Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Six weeks later…
Reid
Avery buzzed with nervous energy, and it was damn near impossible to focus on anything else. She bounced from foot to foot and compulsively checked her list.
“Did you?—”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Put ice in all the buckets for the drinks,” I assured her before she could ask the question. “And I also put the drinks in to chill.”
She smiled and blew out a breath before lifting the clipboard again.
Gently, I took the list from her hand and set it behind me. “Avery, it’s fine.” Before she could reach past me to grab it back, I took both her hands in mine. My eye caught on the flash of the diamond on her left hand, and my heart caught the way it always did when I realized that this woman was mine. Really and truly mine.
“It’s just that?—”
“Avery.” I stopped her. “The building is not going to collapse just because you invited half the town inside.”
“Not helpful.” She shot me a look, but her lips twitched as she tried not to smile. “This is just so important. I don’t want to forget anything.”
“You didn’t.” I dropped my teasing tone and pulled her close. “The inn is perfect. You’re perfect. And the grand opening is going to be amazing. You’ve worked your ass off. Relax and enjoy it.”
She exhaled and leaned into me for a moment before glancing up at me, a sparkle in her eye. “You just want me to relax so I won’t make you give a speech.”
I groaned and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You know damn well I’m not giving a speech, sweetheart.”
She already asked me three times, and each time I’d given her the same answer. The inn was hers. This day was about her. Sure, I helped and we did a lot of it together, but none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for her tenacity and her vision. It was Avery’s day.
“I think I can convince you.” Her hands slid down my body.
As much as I would have loved to give her the opportunity to try out her methods of persuasion, there was no time. In minutes, the inn would be swarming with family, friends, and neighbors. None of them needed a show.
I caught her hands again and gave her a deep kiss. “I have no doubt I’d love to see you try, sweetheart. But?—”
“Is this where the party’s at?”
Avery spun at the sound of the voice, and just like that, it was time to celebrate.
“It looks incredible, Reid.” Grayson slapped me on the back and joined me in leaning against the wall, where I’d been watching my wife in her element. It felt like the entire town had come out to see the grand re-opening of the Tamarack Inn and support Avery.
Everywhere I looked, people were laughing, smiling, and admiring the renovations we’d done.
“I can’t take any of the credit,” I told my brother. “It was all Avery’s vision from the very beginning. She knew exactly what she wanted. I was only labor.”
He elbowed me in the ribs before lifting his drink to his lips. “We both know that’s not true. But I will say, the two of you make a pretty awesome team.”
“I won’t disagree with that.” I let myself smile.
Next to me, Grayson laughed. “I still can’t believe it.”
“Believe what?” Reluctantly, I looked away from Avery to face my brother. “That we were able to pull it off?”
“Oh no.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “That I can believe. I just can’t believe you finally met someone who’d not only put up with your grumpy ass but could also put a smile like that on your face.” He laughed again, but I couldn’t disagree.
“Gives you hope, does it?” I shot him a look. “I mean, if it can happen for me…”
“Forget it.” Grayson blew off my comment the way he always did when someone brought up the subject of women and dating. “It’s not happening.”
I knew better than to press my twin. He’d been in love once, and it hadn’t worked out. We all thought it would take a bit of time for him to get over it and move on, but it had been years since his first love, Harlow, left to pursue her career as a chef. She’d traveled around the world, working with some of the most famous chefs in the business, experiencing amazing things, but Grayson still seemed to be stuck in the past. And it didn’t look as if that would change anytime soon.
We stood in easy silence for a few minutes, watching the party around us, when a familiar face broke away from the crowd and headed in our direction.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, guys, but you were just the guy I’ve been looking for.” Asher Carlson, along with his fiancé Noa, joined us.
“You’re not interrupting anything.” I shook Asher’s hand and gave Noa a quick hug. It had been a while since I’d seen either of them. Asher and his siblings had grown up with me and my brothers.
Although the Carlson family was widely considered Trickle Creek royalty, with their father Michael known for his business prowess that had ultimately saved the town many years earlier, they were all down-to-earth, genuine people. “Good to see you both. Thanks for coming.”
“It’s great to have the inn back up and running,” Asher said.
“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re good with a little competition to your condos up at the hill?”
“The way tourism is booming in Trickle Creek, I’m not worried. There’s plenty of room for us all to be successful.” Asher laughed. “A rising tide and all that.”
“All that, indeed.” My attitude toward tourists in my town had definitely shifted over the last few months. It had to, considering I would be helping Avery run the inn. It probably wouldn’t be good for business if I was openly hostile to the guests.
Besides, Avery helped me see that just because we were opening our doors to tourists didn’t mean they’d be taking over our town. Only that we now had the opportunity to share everything we loved with them on our terms.
I still didn’t love the fact that people were trying to strip the character from the old homes and “modernize” them, but I’d shifted my approach to potential renovation clients. Instead of getting mad and quitting, giving more work to Danny Davis, I guided them to the more desirable alternative of maintaining the original charm of their properties while updating them. So far, my new approach seemed to be working, and I was all booked up with jobs for the next six months or so.
Avery’s influence was rubbing off on me in more ways than one.
“The place really does look incredible,” Noa said. “Congratulations.”
“Reid won’t take any of the credit,” Grayson offered. “He’s too humble.”
“He is,” Asher agreed before turning to face me. “But I assume you will take credit for that dining room table I saw. In the other room?”
“I will.”
About a month earlier, Avery asked me to make the table. Something solid, something that will last. Like the swing. But somewhere guests can gather and share stories.
So after the long days working on the inn’s endless renovations, I spent my nights at the workshop shaping the thick slabs of oak, sanding every inch until it was perfect. I’d left the edges raw and, right in the middle, I’d carved the same image I had on the swing.
It had turned out better than even I had hoped. Avery cried when she saw the finished product. It was perfect.
“It’s beautiful,” Noa said. “And so unique.”
Asher nodded. “You’re very talented, Reid.”
“Thank you,” I grunted. Accepting compliments did not come naturally to me.
“I’m not sure what your schedule looks like coming up, but we could use some original pieces up at the lodge. Maybe we can meet next week to discuss some commission pieces?”
Commission pieces for the lodge would not only mean a nice little paycheck, but also invaluable exposure for my budding woodworking business. “Absolutely, Asher. That would be fantastic.”
“Great.” Asher wrapped his arm around Noa. “I’ll let you get back to the party. Congratulations on the inn. We’ll chat next week.”
We said our goodbyes, and when Asher and Noa were out of hearing range, Grayson turned to me with a big grin. “Damn, Reid. Having your work up at the lodge will be huge.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“It’s funny how things work out, huh? And all because I asked you to do me a favor that day at the hardware shop.”
“You knew I would say yes.”
“Of course I did.” He laughed. “But a simple thank-you would do.”
“Thank you.” I laughed. “But now it’s my turn to ask for a favor.”
Grayson eyed me. “Oh yeah?”
I nodded seriously. “I need you to be my best man.”
My brother’s mouth dropped open, and he laughed again. “But you’re already?—”
“This one’s for us.” I turned and scanned the crowd, finding my beautiful wife immediately. As if she could sense my eyes on her, she turned and smiled.
Avery lifted her hand in a little wave, and I blew her a kiss.
“Avery deserves a proper wedding,” I told Grayson. “And I plan on spending the rest of my life making sure she has anything and everything she wants.”