He shrugs. “Don’t know. I’ll put it behind the counter, and you can decide what you want to do with it later.”
Nodding, I smooth my fingers over the cover once more, flattening a curled edge.
“You ready for tonight?” Grey asks as he slips behind the counter, placing the book next to the register.
We’re having an opening party tonight. There will be champagne as well as strawberry wine, at Wren’s request. I hired a caterer and ordered enough food to feed the whole town, because I have no doubt they’ll all show up. Everyone is allowed to take a used book and a flower of their choice as a party favor. It’s the least I can do after the way they’ve all shown up for me.
I’m still nervous about letting them down, but I’m working on it.
“I feel like there’s still so much to do,” I say.
He quirks a single eyebrow in my direction. I’m still mad that I can’t do that.
“There’s nothing left. You’re officially banned for the rest of the day. Everyone is showing up at two to decorate, and I’m under strict instructions to keep you away.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure you can think of plenty of ways to keep me busy.”
His smile turns mischievous. “You have no idea.”
Grey, true to his word, keeps me away from the shop for the rest of the day. He does a fantastic job of keeping me occupied. It’snot until I finish curling my hair in my apartment, hours later, the sun already starting to set now that the time has changed, that the nerves return.
From where he’s been getting ready in the tiny bathroom beside me, he notices the change immediately. His eyes catch on mine in the mirror, and his hands are like magnets, finding my hips. It never ceases to amaze me how we fit together. Like this, his head lands perfectly on the top of my head. I sink back into him, thankful for his strength. I can feel his heartbeat against my back, and like always, it settles me. A metronome that my body seems attuned to.
“Have I told you recently how proud I am of you?” Grey asks.
My lips twitch, holding back a smile. “Not in the last twenty minutes or so.”
He tugs me back harder against him, his arms banding around my middle. “Smart-ass.”
“You love it.”
His lips dip to the slope of my neck, where it meets my shoulder, and he presses a kiss there. I have to work to hold back my shiver, but when he smirks at me in the mirror, I know I’ve failed. “I do.”
I let out a shuddering breath, my stomach in knots. My apartment is far from soundproof, and I could hear everyone decorating downstairs for hours. Now that we’re less than an hour from the party, I hear the noises of cars parking along the street outside. We need to get downstairs, and I need to put on my brave face.
“You ready?” he asks, his eyes never leaving mine in the mirror. I know he’s been watching as I cycle through my emotions, waiting for me to get myself together.
I nod, and he plants one more kiss on my shoulder, his hands squeezing my hips, and backs out of the bathroom, palm outstretched for me.
I slip my hand into his, swallowing down my nerves, and follow him out of my apartment.
When we open the door to Unlikely Places, a gasp catches in my throat. My friends and family are already there, of course. The book club girls, my mom, Holden, June, and Wren, with baby Wilder on her hip, his bright red curls matching his mom’s.
But what really strikes me is the way they’ve transformed this place. It looks like how I left it this morning, but somehow so muchmore. There are fairy lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the place in a warm, whimsical glow. Gift bags line every available surface, instead of where I left them on the counter this morning, filled with business cards and a note explaining the book and flower party favors. But what really takes my breath away is the back wall. This morning when I left, my new logo was hanging from the ceiling in front of the dark green wall. I’d had it printed on a large cutout banner and had positioned it just so. But now, the wall behind it isn’t empty. Dozens of books are attached to the wall, the pages hanging open, fluttering when the HVAC kicks on. It’sstunning.
I look back at the people in front of me, their expressions expectant. “It’s…” I’m at a loss for words, unable to express how much I love it, unable to tell them how much it means to me that they’ve shown up for me time and again over the last few months. Everyone working together to make my dreams come true.
“I love it,” I finally say. It’s not nearly enough to encapsulate everything I’m feeling, but they all seem to understand. They all know me. They all love me.
His hand finds my waist again, squeezing my hip one, two, three times, a silent message for just me. It gives me the strength I need, calms my buzzing nerves in a way only he’s ever been able to do.
So I swallow back my anxious thoughts and say, “Let’s do this.”
The town shows up for me. I’m not surprised. I’m also not going to lie and say it doesn’t cause me to panic a little, but I’m working on it. Anytime it starts to feel like the pressure is too much, Grey appears at my side with a smile and a touch meant only for me.
I lose track of everyone who shows up. Grey’s parents stop by, and when they do, my hand slips into his with ease. Their relationship is still strained, and it most likely always will be, but he’s working on it.They’reworking on it. Or at least he and his mom are. She’s been coming for lunch at his place once a month for the last few months. It was my idea, inspired by the weekly dinners we have with my mom, and when I floated the idea to him, he wanted to try it, but only on a monthly basis to start. The dinners have mostly been awkward, but they’re getting better each time. His dad isn’t invited, and I’m proud of Grey for that. He said he’d like to one day feel comfortable enough to invite him, but that some things will need to change first.
I’m surprised that Mr. Sutton is here now, and Grey seems even more so. His dad is as charming as ever, introducing himself to people as he moves through the crowd, and I feel Grey tense beside me.
