Page 81 of Just A Little Magic

I was still giggling when we hustled up the stairs for a very thorough shower.

This was the life I wanted.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

BARRETT

Barrett

Is anyone free tonight?

Gabe

I can make myself free. You good?

Reed

If it’s closer to seven, yes. I’m on shift until six.

Barrett

Quill at seven?

Gabe

Reed

Barrett

No boys,please.

“Hey, boss, your guests are here.”

“Thanks, Remi. Can you get them seated, please, and let them know it’ll be about ten minutes?”

“Sure thing.”

Remi retreated from my office and returned to his post at the hosting station. Once again, I was left alone to stare at Owen’s mood board that he kept stashed in his drawer in my office. I doubted he even realized I’d seen it, but I’d been taking peeks at it since he’d started working on it.

He’d mentioned it by accident one day and then told me it was just a way to clear his mind for work. Naturally, I’d gotten curious and went looking for it. It was stashed in the back of his drawer and given that it was mislabeled, I wasn’t intended to find it easily.

I’d been speechless when I pulled it out. It was also the moment I knew that ten years of bullshit excuses were just that—bullshit.

His dream nursery was his personal style of dark academia vibes with signature touches of whimsy, but that wasn’t what my attention zeroed in on. The sketches were all set in the secret room hidden off my bedroom. There was no mistaking the unusual room shape or lack of windows.

The meaning wasn’t entirely clear, but it was enough that I thought there was a chance Owen was interested. For the next six months, I’d redoubled my efforts to show him he was the only one I wanted in my life. Owen had seemed oblivious to all of my efforts, which, given the sketches, confused the hell out of me.

I needed to send that bear a goddamn honey basket.

The last thing I wanted was for Owen to realize I knew about his mood board before I could get my plan into place, and that’s where Reed and Gabe would—I hoped—help me show Owen exactly how invested I was.

When he told me he loved me a few nights ago, I was floored. I never expected him to say it, but I damn sure welcomed it. It was time to make clear that I wanted him to be in my home as a permanent resident, not simply visiting. If my plan worked, and I sure as fuck hoped it would, Owen would understand how much I wanted him to stay.

I put away the board, locked up my office, and wound my way through the hallways of the back of the house until I reached the dining room, where my friends were already seated at our table. Owen had designed the space to create maximum privacy at each table, so even if you weren’t tucked away into the alcoves, each of the round tables was surrounded by high-back upholstered chairs. Gabe and Reed were already reviewing the menu when I joined them.

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