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)
Before Josie, his heart could always stay closed and, frankly, a little cold. But with her, everything was warm. He’d never been with anyone like her. Never thought he would find anyone like her. And the truth was, even in high school, she’d been different from everyone else. And he’d never stopped regretting what he’d done or how bad he’d made her feel back then. She’d forgiven him, absolved him of the sin he’d carried around for so long. And yet, in his heart of hearts, he knew that what he’d done could never be completely erased and that it had affected her deeply. He’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
The thought stopped him cold. The rest of his life? Was that really what this was?
Malcolm had never been a man who questioned his path. Not until recently, anyway. He made a decision, and he moved forward. In business, he made quick decisions and stuck to them. It was one of the things he was known for, that he never wavered. And that he never operated out of fear. But now he had to wonder if the reason why he never had any fear in business was because he’d just never really cared that much.
This last week, he’d found himself caring more than he had in a very long time. Of course he always cared about his family, but he never got that deep with women. No long-term relationships. That was what made a guy start to think about things like forever. But was he truly cut out for that? Was he truly a man who could stay the course, no matter what?
He was a realist. Just because things were butterflies and rainbows now didn’t mean they’d be like that forever. He and Josie were certain to have bumps.
When they left the Elderflower Café, they spent a couple of hours at the cottages. It was mostly small stuff left now to be done. Picking up books from Elderflower Island Books that had been special ordered for particular guests, making sure there were enough seating areas inside and out, and enough plates and cutlery.
They were also setting up tradespeople to help transform the bedrooms so the guests of the next retreat would be able to sleep in the cottages.
To shut out his thoughts, he turned and pulled Josie against him, kissing her hard. Kissing her so that it would block out all the other thoughts.
Then he checked his watch. “Are you ready for Sunday roast?”
She smiled up at him, her cheeks rosy from his kiss. “I can’t wait. Partly because everyone in your family is so great. And partly because I’m starved, and Sunday roast sounds amazing.”
He kissed her again. “The way Mum makes it is better than amazing. My aunt in Maine—well, she’s an aunt once removed, but close enough—is from Ireland, and she is the chef at her own café. I’ve often said to Mum that she could do the same. But she loves her job at the V&A enough that cooking was only ever second place.”
“Now I really can’t wait.” She looked down at herself. “I need to change into something cleaner first, though. If we leave now and drop by the houseboat, we should still make it on time, right? I want to make a good impression.”
“Yes, we’ve got plenty of time. But even if we didn’t, I don’t think it’s possible for you to come across badly with my family. At this point, I’m pretty sure they’d trade me in for you.”
She laughed. “No, they all adore you. Even the way everyone teases you. You’re all so great together. I always wondered what it would be like to have siblings.”
His answer was easy. “Great most of the time, a pain in the neck for the rest.”
She reached up and put a hand on his cheek. “Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are? Especially when you’re being all grumbly.” She went on her tippy-toes to press a kiss to his lips.
A burst of sunshine exploded in his chest, the same thing that always happened when she kissed him. But there was also that tightening in this gut, the tightening he was doing his damnedest to ignore.
As expected, forty-five minutes later, when they arrived at his parents’ house in St. Margarets, everyone was overjoyed to see Josie again. He almost felt invisible, but frankly, that was a nice change. He felt like all eyes had been on him for many years. While plenty of people assumed he enjoyed the limelight—just because he tended to be in it frequently due to his big business deals—the truth was he enjoyed being in the background. He liked having a chance to watch and to take in everything around him.
For the first time in a long time, it was nice to simply sit quietly beside Fiona and appreciate the joyful chaos in the home they’d grown up in.