The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(74)

Wyatt shrugged. “Let’s do it.”

“Do what?” I raised an eyebrow.

“All of it. Let’s rip the carpet up, fix the shelves, and put wallpaper on. We can get a bunch of plants for the front window.”

Holden turned to Emmett. “Do we still have that flooring from that Ucluelet house?”

Emmett frowned in thought, tilting his head. “The one that was boat-access only?”

Holden nodded.

“It should be in the warehouse.”

Holden tilted his chin to me. “We did a reno on a big house last year and the owner changed his mind about the flooring color but we couldn’t return it.” He sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s nice, it’s a dark cherry wood that would look good in your store.”

Emmett nodded. “We could install it in a day.”

I blinked. “You could?”

Holden shrugged. “Sure. It’s just taking up space in the warehouse anyway.”

Excitement flopped around in my stomach and I bit a smile back. “Okay.”

Wyatt squeezed my shoulder again and shot me an amused smile. “We could do the shelves and wallpaper at the same time. Then you wouldn’t have to close twice.”

Avery raised her hand. “Elizabeth and I can help.”

“I’ve got some odds and ends in my garage for shelves, Hannah,” Sam added. “I’ll make you some new ones. Do you want some flower boxes for outside?”

I could barely speak, it was happening so quickly and images flashed in my head of a beautiful new bookstore. The same store but better. The same store but with my stamp on it, this time.

Wyatt snorted at my baffled expression. “Yes. She does.”

The family made a plan and we decided that on Monday, we’d close the store and make the changes.

Deep in my chest, something ached. Two months ago, I ate dinner alone in my kitchen or with my dad, reading my book.

Now I sat at the dinner table with people who felt like family, people who were helping me make the store beautiful again.

My heart twisted. I didn’t even mind that they teased me. Holden and Emmett treated me like they were my brothers. It had always just been my parents and I, and then it was my dad and I, and this was so much different. Louder and more stimulating and more chaotic, more emotional. I studied the Rhodes family, discussing Avery’s restaurant and whether she wanted to rent a food truck for Pacific Rim or not, and a sense of home struck me.

My throat tightened. Next week, I’d turn thirty. I was spending time with a guy who was going to leave. I was still wasting time in a different way. Maybe I hadn’t changed as much as I thought. A weird pressure formed behind my eyes and I stood.

“Just going to grab some water.” I shot Wyatt a tight smile before my gaze darted around the table. “Anyone need anything?”

Everyone shook their heads and I stepped back into the kitchen, where it was quiet and I was alone and could think. Where I could shove these emotions back down where they were safe.

Wyatt stepped into the kitchen with a worried frown. “You okay, bookworm?”

I nodded, pulled a glass down from the cupboard, and ran the kitchen tap to fill it. “I’m fine.”

He stepped up behind me and placed either hand on the counter, caging me in. He warmed my back and it took everything I had not to lean into him. He stepped forward and didn’t give me the choice. His arms wrapped around me and his mouth dropped to my neck below my ear. I shivered at the sensitive contact and he made a pleased, humming noise against my skin.

“We can leave whenever you want,” he murmured, his hands brushing my arms, sending goosebumps up and down my skin.

I nodded. “I know. Let’s stay a bit longer.”

“I like you being here.”

I hated how much I loved those words. I hated how welcome and wanted I felt with him and with his family. I never felt like he didn’t want me around. Never. Not once.

“I like being here.” It came out as a whisper. “Even if you’re being crazy and overprotective.”

He grinned against my neck.

I tilted my head. “Stop worrying about me so much.”

“I won’t.” He leaned down and stole a quick kiss and my breath caught. “I have to tell you something.”

My stomach lurched. Here we go. “Okay.”

He brushed his hands up my arms. “The nurse at the ER thought you were my pregnant wife.”

A laugh choked out of me. My eyes were saucers. “Oh.”

He lowered his forehead to my shoulder with a sigh. “I can’t get it out of my head.”

My mind raced to process this. “Why did she think that?”

He shrugged and kissed my neck again. “Don’t know. And I didn’t correct her.”

“Does Beck think I’m pregnant?” I whispered the last word.

“I corrected the nurse about that. But not about the other part.”

“The wife part.”

“Mhm.” Another soft kiss on my skin.

“Why not?” My heart thumped against the front wall of my chest.

His voice was low in my ear. “Because I liked the idea of it.”

My brain skidded like it was slipping on ice. “But you…” I wasn’t sure how to word it.