Holden抯 eyes were huge with disbelief. 揟his is what women read??
揂nd Don,?I added.
揊irehose??he whispered to himself.
Wyatt cut him a look. 揜omance makes people happy. Things aren抰 dumb because women like them.?
揑 didn抰 say it was dumb.?Holden blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. 揑t抯 just horny.?
揥omen are horny, Holden.?Avery held up the pizza box. 揥ho wants the last piece of this one??
Wyatt pulled me closer to him on the window bench. 揌ow you doing??
I rolled my lips. My face hurt from smiling so much today. 揋reat.?
He nodded, hot gaze searing me. 揋reat. You look happy.?
揑 am. This place finally feels like厰 I sucked in a breath, surveying everyone. 揗ine.?Sitting here with Wyatt, I knew I was meant to be here in the bookstore. Like all the uncomfortable stuff I went through to make the changes was worth it. Like it was fate.
But I also couldn抰 wait to get back to Wyatt抯 place tonight.
揂re you tired??he asked in a low voice.
I matched his heated gaze. 揘ot that tired.?
He smirked.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket. When I peered at the screen, my dad抯 picture flashed.
Tension cracked my good mood and my spine went rigid.
揓ust a sec,?I told Wyatt with a quick, tight smile as I stood and wandered to the back room. 揌i, Dad.?
揌i, honey.?
揢m, what抯 up? How抯 Salt Spring??My voice was weak and watery and I squeezed my eyes closed in frustration. I hadn抰 thought about my dad once today.
I hadn抰 really thought about my mom, either.
I slumped against the wall in the storeroom, glancing down at the stack of crime thrillers on the table. When we re-shelved the books, I had made the decision to leave anything non-romance back here. Romance books made up the majority of our social media posts and accounted for ninety percent of our sales these days. Over the summer, with the social media taking off, Pemberley Books?brand had become all about romance novels. It didn抰 make sense to take up valuable real estate on the shelves with books that didn抰 fit our store抯 brand.
揑t抯 good. Keeping busy. It抯 quite beautiful here.?He laughed. 揟hey have a great ice cream shop down the road, we like to walk there every night after dinner.?
揥e??I frowned. 揑s Uncle Rick back??The idea of him and my dad walking to get ice cream was kind of cute.
His tone changed. 揢m. No. Uh, the neighbor. Anyway, how抯 the store??
Oh, the store that was unrecognizable from when he left? That store? 揊ine.?My voice strained.
My heart hammered in my chest. I couldn抰 do this. I couldn抰 lie like this to him. It was wrong.
揑 have to tell you something.?
He paused. 揙kay.?
揢m.?I blinked and sucked a breath in before I let it out, nice and slow. You got this, bookworm, I could hear in my head. 揑 started a social media for the store. We, um厰 I cleared my throat and rubbed my forehead. 揥e weren抰 doing that well.?
揙kay.?He drew the word out in three syllables.
揥hen people visit Queen抯 Cove on vacation, they check out certain hashtags and the town social media pages to see what there is to do here.?I swallowed. 揢m. So it抯 important that we have an online presence and at least show people that we exist.?I dragged the toe of my sneaker along the edge of a cardboard box full of biographies. 揑t抯 helped bring the store back into the black.?
My pulse beat in my ears while I waited for him to respond. He sighed.
揑 didn抰 know the store wasn抰 doing well.?
揑 wanted to fix it. I didn抰 want you to worry.?My mouth twisted.
He hummed, thinking, and I could picture his uncertain expression. 揑 should have been around more. I should spend more time in the store once I get back.?
I could hear the reluctance in his voice.
I didn抰 want him here, either. Having him in the store more would be a step backwards. The store had my stamp all over it now.
揑 don抰 think that抯 necessary.?I picked at a drop of dried paint on my jeans.
This is the part where I should have told him about the renovations.
Wyatt stuck his head in the storeroom and gave me a questioning look with a thumb up. Everything okay? he mouthed.
I nodded. 揇ad, I have to go.?
Baby steps, I told myself. Today, social media. Next week I抎 tell him a few more things.
揙kay. Call me if you need anything.?
揑 will. Bye, love you.?
揕ove you, too.?
There. That wasn抰 so bad. Maybe he wouldn抰 totally lose his mind when he saw that I had erased my mom completely.
Wyatt stepped into my space and I breathed in his scent.
揈veryone抯 packing up.?He towered over me, looking down into my eyes with warmth. 揑抦 so proud of you.?