While Wes’s room was comfortable, it didn’t have many personal touches, which wasn’t surprising. He did have two photos on his dresser, though. The first was him and his father standing outside Lake Ridge and the second was a family photo in his parents’ backyard. It looked like the whole group was in the photo: Lily, Jade, Cooper, and Eliza. Hal was in the picture, too.
Slowly, I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, peeking my head around the corner.
Wes was fast asleep on the living room couch. His hand was behind his head, and the blanket was draped across his lower body, leaving his muscular chest and torso exposed. His usually clenched jaw was relaxed. In fact, his whole body looked relaxed as he took slow breaths. I sat on the edge of the couch, near the middle where his hips were, and gently placed my hand on his arm.
“Hey, Wes. Good morning,” I greeted softly. My hand stayed on his arm, but my fingertips itched to trace the sharp, stubbled edge of his jaw.
“Morning, baby.” He let out a low groan, his lips quickly pulling into a smile as his eyes stayed closed. “I get to wake up to Juliette Campbell in my house, looking like a dream in my shirt. How does it get better than that?” His voice was low and warm, like a golden summer day.
I bit my bottom lip to hide my smile. “You haven’t even opened your eyes yet. What if I look like a mess?”
“Impossible,” he said, slowly opening his eyes. His smile widened into a lazy grin that took my breath away. “See, lookinglike a dream. I knew it.” He reached his hand up, cupping my cheek and using his thumb to pull my bottom lip, setting my smile free.
“You didn’t have to sleep on the couch.”
He shook his head, moving his thumb along my jaw. “You were out the whole drive back and when we got here. I didn’t want to wake you or make you uncomfortable in the morning.”
“I really appreciate that, thank you.”
“No need to thank me, Juliette. It’s literally the least I could do.”
Maybe that much was true, but I didn’t think a lot of men would have taken the steps Wes did to make sure I was safe and cared for. I wanted him to know that. “Doesn’t mean I can’t thank you.”
He seemed so relaxed, so…happy. I hadn’t seen this side of him yet, but I liked it. It felt natural. “I didn’t take you as a morning person,” I added.
“Usually, I’m not, but things are a little different today.” He dropped his hand and gave my thigh a gentle squeeze. “Are you hungry for breakfast? I can make us eggs, pancakes, bacon, and hash browns. Coffee, too.”
“A whole breakfast feast, huh?” I asked with a grin. “That sounds perfect.”
“Okay, that’s not coffee anymore.” Wes raised his brows as I poured a heaping amount of almond milk into my glass, followed by ice cubes.
“Yeah, you’re right. Now it’s iced coffee,” I replied, which earned me a smirk and shake of his head. “I can make you one, if you want.”
“I like mine just how it is.” Unsurprisingly, Wesley drank his coffee black.
He was also a wizard in the kitchen. He was nearly done preparing a classic diner breakfast for us in less than fifteen minutes. He moved effortlessly and had a few pans going, timing everything perfectly so it was ready and hot at the same time. I would’ve burned something by now.
He had pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants and a black tee. I was still in his shirt but had washed my face of last night’s makeup. Normally, I liked to shower first thing, but today I was enjoying the lazy morning.
“Breakfast’s ready.” He pressed a kiss to my hairline, and my legs nearly gave out. He was so surprisingly tender with me, even last night when we were in the hallway. The way he cradled my face and tipped my chin up.
Wes prepared two plates for us and nodded toward the table for us to sit. I followed, and we started our first few bites of breakfast in a comfortable silence.
“When I was talking with Louise last night, she mentioned you had plans to grow Lake Ridge. What’re you focusing on?” I asked before taking another bite.
He nodded, grabbing his napkin and wiping his mouth before speaking. “I have my eyes set on expanding the food menu, drawing in customers for both lunch and dinner. I want to bring a chef on board who understands my goals and wants to preserve Lake Ridge’s atmosphere but has their own vision of a menu. I’d like to work with local farmers to source ingredients and also minimize food waste as we’re doing this. My goal for this summer has been to get staff in place to give myself timeto research these ideas and feel comfortable about the hiring process for a chef.”
I raised my brows, in awe of his vision and what he wanted for the bar. “Wes, that’s amazing. I love the sound of that. It’ll make Lake Ridge a year-round, local draw. When do you want to hire someone?”
“The spring, maybe? Having Eliza bartend has been huge, and I hired a few college kids back in town, too, to help me with the administrative tasks. I might need to hire one more full-time person when they go back to college, but the rest of the year is less busy than the summer.”
“I’m so excited for you,” I said honestly with a smile, trying to ignore the pang in my chest at the thought of not seeing his dreams come to fruition. I’d be long gone in Chicago by then.
We continued talking as we finished breakfast. I told him more about my parents and Grant, my favorite parts about living in the city, and the work I’d been doing in Golden Falls. He shared with me more about the various adventures Cooper and he got up to growing up, what his other sister Jade was like, and how he spent his days when he wasn’t working.
“Thank you for breakfast,” I said before taking my final bite of pancake. “That was so good.” I tipped my head back against the chair with a satisfied smile. “Are you going into Lake Ridge today?” I still wasn’t quite sure what his schedule was—he seemed to be at work all the time.
“Thankyoufor having breakfast with me.” His gaze met mine. “I am but not until later. Wanted to spend the morning and afternoon with you. Unless you had plans?”
