Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“I’ll see if Mum needs anything.” He could feel his father’s gaze on him as he walked away. And when Josie reached out a hand to him as he passed, he squeezed it lightly before continuing on to the kitchen and working like hell to ignore that clenching in his gut.
* * *
Josie was having the best time. The Sullivans were amazing. Although she knew she’d miss her mother terribly upon moving to England for her new job, she felt as though she would still be surrounded by family simply because the Sullivans were so incredibly welcoming to her. She had offered to help Penny in the kitchen, but both Penny and Fiona said that she was a guest and that they had everything covered. Alice had been excited about her further plans for the cottage garden, showing Josie pictures on her phone of additional blooms she wanted to incorporate. Owen and Mari were still flying high from the book launch, and Mari had said repeatedly how excited she was that Josie would be staying to work with her.
Aria had run over to give Josie a hug as soon as she and her father arrived, and Tom was full of his usual flirtatious grins. She didn’t take any of it seriously, though. She got the sense that’s just how he was. That he lived life with a permanent smile on his face.
Malcolm shared so many similarities with his siblings and his parents, and yet, he was so unique. He was a little more serious, and despite the charm that he was capable of putting on, fairly reserved. Upon meeting his father for the first time, she had been struck by their physical likeness. But she could see now, after spending more time with his family, that Simon shared that same reserve. These men didn’t speak just to hear the sound of their own voices. They waited until they had something to say, and then people knew to listen.
It was time for them to take their seats, and she loved the way Malcolm took her hand as they walked over to the very large dining table. It was a beautiful and comfortable home a few blocks inland from the river. The style of this house and the others in the neighborhood was different from what she was used to in the United States—these homes were all two stories, and none were ranch houses, at least, not in this neighborhood.
Penny’s kitchen looked a little different, too, along with furnishings that were decidedly European. But despite the differences, the warmth was the same. Her mother had always made sure that their house felt warm and inviting. The Sullivans’ house also felt like a place where you wanted to kick up your feet and laugh with people you cared about and who cared about you.
Malcolm lifted her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly. Just that one small kiss sent shivers running through her. She knew her face must be coloring and that everyone could see how deeply in his thrall she was, but she didn’t mind. This was his family, and she wanted them to know how much he had come to mean to her. And yet, there were a few times over the course of the past hour or so when she’d looked across at him and felt that something was troubling him. But whenever he caught sight of her, he’d smile, and she’d wonder if she was imagining it.
Once they were all seated, Simon Sullivan raised his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast to the pleasure of having Josie Hartwell here with us today. Though we’ve only known you a week, it feels like we’ve been friends for much longer. I know everyone at the table is so glad that you came to England and Elderflower Island, and we’re so pleased that you have decided to stay on.”
They were all about to clink their glasses when Alice piped in with, “And we’re really glad that you’ve decided to stick with Malc too. I thought he was a lost cause there for a while.”
Josie put her free hand on his leg and squeezed it. She knew how much Alice and the rest of his family loved him, but they could be hard on him. She wanted to love him in all the ways no one but his family had ever loved him. Wholly and completely, unselfishly and unconditionally.
And she hoped—oh, how she hoped—that he would love her the same way. Silently, she reminded herself yet again that he was the one who had suggested they make things serious, real, proper. That always made her grin—a “proper” relationship. Especially when the things they did when their clothes were off in the dark were anything but proper. Pulling her mind from the delicious gutter, she said, “Thank you. Thank you for being so welcoming and for making England feel like home. I am so excited to start this new adventure.”