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)
My brows shot up as I tried to ignore the way my heart felt like it might beat right out of my chest. “A queen, huh?”
“Nothing less.”
Lifting onto my toes, I brushed my lips against his, then whispered, “Thank you for the sweet words. Now, let’s go kick some trivia ass!”
Declan kissed me quickly and motioned for me to walk through the door first.
The Moose Village Hotel wasn’t huge, but it was the pride and joy of the town. Luke Banks had bought the place several years ago and made some wonderful changes. He also owned Moose Village Inn, which was more like a motel and less fancy. We walked into the lobby, and like always, I was struck by how beautiful this place was. To the left was the restaurant, with its famous bar that had been used in so many movies and commercials. My mother said it was the original bar, the same one she used to come in and sit at for root beer floats as a kid. I glanced down at the black-and-white-checkered granite floor, and smiled. I loved the floor. It just screamed historical.
Besides the restaurant, the hotel’s first level held a gift shop, and a small coffee and sandwich shop.
“Did you know they made the basement into a huge library?” I asked.
“I did know that. My dad is good friends with Luke, so he helped when it came to the budgeting of the remodel. When he said they were converting the basement into a library, I thought it was a great idea.”
“It was. I can’t tell you how often I’ve walked down here with a book and just sat by the massive fireplace to read.”
Declan put a light hand on the small of my back as we entered the elevator and hit the button for the roof. “I heard Liam Turner’s the one who opened the rooftop bar and restaurant. Is that true?”
Nodding, I replied, “Yeah. He opened it while he and Hope were still living in New York City. I think they’d always planned to move to Moose Village after having kids.”
“Wow, that’s great. I went to school with Liam’s older sister, Lorie.”
“She owns Timeless Cup now. Did you know?”
“I didn’t,” Declan stated. “When did she buy it?”
“Just recently. She divorced Mitch and decided she wanted to do something completely different from teaching elementary school.”
Declan nodded. “That’s different, all right. A complete one-eighty.”
The doors opened to a small foyer area. Directly in front of us were the restrooms, and to the left was the entrance to the restaurant and rooftop bar.
The hostess smiled as we walked up.
“Welcome to The Muddled Moose. Are you here for trivia night?”
“Yes!” I said, with probably a bit more excitement than needed. Not that the hostess noticed. She could barely pull her eyes off of Declan.
“I see our friends over there,” I said, pointing to Brystol. She was sitting at a table with a guy I didn’t know, along with Aurora, Cadie, and Kian. Or maybe Aurora was sitting with the guy? I wasn’t sure.
“Great,” the hostess said, bringing my attention back to her. “Have a fun night!”
“We will,” Declan said, as he took my hand again, and we started to make our way through the tables.
My focus was on my friends, and not the other patrons around us, so when I heard both my name and Declan’s being called, it took me a moment to realize it.
Declan, on the other hand, let out a low groan. When I looked at him, he gave me an apologetic smile.
“Guess I was wrong about my mother being here.”
I was positive my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Declan? Harper? What are you two doing here? And why are you holding hands?”
We both turned slowly to see Maddie, Declan’s mother, standing there with her hands on her hips and a perplexed look on her face.
“Shit,” Declan and I said at the same time.
Declan
My mother’s eyes bounced between me and Harper, and it felt like forever before I finally cleared my throat and spoke.
“Hey, Mom. Fancy seeing you here. I didn’t think you liked this sort of thing.”
Her confused expression turned to annoyance. “Why wouldn’t I like trivia night?”
I shrugged. “I just don’t see you getting into…you know, fun stuff, and just going out, and…”
Harper poked my side, causing my words to drift off.
Folding her arms over her chest, my mother looked highly offended. “I’ll have you know, I help with trivia night. Viola and I are on the board for the city that plans these events, and we approached Liam Turner about doing some fun things here at the restaurant and bar.”
“You came up with trivia night?” I asked, nearly laughing out loud.
With a sniff and a jut of her chin, my mother replied, “Do you think I’m that dull of a person?”