. Why? What’s wrong? Did something happen? Please tell me the bond notes weren’t fake.”

He gives his head a quick shake. “They weren’t fake. And something happened.”

“Something bad or good?”

“The CEO of my old company called.”

“Okay.” I can’t read his expression, which makes me nervous.

“They offered me my old job back.”

I lean back in my chair, and it rolls a couple of feet away from my desk. “Oh. Wow. And how do you feel about that?”

“Good. I think I feel good about it. They offered me a promotion, a change to a new department where I’ll get to work on restoration projects. They even offered me a raise, and an apology.”

“Are you going to take it? Do you want to?” Are you leaving me? is the question I don’t ask.

He drops into the chair on the other side of the desk and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. At first I was like ‘Fuck no,’ because I was fired for no valid reason, but they’ve offered me my dream job. And I know I don’t technically have to work any kind of job if I don’t want to, thanks to Grammy Bee, but retirement seems like something I should think about twenty years from now.”

I smile. “Well, that makes sense. I can see retirement before thirty being premature.”

He runs his hands down his thighs. “They offered to double my salary. And I’ll be able to keep an eye on Teagan and my dad. It seems like a smart move?” It comes out more question than statement.

I don’t want to rain on his parade, or his good news, or make this about me. If I were in his position and my former company offered me my job back at double the salary, and an opportunity to be closer to my family again, I’d probably be inclined to take it. Van is close with his sister, and since all the crap that’s gone down with his brother, Van and his dad have gotten a lot closer. While there are still limits to that relationship, I would never want to stand in the way of his rebuilding a connection that’s long been broken. “When would you start?”

He drums his fingers on the arm of the chair. “In a couple of weeks.”

“So you’ll be moving back to the city?” Just saying it out loud makes my stomach twist uncomfortably. From the moment Van moved into Bee’s cottage, I knew it was temporary, that eventually he would go back to the city, because that’s where all the great architecture jobs are. But I didn’t expect the news to hurt as much as it does. And that’s just the idea of it, not his actually moving.

“Come with me,” he says. “I know maybe you can’t do that right away because of your dad and working for his company, but once things are under control here, you can move back to the city with me. I’m sure I can pull some strings and get you an interview at my company. You’d be a fantastic fit. You’re already staying with me most of the time now, so moving in together wouldn’t even be much of a transition. And we could work in different departments so we’re not in the same space, if you don’t want to make it weird or anything.”

His excitement makes me giddy, and my immediate gut reaction is to say yes, because I don’t want to lose this man. Over the past few months, I’ve fallen undeniably, hopelessly in love with him. As much as I want to be with him, I worry that following him back to the city will be trading one kind of happiness for another.

“I love you,” I say gently.

“I love you too.” He swallows thickly, his smile uncertain.

“I came back to Pearl Lake because I felt an obligation to help my family.” I look around the office, at the space I’ve made my own over the past several months.

“I know. And you’ve been amazing. Footprint Renovations has never done better.”

I nod, although I’m not the reason for the success; I’m just part of the package. “Now that I’ve had a chance to spend some time here and rebuild all the relationships I let languish when I moved to the city, I’ve realized that it wasn’t the town that was the problem. It was me and the situation I put myself in. I wanted out because I didn’t know how to fix the mess I’d made, and now things are different. I’m different.”

“You don’t want to leave anymore.” His voice is laced with sadness and understanding.

I shake my head. “I understand that you need to do what’s best for you, and if that’s taking your old job back, then that’s what you should do. I want to be with you, Van. I love what we have, but this is my home. My heart is yours, but it belongs here.”





CHAPTER 29

I MISS YOU ALREADY

Dillion

The first month is a rough transition. Midweek visits are basically impossible as Van dives headfirst into his new job.

I end up going to Chicago for the first weekend instead of him coming home to Pearl Lake, but it wasn’t at all what we expected. He worked most of the weekend, leaving me to entertain myself and solidifying my resolve that I’m done with living in the city. But I’m determined to make our relationship work, because I love him more than I thought possible.

Tawny and Allie turn Wednesdays into a girls’ night to break up the week. We hang out like old times, and I tell them all about the hockey players on the other side of the lake while they share the town gossip. I find out that Tucker and Sue finally broke things off, only after a paternity test proved that the baby wasn’t his. Sue ended up moving to the next town over, incidentally where Sterling happens to live. As bad as I feel for Tucker, he made his bed, and now he has to lie in it.