Jonah didn’t even look at the phone screen when it rang. He simply knew it would be Mitch.

“Hey, I’m just finishing getting dressed,” Jonah said, swiping it to speaker phone as he brushed his bangs back out of his face. “I should be over there in just a little while.”

“Perfect.” The sound of his boss’s voice made Jonah dive for the phone, fumbling and nearly hanging up in the process. “I’ll set out the champagne for you.”

“Oh my God, Kate, I’m sorry,” Jonah felt his face flush as he took the phone back off speaker and brought it to his ear. “I, um, thought you were someone else…”

Kate laughed, loud and long, her voice booming through the phone. She was clearly in a good mood, thank goodness. “I hope he’s hot, at least.”

“He is,” Jonah said without hesitating. “And nice, and sweet, and… yeah. Really hot.”

“Now I know why you’ve been avoiding coming back home,” she chided. “And here I thought it had to do with your grandfather.”

Jonah’s face was burning now. It did sound kind of bad when she put it that way. “I’m here at my Pop’s house, I swear. It’s just…”

Why did he feel like he had just been called to the principal’s office? He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was using the vacation days he’d accumulated, after all.

“I’m only teasing,” she said, laughing again. “You certainly don’t have to justify yourself to me. I honestly hope you’re having a good time… but I do have to confess that I didn’t call to tease you about how you spend your personal time.”

“You didn’t?” Jonah asked. “I mean… right. Of course not.” He hesitated a moment, then asked, “But, um… is there something I can do for you?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “Remember what I just said about breaking out the bubbly? That’s going to happen as soon as you get your butt back to New York.”

“Why? For me?” Jonah was feeling nervous and excited and apprehensive all at once. “What did I do?”

“You know the Home Design Expo is coming up in just a few weeks, right?” Kate didn’t give him time to answer before continuing. “Well, this year we have twice as much floor space as usual and I really want to showcase some of your ideas and designs, Jonah.”

Jonah’s eyes went wide. She was talking about the must-attend design event of the entire year. This could be an incredible opportunity for him.

“Did you hear me? Jonah? You, me, the Design Expo… this is going to be huge for you.”

“Oh my God,” Jonah whispered, barely able to believe his luck. Then, as it sank in, he couldn’t stop his voice from rising. “Oh my God. Kate, this is amazing news. Thank you so, so much.”

His mind was racing. There would be a million little details—and a million other big details—to take care of between now and then, but this was the kind of opportunity that didn’t come around very often. It was almost unheard of for a junior associate at a design firm to be given such a big responsibility.

But if he got it right?

It would put his name right up there with the bigwigs in the industry. This could be the thing that would take his career to new heights.

Or he could crash and burn and be an industry-wide embarrassment. There was always that possibility.

There would be time to stress about messing it all up later, though. For now he was going to let himself believe that it would be awesome.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Kate replied, pulling Jonah from his thoughts. “You’ve still got a lot of work to do. And I mean a lot. I’ll be around to help as much as I can, but believe me when I say this is all on you. This is yours to make or break.”

“I’m gonna make it,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Great. I knew I could count on you, Jonah. When can I expect you back in the office?”

He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. The right answer—the answer she was no doubt expecting—was immediately. But was he ready to pack up and fly back so soon? He’d only been in town for less than a week. It felt like he hadn’t spent nearly enough time with Pop, and next to no time with Mitch.

Maybe he could dial it back from immediately to something a little more realistic.

“Soon,” he said, deciding on the vague but realistic approach. “I need to get a few more things settled while I’m here, but I’ll be on my way back as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Have a little bit of extra fun while you’re there so you can give everything you’ve got to this project once you get back. I’m counting on you to make this happen.”

“You can definitely count on me,” he answered, feeling a surge of pride that she really was trusting him with such a big event.

More importantly, she didn’t sound like she doubted him at all. She sounded confident. In him. It was eye-opening. And it meant he had no excuse to doubt himself.

He could do this. He would do it.

“Okay, Jonah. Take care, and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Thank you again,” he said, hanging up as a wide smile spread across his face.

Then, just as quickly, the smile faded. He was going to need to tell Pop and Mitch. And even though he knew both men would be happy for him, it tugged at Jonah’s heart more than a little to know that there was going to be a definite end date to his time in Texas.

And a definite end to whatever he’d just started with Mitch.

Pop leaned back in his recliner and nodded his head as Jonah finished telling him the good news Kate had just given him.

“I have to say that I’m not surprised at all,” Pop said. His matter-of-fact tone was a little less enthusiastic than what Jonah had anticipated. Then again, it probably didn’t sound like such a big deal to someone who wasn’t in the industry.

“You’re not surprised? Not at all?” Jonah prodded, raising an eyebrow. “Not even just a little bit?”

Pop grinned. “I’m surprised it took that boss of yours this long to recognize how talented you are. I’m surprised you’re still standing here in my living room rather than rushing to the airport to get back.” He shrugged. “But am I surprised that they’re putting you in charge of this big thing? No, not at all. They obviously picked the best man for the job.”

Jonah mirrored Pop’s grin and nibbled at his lip. “You really think they did? I mean… I feel like I can do this. I’m pretty sure I can. It’s the kind of opportunity I’ve been waiting for, honestly. This is what I went to New York to do.”

“And that’s how I know you’ll knock it out of the park, Jonah.” His eyes sparkled with emotion as he gestured for Jonah to sit down in the chair next to him. “All your life, you’ve gone after what you’ve wanted. It never mattered to you how hard it might be or how long it might take you. It’s a trait I’ve admired in you for a long time, if you want to know the honest truth.”

Jonah blinked hard. He hadn’t expected Pop to lay on the emotions like that. But just knowing there was something his grandpa admired about him filled Jonah’s heart until he thought it might burst.

“That means a lot to me, Pop,” Jonah said, quietly. “Thank you.”

Pop reached across the end table that separated their chairs and patted Jonah on the hand. “Now, I don’t want you to worry about me, but have you told Mitchell?”

Jonah shook his head. “Not yet. I just got off the phone with Kate and ran down here. But I mean… it should be okay, right? It’s not like we… you know, we just saw each other again for the first time a few days ago.”

“That’s true,” Pop nodded, giving Jonah a pointed look. He obviously had more to say on the subject, but it wasn’t like Jonah could do anything to change the situation.

It wasn’t like Jonah wanted to cut his trip to Hidden Creek short. It was just what he had to do. Of all people, Mitch should understand that fulfilling obligations meant making hard choices sometimes.

“I’ll tell him the news when I see him in just a little while,” Jonah said, sighing. “I’m sure he’ll be happy for me, though. Making it in New York was literally all I used to talk about when we were younger.”

“Yes, I’m sure he will understand,” Pop said, nodding. “It’s just a shame the timing didn’t work out better for the two of you.”

It was a shame. There was no denying that. Just when Jonah had started to get excited about the prospect of spending at least a couple more weeks seeing Pop and Mitch, now that had been cut short.

Still, it was what he had to do.

There was really no point in getting upset for what might have been. That was a game Jonah had learned a long time ago not to play.

Especially when it came to Mitch Davis.