“You already did hurt her and I was there to see it.”
“That was different,” he argued lightly. “And we’ve come to an understanding about it and we’re moving forward.”
“Just know, that if you do anything…”
“Austin, enough,” he said firmly. “You’re not her brother and it’s none of your business, okay?”
“Fine.” Crossing his arms, it seemed like he was trying to intimidate Ryder a little more, but eventually, he relaxed.
“So, how are the resort plans coming?”
“They’re all set and back at my office.”
“Why didn’t you just bring them to lunch?”
“There’s not enough room to spread them out here and I figured now would be a good time for us to sort of…you know…talk and straighten things out.”
Nodding, Ryder agreed. “We’re good, Austin.” And because there could be no misunderstanding, he added, “I wasn’t expecting this. Her. But now that it’s happened, I…she makes everything better.” Shaking his head, he let out a mirthless laugh. “I thought I had everything, but being with Peyton has shown me how much I was missing. I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Well…shit.”
“What? Now what’s the matter?”
Groaning, Austin’s head fell back for a moment before looking at him again. “Now I feel even worse about the way I acted.”
“Yeah, well…you should.” Before they could banter about it anymore, their waitress came over and took their orders. After that, they chose to talk about other things–how the house Austin was building was coming along, how Mia’s books were doing, and then about the plans for the resort and restaurant.
“I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see you building a restaurant on the site that Peyton wanted. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
For the life of him, Ryder didn’t know why he didn’t share all the details about his arrangement with Peyton regarding the property and the restaurant, but…he didn’t. “It’s fine,” he said instead. “We talked about it and it’s all good. She helped me design the kitchen and we picked out all the equipment and appliances already, so…”
“Okay, I just don’t want to get in the middle when she gets pissed off about this again.”
A small smile crossed his face because he remembered how much he actually loved arguing with her in the beginning. It was the hottest and weirdest form of foreplay he’d ever experienced and he’d never been happier to have followed his instincts that night by going to her house. “She won’t get pissed. Trust me.”
When they were done eating, Ryder followed Austin to his office and then felt a bit giddy when he saw all his plans for The Ashford laid out. It was happening. This was going to be the most personal project he’d ever created and there was something uniquely satisfying about building something from the ground up like this–something that he’d designed.
Now he understood a little about how Peyton felt when she began planning for her restaurant. Part of him felt bad that she wasn’t doing it, but…wasn’t she? Ultimately, she was still getting the place that she wanted and she didn’t have to pay for it. So really, she was coming out the winner here and he was happy to make that happen for her.
For two hours they talked about the resort and about permitting and Austin recommended setting up the meeting with Jake Summerford to get the ball rolling. With that done, Austin pulled out the restaurant plans.
“You didn’t have a name for this one, so I called it Magnolia on Main,” Austin said as he laid out the blueprints.
“What is it with this town and that word?!” he asked, laughing.
“Not really sure, but it’s just always been that way,” Austin explained. “My great-grandfather started it and I think it was probably a lot cuter when the town was about a quarter the size of what it is now. Either way, feel free to name your stuff whatever you want.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Okay, there were a few concerns with the initial designs you gave to me, so I tweaked things and I believe it still gives you everything you want,” Austin explained.
“So what changed?”
“The kitchen seemed to take up a lot of space and I figured you wanted it that way for a reason so I left that alone. The property, however, wouldn’t allow for the amount of parking you would need while letting you have the large outdoor dining. So I recommend you go with cutting the outdoor seating in half, making this side of the building the bar with the sliding glass wall that leads to the outdoor area, and moving this wall here to give you more space in the dining room. The hallway to the restrooms will be shortened by six feet, but I think table space is more important than a hallway.”
Ryder studied the plans and had to agree. “What about this tree here? If we remove it, that opens up more parking spaces, correct?”
“Absolutely. Or…” Austin paused and scanned the paper for a moment. “If we turn everything ninety degrees and remove the tree, then you can get back your outdoor dining area. It will mean eating closer to the road, but…”
“That’s the side road, so traffic won’t be an issue. Let’s go with that. It makes the most sense to get everything as close to the original plans as possible.”
“I agree. Now that everything’s finalized, I can get copies of these made and have them to you on Friday when we meet with Jake. Will that work?”
“That’s fine. Thanks, Austin.” They shook hands and Ryder glanced at his watch and couldn’t believe how late it was getting. He had a four o’clock call and then Peyton was coming over and making them dinner because she decided his kitchen was a dream and deserved to have someone cook in it. So if it made her happy, he was more than willing to let her do it. “I’ll see you Friday,” he said on his way out the door.
No sooner was he in the car than his scheduled call came in early. It wasn’t a problem to talk while he drove, but he preferred to be home with his tablet or laptop in front of him when discussing financial reports. So he made do while he drove home and once there, he went directly to his office and settled in. When he came up the stairs two hours later, he found Peyton in the kitchen unloading groceries.
He'd given her a key to the house a week ago, and this was the first time she’d used it. She hadn’t offered to return the favor with a key to her place and Ryder swore he didn’t take it personally, but…he did. But rather than mention it, he simply walked over, rested his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her.
“Hey,” she said softly. “I hope you don’t mind that I used the key. When you didn’t answer…”
“That’s why I gave it to you,” he interrupted with a low laugh. “So what are we making tonight?”
“We?” she teased.
“Okay, fine. What are you making for us?”
“I thought about our conversation the other day about comfort food and I decided that’s what I wanted to make tonight. So brace yourself. I’m making a meatloaf and homemade macaroni and cheese.”
“I thought you said mashed potatoes with the meatloaf?”