Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
She may even host cooking classes here, which I think is awesome.
Maybe I’ll take a class. Maybe I’ll even cook for Apollo.
“Who am I right now?”
I shake my head and peek out through the glass French doors that lead to the patio I installed a couple of weeks ago. There’s a view of the water in the daylight, and it’s amazing.
Room by room, I make my way through and find that Luna has placed every piece of furniture, every pillow and knickknack just so. It’s exactly the way she envisioned it.
Walking upstairs, I take in the rooms. Each one is themed and has a piece of original art painted by Sarah that fits in with that theme. Our sweet friend is a talented artist, and I know it meant a lot to her that Luna asked her to paint the pieces for the inn.
When I reach the last room, the largest, I’m surprised to see that the door leading out to the balcony is open.
“What in the world?” I cross over, and then I see her. Luna’s sitting in one of the two outdoor chairs, a glass of wine in her hand as she watches the scene before her. “I don’t want to startle you.”
She turns her head and smiles at me. “Hi. I saw you drive up a few minutes ago. Figured you came to see how we did today.”
“Yeah, and just to walk through, take it all in before it’s full of people.”
“I hear you. Sit with me.” She gestures to the seat next to her and then offers me her glass. “I only have the one glass, but I’ll share.”
“Thanks.” I take it and sip, before passing it back to her. “Wow, this view is just incredible.”
“I know.” She takes a deep breath, and for a long moment, we’re quiet as we take in the view. The lighthouse, so tall and strong and proud, is on the left. The way the inn is situated, the lighthouse doesn’t block the view of Huckleberry Bay and the ocean. “I love watching the lights from town. You can see just about everything from up here.”
“Grab a pair of binoculars, and we could be regular Peeping Toms.” I smile over at her. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Luna this serene, this peaceful. “You okay, friend?”
“I’m great. For the first time in over a year, I don’t feel like I have to rush or worry. It’s just done. I can sit up here, on this gorgeous balcony that my best friend in the whole world built for me, and I can look out over the property that I share with the man I love most in the world, and I know that I’m going to make a difference in the community that’s shaped who I am. It’s an incredible feeling, and for tonight, while no one else is here yet, I can just sit in the quiet and soak it in.”
“Until I interrupted you.”
“You’re never an interruption.” She smiles over at me and offers me more wine.
“Where’s Wolfe tonight?”
“Still at the garage with Zeke. They got in a new car that they’re geeking out over. And that’s fine, because it gave me time to be here for a while. I can’t wait to offer the Ford we found in the barn for rides to and from town. The guests are going to love that.”
“Oh, for sure.”
“Holy shit, you went on a date! How did I space on that? Tell me everything.”
I take in a deep breath full of clean ocean air and let it out slowly. “Worst date of my life.”
“Oh, no.”
“Pretty horrible.” I nod and pass back her wine. “I’ll wait to tell you all about it when we have Sarah with us so I only have to relive it once.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“But then your brother showed up, and I ended up having dinner with him.” I’m not going to give her all the details. And I’m definitely not going to tell her that I’m going to start seeing him. Like I told Apollo, I want that just between the two of us.
But it wouldn’t hurt to get her take on just this piece of it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her whip her head around to face me. “You did?”
“Yeah. It was nice.”
“Wait.” She holds up a hand and shakes her head, as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “It was nice? Like, you enjoyed hanging out with my brother? Apollo Winchester?”
“Yes.” I want to laugh, but I just scowl over at her. “Don’t make it a thing. We called a truce for the evening and had a nice meal. That’s it.”
“With my brother.”
“I’m leaving.” I move to stand up, but she reaches out for my arm and stops me.
“Don’t go. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You hate my brother.”