Her Billionaire Heartthrob - Kaylee Baldwin Page 0,14

store today. I could use some help sorting through my new shipments.” Callie hesitated. “Which probably sounds horrible to you. You can just come and keep me company while I sort.”

Actually, the work sounded exciting. Like something to do to get him out of the house. This is what my life has come to … looking forward to sorting through inventory.

But the idea of going back into Eureka Springs for the day appealed to him quite a bit. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to go back until relief filled him at the thought.

“Sounds good. Consider me your employee for the day.”

“Not a lot of people can say they’ve had Liam Nichols as their employee,” she said, a sparkle in her eye.

“Very true.” Liam took a long drink of the fresh-squeezed orange juice. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Now I’m wishing I didn’t have to go into Bentonville,” Xander said. “I’d love to see this.”

They all laughed, and it felt good, like the last bit of tightness from the night—a tightness he hadn’t even realized still lingered—finally loosened.

Chapter 8

Viola sat down at the outside table across from Callie. The waiter at the cafe had already brought out their sodas—Callie knew what Viola’s favorite order was—and said the food would be out soon.

“Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in paint matching and lost track of time.”

Callie laughed. “I figured. I’ve only been here for about five minutes.”

“Who’s covering the store?” Usually it was Allison, but Callie had hired a couple of seasonal workers who were hit or miss as far as reliability went.

“Liam.”

Viola nearly choked on her soda. “Liam Nichols?”

“The one and only.”

“What in the world?”

Callie cracked a smile at that. “He’s at wit’s end, so I invited him to come help unpack my inventory. When he had that done in about half the time it takes my other workers to do it, he wanted to learn how to do everything else.”

“Has he started talking about franchise options for your store?”

Callie laughed. “Not quite yet. He’s still figuring out how to work the cash register at this point.”

“Liam Nichols behind a cash register. This is something I need to see.” She was having a hard time picturing the man in the power suit, always on his phone, ringing up her grandma’s dog treats. Which reminded her. “Can you set aside a half-dozen assorted treats? Grandma is going to come pick them up sometime today, and she’s worried about them selling out before she gets there.” Today was the day she volunteered in the hospital gift shop and then she usually got to chatting with someone, and she loved buying treats for Fern’s dog.

“Sure,” Callie said.

“So, catch me up on your life,” Viola nudged. “How’s Cole doing?”

“Really well,” Callie said. “He’s got a girlfriend now, and we’re going to get to meet her next week when we fly out there to see him.”

Callie’s brother Cole was at a boarding school in Seattle, which was as swanky as it sounded. After getting into a lot of trouble with his friends the year before and nearly landing himself in jail, Callie and Cole both decided that a change in scenery was just the thing for him.

“He’s doing well there?”

“He loves it. They call it the Billionaire Academy. He’s driving Xander’s grandpa’s old truck everywhere, working at an ice cream stand.” She laughed. “I’ve seen such a change in him. Less angry at the world and more eager to work hard so he can become a website developer.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Viola had watched Callie struggle with her brother the year before, and her heart went out to them. They’d been dealt a difficult hand, and they hadn’t let it get them down.

The waiter came, and the ladies ordered their food, eating it while they caught each other up on what else was going on in their lives. Viola had been worried that she might lose her friend to Xander when they got married, but that hadn’t been the case at all. If anything, it had entrenched Callie even more firmly into Eureka Springs.

They finished eating, paid, and then gathered up their things. Callie had ordered a to-go sandwich for Liam.

“How are things going for him overall?” Viola asked as they walked in the direction of From Wags to Wishes. She had to admit, she was surprised to see him still in town after all these weeks.

Callie shook her head, and for moment, Viola didn’t think she’d answer. Then she replied,