Since Payne pointed out that Jaciel is supposed to be with Tombra, this book has been flying out of me. It’s like the whole plot exploded in front of my eyes, and suddenly those snippets I was writing make sense. Klein is the ultimate betrayer, and somehow, I set the entire thing up without even realizing I was doing it.
High fives to my erratic brain.
I’ve been pulling all-nighters, and Payne’s been working all day, but somehow we’ve found our way into each other’s beds a few times this week, and every time it happens, I have no idea what I’ve done to get so lucky, but I swear the second I figure it out, it’ll become part of my daily ritual.
We might not have planned anything more than what we are, but whenever we’re together, he holds me like I’m precious, like he’s in awe of me, and seeing Payne look at me that way, makes me fall deeper and deeper in love.
Emotionally, we’re still in limbo, but hooking up is better than nothing, and Payne made it clear he wants to at least continue that side of things once he finds his own place, so I’m being Helpy McHelperson and trying to make that happen for him.
Even while I desperately pray that him moving out won’t be the end of … whatever this is. I need to trust him, and I’m trying so hard to focus on the fact that if this is meant to be, it’ll be.
I set three different alarms today, but I’m still ten minutes late getting to the Killer Brew, and I cross my fingers Trent hasn’t left already.
Thankfully when I walk in, I find him sitting in one of the booths, basket of wings in front of him and half-finished mug of beer beside it.
“Sorry I’m late,” I quickly say.
Trent waves me off. “Ten minutes is nothing to worry about. I was enjoying the music.”
I nod, though I can barely hear it over the sounds of the market on the other side of the old warehouse.
“So, you wanted to talk about the land?” he asks.
“Yeah, it’s for Payne actually, but he got held up at work. We’re both proving our reliability already.”
Trent lists his head. “Reliability for what?”
I know Payne wanted to be here for the conversation, but Ford couldn’t let him out early today, so he told me to go ahead. It sucks he couldn’t do it himself like he wanted, but I’m excited that he trusts me with this, and I’m determined to prove he was smart to.
“We’ve had an idea for the land you’re selling.”
“Really?” Trent leans forward, small smile almost hidden behind his beard. “What’s that, then?”
I fill him in on the plan Payne came up with, along with some of the logistical things we’ve worked through. Payne’s drawn up numbers and a list of the planning permissions needed to create his vision, and I’m excited to be able to help him with it all.
“That’s interesting,” Trent says. “We want the land to be used, and that sounds as good a use as any.”
“Yeah, Payne’s been working really hard on it.”
“So why are you bringing this to me?”
I cringe. “That’s the tricky part. Without knowing the exact price you’re selling the land for, Payne’s confident he doesn’t have enough, and no bank is going to lend him the kind of money he needs to put into the place without some collateral.”
“Okay …”
It suddenly hits me what his wary tone is about. “Oh, no. No, no. We don’t want it cheap. We—”
“Sorry!”
I glance up at Payne’s voice and find him crossing the brewery toward us. His Ford’s Garage polo clings to his chest, giving a peek of his tattoos under where the buttons are undone.
“I got caught at work.” He holds out his hand and shakes Trent’s. “Did Beau fill you in?”
“He’s given me a rundown of your plans so far.”
“Awesome.” Payne shoots a smile my way as he slides into the seat beside me, and I’m caught, totally off guard, when he presses a kiss to my cheek. “In that case, I’ll cut to the chase. Money is my number one barrier. How much are you selling the land for?”
“One point two.”
Yikes. Slightly more than we were expecting.
Payne looks as relaxed as always. “I have a third of that.”
Trent looks between us. “So what’s your request? Because four hundred isn’t going to cut it.”
“No, I know. So obviously my biggest barrier is funding. What I’m hoping we can talk about is me leasing the place for twelve months while we get everything set up. In the meanwhile, Beau is going to be applying for small-business grants and funding for the type of place I want, and I’ll be organizing the build. We’ll start small with the accommodation, permissions, and licensing and begin some of the setup for the smaller activities. Once that’s in place, I’m confident I’ll be loaned the remaining amount.”
Trent rubs his beard. “What rental amount are we talking?”
“I was hoping to negotiate that and the sale price. Whatever we pay you, a percentage comes off the final price.”
“And if you don’t get the funding?”
“Then you keep whatever I’ve paid and built, and the place goes back on the market.”
“Interesting …”
There’s no way I’m letting Payne throw away all that money though. “If the bank doesn’t front the money for it, I will. I have it. I’m not using it—”
“Beau.”
“No, like I said the other night my money is literally sitting there doing nothing. I could buy the place outright and save you the stress and headaches, but I’ve agreed to letting you try it your way first. If that doesn’t work, we try it my way.”
Payne’s expression softens. “Since when did you become so stubborn?”
“Since I’m determined to see you succeed.”
He looks like he still wants to argue—or thinks he should, at least. And then, he relents. “Fine. If I fail, we do it your way.”
I turn to Trent. “How does that sound?”
“I’m interested. Very. It means keeping the land together and seeing it used for a good purpose. I’ll have to run it by my parents and our Realtor, but I think they’ll be on board.”
My excitement skyrockets.
Trent finishes up his wings and leaves us to it with a promise to call later in the week. I wait until he’s out of sight before I throw my arms around Payne’s neck.
“Holy shit, I think it’s happening.”
His warm laugh is loud in my ear as his hands settle on my lower back. “Here’s hoping.”
“I’m buying you a drink. Multiple drinks. Let’s have lots and lots of drinks to celebrate.”
His eyes are soft as he pulls back, and it makes my heart feel funny. “It might not happen yet.”
“Of course it will.”
“And if Trent’s parents say no? Or the agent points out it’s not a smart move?”
“Then your plan fails and we move to mine.”
“After twelve months.”
I tilt my head and squint my eyes like I’m trying to remember. “I don’t think that was stipulated.”
“Ah, so you’re stubborn and sneaky?”
I smile innocently, and Payne shakes his head.
“In that case, I guess celebration drinks are in order. I’ll buy.”
“A rusty shank, thanks.”
He leaves and buys the round, then returns with two glasses each. “Couldn’t be bothered getting up again.”
“Fair enough.”
We toast, and I’m fighting fluttery feelings the whole time.
Payne takes a long drink, watching me over the top of his glass. He swallows, sets it down, then clears his throat. “You know, the reason I wanted to do this solo was, well, I’ve never had anything that was mine. And look at how that turned out. My apartment, my husband, my job, my life … all gone. Because I shared them with the wrong person.”
I give his hand a squeeze. “I get it. And I respect the hell out of you for wanting to do this by yourself. But … I don’t want a claim to any of it. Sure, if I end up putting money in, we’ll have to get something drawn up to show my investment, but that’s all it is. An investment in your business, and one day when you’re absolutely killing it there, you can pay me back.”
“And if I don’t end up killing it?”
“Then you sell the place and give me back what I’ve put in, even if it’s worth a crap ton more.”
He chuckles. “What if it’s worth less?”
“Then I’ll take the same percentage loss as you.”
He looks conflicted, so I reach over and take his hand. His fingers immediately lace through mine.
“I know you can do this. And it will be yours. Even when we stop hooking up, I don’t want to take this from you. I don’t want to own you or for you to feel indebted to me. We’ll have a contract drawn up that we’re both happy with and then never mention it again until we need to.”
He stares at me for a long moment. “This being a possibility makes it feel like I can breathe again. I’m excited, which isn’t something I expected after everything that went down.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“The weird thing is, I don’t doubt that for a second.” He squeezes my hand. “Even though I hope I don’t need to rely on you again, you have no idea what this means, Bo-Bo.”
“Well, if you don’t want to rely on me, I guess we only have one option here.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” I lean forward. “We make sure your plan fucking works.”
“Deal.” We toast again and down the rest of our drinks before Payne pulls me from my chair. “Come on, celebratory drinks are done. It’s time for some celebratory sex.”
“Sounds like the perfect ending to the day.”
