No Vacancy (The Aveline Series Book 2)

Chapter 82

PENN

I wrungmy hands together as I stepped up to the porch of Darcy’s parents’ house. I had already apologized to Darcy’s parents and to the entire town, but for some reason, the idea of apologizing to her brother, Beau, made me more nervous than any of the rest. Maybe it was because I knew what it was like to have siblings, especially ones who were very protective and close. Growing up, if anyone ever messed with me, I could always count on Finn and Freya to be by my side, giving them hell. I expected nothing less from Beau. And to top it off, they were twins.

“Quit doing that,” Darcy said, pulling my hands apart. She repositioned the purse she carried Bernie in on her shoulder. “What are you freaking out about?”

“What if he like punches me in the face or something?”

Darcy raised her eyebrows. “He better not.” She placed her hand to my cheek. “You’re too pretty.”

I placed my hand over hers, and she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “Seriously, don’t worry about Beau. I have always been the scary twin.”

“It’s true.”

I looked up, and Beau was standing at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. I hadn’t noticed it had even opened.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Well, I’ll let you two talk, and I’m going to take Bernie in and try on his new sweater that mom got him. She said something about boots, too?” Darcy scooted past Beau into the house. “Glad you’re home.” And then she was gone, leaving just Beau and me on the steps of the house.

“Come on in.” Beau gestured to the office off the entry of the house. “We can talk in here.”

I sat down on the brown leather couch, and Beau sat in a matching chair across from me. It felt formal and stuffy in this office, and even though I had already apologized for what I had done on several occasions, I still didn’t know how to begin so I just started exactly where I needed to.

“Listen, I’m sorry for everything that happened. I want you to understand that as soon as I met your family, everything changed.”

Beau’s face was impossible to read. I could feel my upper lip sweat, and I tugged on the collar of my shirt, feeling as though the air had gotten much warmer and thicker in the moments since we entered the room.

“And what are your intentions with my sister?” Beau asked. He crossed one leg over the other and rested his elbow on his knee. “How do I know we can trust you? Would you submit to a polygraph?”

“I, uh, I mean, yes,” I stammered.

Beau’s body relaxed in the chair, and a smile spread across his face. “I’m messing with you. Darcy already told me everything, and I just agreed to this formal apology because I thought it would be fun to mess with you.”

I chuckled uncomfortably. “Oh, wow, okay. So, did Darcy know you were going to do this?”

“I’ve been told not to answer that question, or she’ll cut out my tongue.”

This time I laughed. “She really is the scary one, isn’t she?”

Beau nodded.

The tension left my body, and I felt more relaxed. “I want you to know, though, I wasn’t going to try to buy the hardware store.” I paused. “Or at least, I wasn’t going to buy it for Max.”

Beau’s shoulders squared, and his head tilted to the side inquisitively. “But you do plan to buy it?”

I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. I had been thinking about what I wanted to do with my life now that everything seemed to have changed. The questions kept firing in my mind. Where did I want to go? What did I want to do? The one thing I kept coming back to was buying the hardware store for Darcy and me to manage together. I knew how much it meant to her, and I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather do than spend my days with her.

“I have been toying with the idea. What do you think?” I spoke quietly, afraid even through closed doors that someone might overhear. I wanted Beau’s opinion, though. I wanted to see if he thought it was too soon, too crazy, too ridiculous of an idea.

“I think my dad would fall at your feet. I know he has refused a couple of offers just hoping Darcy would change her mind. He just said he was going to have to give it up.” Beau looked over at the French doors to the office and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous!” he yelled loudly.

I turned my head and noticed Darcy peeking in the windows, holding Bernie up. He was wearing a blue sweater and the tiniest stocking cap I had ever seen. Beau and I looked at each other and began laughing.

“You’re really sure you want to be around her every day?” Beau asked as Darcy made Bernie dance.

When I looked at her, I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather be. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

And I would happily take a polygraph to prove it.