Page 86 of Coffee Shop Girl
“What’s this?”
“A bookshelf.”
“Well, obviously it’s a bookshelf. Did you make it? It’s ... gorgeous.”
She slipped inside, walking around the five-shelf stand that I’d put together. If she wanted rustic, this was certainly it. Knotted wood stained dark in a charming style. I leaned against the doorframe, content to watch her.
“Lizbeth would die,” she murmured.
Her fingertips trailed the wood as she walked in a circle around it. I almost felt those same fingers in my hair again. I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep myself from slamming her against this wall too.
“Good, because it’s for her.”
Bethany paused, head tilted. “For Lizbeth?”
“Well, for your shop, but I figured Lizbeth would need somewhere to put all her books when they officially moved here.” I shrugged, completely unable to read the expression on her face. She drew in a deep breath, regarding the bookshelf as if she’d never seen one before.
“Moves here,” she murmured. “Yes.”
There definitely wasn’t room in that tiny attic. The coffee shop had space. I’d purposefully made it the exact right size to put against the far wall, near Lizbeth’s chair. But she might not have noticed that yet.
She began to say something, then stopped.We can’t take it,I imagined her thinking.We have nowhere to put it.
The fact that she hadn’t said it yet meant she wasn’t ready to hear my other offer.
“It’s not finished.” I let out a breath. “It still needs some more love on the scrollwork and a couple good coats of stain. But it will be soon.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “How long will that take?”
“A week.”
She didn’t look at me. “And the house?”
“It’s mostly done. The appliances are coming in tomorrow. A few cleanup things that I’ve paid some contractors to come do. It’s more management for me at this point. I’ve taken a back seat on the work so I could be at the Frolicking Moose and prove this other business idea out. It’s moved . . . quickly here.”
“Lizbeth will love it,” she said softly.
My contract with Bethany had moved faster than I’d expected. We’d shifted the Frolicking Moose into a better position quickly. Establishing the timeline had helped, and it was great to know it could be done in less than a month. But it meant my departure was lingering in the near future.
And I was a coward because I couldn’t say it to her.I’m leaving soon.With a welcoming kiss like that, I’d thrown down mixed signals all over the place.I’m leavingon one side andkiss me breathlesson the other.
But she’d agreed to this.
Something seemed to shift in her in that moment, as if she’d made a decision. No sign of trouble loomed in her bright face. She smiled, meeting my gaze without a qualm.
“It was very kind of you, Mav. Thank you. Seriously.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“Ready to eat?”
“That entire box of spaghetti, yes.”
With a soft laugh, she followed me out, winding back through the house to the kitchen, which smelled like marinara now. She paused, staring curiously across the room, and pointed.
“That’s an internet modem.”
“Yes. Right next to it is a window, and it sits on a table, and—”
