Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Finishing off my beer, I stood. “Guess I’ll head back in. Do you think you should talk to Sean?”
He laughed. “That would be your mother’s department. I don’t like meddling in your lives. Besides, you’re all adults, capable of making your own life choices.”
All I could do was nod…though I had my doubts about Sean.
Once I got back into the house, I looked everywhere for Harper but couldn’t find her. What I did find, however, was Sean and Caroline, huddled together in a corner with their heads bent together, laughing at something one of them had said. I glanced around to see where Caroline’s boyfriend was, but didn’t spot him anywhere, either.
Frowning at the two of them, I vowed to talk to Sean and find out what in the hell was going on.
An hour later, I was pulling into my spot at the back of the toy store. Music softly floated down from the roof of the flower shop, and I smiled. I knew the right thing to do would be to head up to my own little apartment, watch a movie, and go to sleep. But the devil on my shoulder pointed out that wasn’t what I wanted to do. What I wanted to do was see Harper again.
So, I made the decision and went for it. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I called out her name.
“Harper!”
A few moments later, her head popped over the side of the building. “Hey!”
“Feel like company?”
“Um, sure. Give me a second, and I’ll come down and let you in.”
About a minute later, the back door to the flower shop unlocked, and Harper appeared. She looked fucking adorable dressed in gray sweatpants, a long-sleeve T-shirt featuring a picture of Perry, the official town moose, and her dark brown hair fell around her shoulders with the sides pulled back into a braid, with a few strands falling around her face. Her eyes looked blue against the light blue T-shirt.
“The sun’s about to go down. Come on!” she said, motioning for me to come inside.
I quickly slipped through the back door, shut, and locked it.
“Hurry, Declan!”
Following Harper up the steps, I took them two at a time, matching her speed. Jesus, did the girl run or something? Even I was having a hard time keeping up with her.
Seconds later, she burst through the door and onto the rooftop of her flower shop. I was instantly struck by how nice it was up there.
White lights were strung around randomly, and were currently lit. To my left was a freestanding hammock, and in the middle of the space was a table that seated about six people. To my right was a small kitchen area and grill. The entire perimeter of the terrace was filled with raised beds of all different styles. Some wood, some metal, and even a few little enamel tubs. All of them were filled with flowers or vegetables. Even above my head was a small pergola that had vines growing on it with small white flowers.
“Harp, this place is beautiful.”
She smiled as she glanced around. “Thanks. Wine?” She pointed to a bottle she already had open.
“Sure.”
She quickly poured a glass and handed it to me. Then, she took my free hand and led me over to where we had a clear view of Moose Lake and the sun about to set.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“I know. I come up here as much as possible to watch the sunset.”
“Is that why you left my parents’ party early, or is this a typical Friday night for you?”
She looked at me and smiled. “Were you searching for me?”
I laughed. “No, but I did notice you were gone. And so was Caroline’s boyfriend.”
Harper faced the sunset again and nodded, but didn’t say anything about that.
“So, I wish I could take credit for everything up here, but the tenant who lived here before bought all the furniture. She was from New York City, moved to Moose Village for about a year, and rented from my mother. She was a romance writer, and she wrote a book here.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that.”
She nodded. “She even worked in the flower shop some days for my mother. Her book was about a woman who owned a flower shop, and someone was trying to tear it down. I think it was made into one of those holiday movies, if I’m not mistaken.”
“That’s kind of cool.”
“I added the pergola, and of course, all the veggie and flower beds. I’m hoping these flowers at the base of the pergola will grow fast, and I can have some natural shade up here.”
“It smells heavenly.”
“Probably the jasmine.”
The sun was just about to dip below the horizon, and I was struck by how comfortable I felt up here with Harper. Normally, I was crawling out of my skin to get back to my place and just relax and enjoy the peace. After years of hearing gunshots, helicopters, and tanks, my mind was ready for stillness.