Page 89 of Cherry Picked
“You did say you wanted a ravishing room,” I teased. “You might need some space to store your… other collections.”
He swatted at me before gesturing to the overstuffed leather sofa. “That’s perfect, especially for—ohmygod!”
Hawk froze in front of the stacked stone fireplace that had been hidden on the right when he’d turned left upon entering the room.
“Is that a working fireplace?”
I nodded. “Real wood, just like the one in the living room on the other side of this wall. They share a chimney stack.”
He walked over and ran a finger over one of the several picture frames on the deep wooden mantelpiece. “My dad and me on Glassy Ridge,” he murmured. “And Webb with Aiden when he was just born… and here’s the one of you and me at the diner when I first started working there in high school… oh my god, I remember this. Your mom made me squeeze a million lemons for Pye Day that year. Look at her laughing at me when I made a face at her… I love this.” He turned to me with the emotion clear on his face. “I love you so much for this. I still can’t believe it.”
I pointed to the other side of the mantel, to a stack of empty frames. “Those are for the memories we haven’t made yet.”
Hawk threw himself into my arms again and shook with breathy sobs. I hadn’t meant for this to turn into a crying fest, but I’d known it was something he’d needed. He needed to know how loved he was, how rich his life was, how much a part of my life he’d already been… and always would be.
He needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt this was his forever home, here with me.
I moved us over to the sofa and pulled him down in my lap to hold him while he cried.
When he finally caught his breath, I pushed the hair off his forehead and kissed the warm skin there. “I want you to know I’m in this with you, Bird,” I said softly. “I’m not going anywhere. This… you and me… we’re as permanent and impenetrable as Fogg Peak. Do you understand?”
He nodded, but I could tell deep down he still didn’t believe me.
“Do you still have that key?” I asked.
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the key ring.
“Look at it more closely,” I murmured before kissing him again.
He inspected the key ring until he realized it had three smaller keys on it, as well as the key to the room itself. “What are these for?”
“There are three secure hiding places in this room. Each of those three keys unlocks a different hiding place.”
His eyes lit up. “Where are they?”
I shrugged. “See if you can find them.”
He scrambled off my lap and began inspecting the books carefully, going straight to the special leather-bound set that I’d specifically placed there as a fake lure. When they turned out to be simple Jane Austen collectible editions, I laughed. “Did you ever think you’d pout at a leather-bound copy ofPride and Prejudice?”
He flashed a rude gesture at me and kept looking. Finally, he found one of the hidden spots deep in the corner of one of the shelves. Thankfully, that cubby only held Thin Mints.
“Ah ha! Oh…ohhhh. It came prefilled with goodies,” he said, ripping into the box and tossing two cookies in his mouth. “Mm.”
He renewed his search for the next hiding spot. In the meantime, I walked over to the shelf next to one of the window seats and turned on the speaker system, showing him how to connect his phone to the system to play music. One of our favorite singers filled the room with his deep voice while Hawk continued his search.
He finally found the next hiding spot when he tested out the rolling ladder. It was behind a group of my own sci-fi thriller novels. After using one of the keys to open the hidden compartment, he pulled out a wrapped package.
“What’s this?”
My face heated. “Open it up. To be honest, it’s more for me than you. You, ah… might have inspired me with that story you mentioned a few weeks ago.”
He climbed down off the ladder and unwrapped the box, revealing a Popsicle-shaped dildo.
“Oh my God,” he breathed, his voice going a full 12,500 on the Scoville scale. “Will you… that is… can we…?”
“Oh yeah.” I grinned. “Whenever you want.”
When he continued his search, he found the hidden minifridge behind the door and the phone charging station I’d disguised in an antique cigar box.
