Chapter 23
HARLOW
Looking at my eighth cup that I pull out from the box, with a straw and cute imprint on the front, I quirk my lips out, contemplating if I really needed to pack this many smoothie cups.
Meh, Stone will just have to deal. I set it on the kitchen island then tuck my hands into the back pockets of my jeans while I explore the house with my eyes for the hundredth time.
After getting the logistics of the move sorted out, I find myself a new Lake Spark citizen and living with Stone. The butterflies in my stomach have subsided, mostly because after a few days, this has felt very right.
A smile curls on my lips from that thought, and my body relaxes in this house that is beginning to feel like home.
The sound of someone entering through the door by the garage has me turning my head, very aware that Stone is back from town.
He slows his pace and examines my unpacking skills, then his sight bounces to my row of cups while he tosses his key onto the counter and sets a bag down with his other hand.
“Well… I guess it cuts down on daily dishwasher needs?” His strained look fades to humor.
I shrug my shoulders. “Cups and mugs are crucial when working from home. We can’t go to Jolly Joe’s every day.”
“Yes, we can,” he says adamantly. I think it’s part of his daily routine.
Stone dives into the cloth grocery bag to pull out a few items, then he tosses me a bag of chocolate candy. “What’s this?” I ask.
“Halloween candy.”
“Uh… that’s not for like another two months.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, but it’s Lake Spark. We gotta prepare early for the beloved pumpkin season, because the day after it’s straight into winter festivities.”
I laugh as I open the bag, since a little treat sounds good right about now. “Do you get a lot of trick-or-treaters?”
Stone grimaces when he steps forward to pull me close by the hips while I chomp on my mini chocolate bar. “You mean, do we get a lot of trick-or-treaters?”
I won’t get tired of hearing about our house—well, technically, Stone owns it, but semantics.
“Hmm, I thought I was being held captive by a reclusive author who has talents in bed and gives me pop quizzes on hockey. If I fail, then there is most definitely punishment.”
Stone growls and is quick to dive down into my neck to nibble my skin, his stubble tickling me and creating a sensitive sensation down to my toes. “Watch it, Harlow,” he warns.
“Oh dear, did I cause something to stir and press right into that spot between my legs?” My voice is sultry and my look trouble.
“My restraint is on a ledge right now. I just want to rip everything off you and take you on the living room floor because you’re too bad to deserve the kitchen counter,” he husks.
My entire body comes alive with a desperate need, and I grind against him, encouraging Stone to do more.
Instead, I get a devilish growl when he steps back then sweetly kisses my forehead.
“Now, now, Harlow, you know we’re on a schedule,” he tsks.
Ugh, Gloria.
Still ruining our moments like a plague.
“Yes, the Dizzy Duck and writers retreat, yada, yada.” My enthusiasm is low.
Gloria asked us to stop by for her new group to give tips.
We are literally the last people who should be doing that.
Did Stone and I actually do anything last year on that retreat, other than escape into our own little world? Yikes, this might be a disaster.
“We’ll make it a half-hour tops,” Stone promises. I look at him, puzzled. “Okay, it might be a little longer than that before we can escape.” He urges me forward with his fingertips on my arm.
I groan a few more times for good measure.
This woman still has the power to make me feel as though I’m in high school again and in trouble for ditching class.
Gloria smiles brightly at us sitting at the front of the room after giving our introduction. Her eyes shift to her new group of prisoners that walked in to what they thought was a relaxing week of workshops.
Her hands come together. “I’m so happy that Harlow and Stone could stop by to give a few tips and reflections from last year. I’m sure they have some great advice on how you can make your week ahead productive.”
Stone and I look at each other awkwardly.
“Go on. Stone, you’re first,” she suggests.
A croak escapes his dry throat, and he glances at me for a signal of what to say, but I gawk at him to keep this show rolling.
He claps his hands together. “Last year, Harlow and I were partnered together for most of Gloria’s life-changing and empowering retreat.
” I try to keep my chortle in, as I sense the underlying sarcasm, while Gloria just eats this up.
“The first day, the walk you are about to embark on will…” Stone’s lips tick up before his eyes sweep in my direction with fondness.
“Lead you on the path you are supposed to be on. The destination might not be clear, but you’ll get there in the end.
Well, at least the part where you were meant to be.
Endings are for the reader or yourself to figure out, a future that everyone leaves for their own interpretation. ”
My quip that I had planned for this event doesn’t seem fitting anymore. Apparently, this is a sentimental day, and my lips seal together while my mouth stretches up.
“What advice would you give for the first day?” Gloria asks.
Stone stares directly at her. “Abandon the walk and go into town for coffee at Jolly Joe’s.” He’s dead serious, and Gloria isn’t thrilled, especially when a few of the authors in the group chuckle.
“What about your moments of writing, didn’t you find solace and be productive?”
His face grows tight. “Nope.” His deadpan expression causes me to rub my forehead, as Stone has no plans to appease Gloria. “Probably the least productive days in terms of writing in my life. But hey…” Stone throws on an overdone smile. “You paired me up really well. You matchmaker you.”
“You two are together?” a woman in her thirties from the circle asks.
I pipe up. “Actually… yeah. That was the best part of that week. We met.”
“That is so sweet,” she coos.
“What?” Gloria nearly spits out. “Together together?”
Stone and I face one another with a shrug. “Yeah. Didn’t you figure that out yet?” he outlines the obvious. We interlace our fingers, and Stone sets our hands on his knee. This is more of a statement, yet the pad of thumb rubs a circle on my palm.
“We really are the worst people to ask back to talk to everyone,” I tell her.
“I mean, we literally ditched half the workshops, didn’t even show up to a few lunches, and ran away to Main Street a few times too.
Not to mention, we had a late-night drink at the bar, which obviously affects your clear head and writing,” I list.
Gloria’s face is blank, and her jaw already dropped about ten seconds ago.
“I mean, I assumed you asked us here since you knew we were both in Lake Spark. Kind of thought you got the memo that Harlow is my girl now.” Stone playfully brings an arm around my shoulders and squeezes me as I smile tightly.
Gloria seems to puff as if she’s a fish and even turns a shade of red.
“You two are impossible. From day one, you were trouble, yet out of everyone, you didn’t require saving from forest rangers, so I thought okay, we can ask Harlow and Stone back since they both had books released this year.
” Her tangent leads to a lot of hand gestures.
I hold my hand out, indicating for her to calm down. “If it’s any consolation, by bringing Stone and me together, it gave us inspiration in the long run. Yay, you… nailed it on the life-changing experience.” I smile brightly.
“Sounds like he nailed you,” a man from the circle mumbles, and my eyes whip in his direction.
Gloria growls again. “This is a disaster.”
“No, it’s not. I’m sure this little crew here…” Stone throws a thumb over his shoulder. “Will leave with a new outlook on life, just as we did. It’s not always about tasks.”
Gloria’s demeanor seems to brighten. “I mean, I guess I did sense that your personalities would be a great match for the retreat.”
“Exactly,” I assure her.
“And I did give you both a scootch to deviate from the schedule. The walk was all my idea.”
“You must have mystical powers,” Stone adds.
Gloria straightens her posture and seems to be in better spirits. “I knew I was good for something.” A proud grin appears on her face before she snaps her gaze to us with a pointed look. “You two can go, this was still kind of useless.” She shrugs.
Stone is quick to stand up and yank me up with him. “Great. Have fun. Let’s go. We’ll consider you for the invite list for the wedding. Good luck, everyone.”
We are out of that room so fast that my laugh is uneven and mumbled.
The moment we get peace down the hall and head toward the lobby, we calm down, and Stone and I face one another in an embrace.
“That was a real delight.”
Stone widens his eyes to get his bearings before blinking a few times. “What a highlight of our day,” he says, cynical.
“It kind of was. I mean, how are we going to top that, unless you have plans to tie me to your bed again,” I retort.
Stone half-circles us to lead us on. “Not a bad idea.”
I pat his shoulder. “Plan that out in your head while I ask Stuart for a batch of cookies.”
“He might poison them.”
I pinch Stone on his side. “No, he won’t. He likes me.”
Two minutes later, we’re sitting on the sofa in the lobby while we wait for cookies. Stone and I face forward and study the moose on the wall.
“Do you think it’s possessed?” I wonder.
“Maybe. He doesn’t seem to leave, no matter how many times Holden says it’s going to go.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Dead Animal on a Wall.”
I wince. “Ugh, I don’t need that image.”
Right on cue, Holden approaches us. “Heard you two were here.”
He takes a seat on a chaise lounge near us. I met him at Vaughn's wedding.
“Welcome to Lake Spark, Harlow.” He smiles.
“Thanks. So far so good, except this moose on the wall seems to be an evil spirit.”
Holden rubs his face with his hands. “I know. When we had a flood downstairs a month ago, it set us back on the interior designer front, so we were pushed back by four months. I hired a woman to do a full project of this place. The daughter of an old coach of mine, Lexi, but she was in college back then.”
“Great. You can finally swap hunters’ paradise for something to actually represent Lake Spark,” Stone comments.
“Or swap it with a dead duck,” Holden counters.
Stone and I both appear terrified, even though Holden rolls his eyes that we would even consider him to be serious.
“Anyhow, it’s nice to see that you’re shacking up with Stone. I’m sure he’s a real delight to live with. You can soften him a bit, and maybe he’ll finally leave Stuart alone.”
“Nope. His passionate dislike of your receptionist will never disappear.”
“He shows no respect,” Stone is quick to defend himself.
Holden stands and straightens his rolled-up shirt sleeves. “On that note, I’m going to go bury myself in financial numbers. Good to see you, Harlow.”
Stone salutes him away while Stone’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out only to huff a sound.
“Well, seems like tomorrow’s brunch with my brother has returned to normal. Isla texted that she attempted to make muffins and a casserole for tomorrow and she burned them all.”
I smile to myself. “Huh, I guess now that I’m here, they don’t need to impress me. Everyone can be themselves.”
Stone pecks my lips quickly. “That’s a good thing. But still, remind me to pick up donuts tomorrow morning so we don’t starve.” He nods to someone behind me. “Your cookies are ready. Be right back.”
As he heads off, I reflect to myself.
This feels so damn perfect. Stone Madden was always right. We were always going to be something. We were always going to have a life together. In Lake Spark too.
Maybe if I would have realized earlier then it would have gone so easily, but then it might not feel as amazing as it does now. Hurdles make us stronger.
The only thing I will always hold on to inside of me with strong conviction is that the moment Stone’s eyes met mine with the strike of a flame would lead us here.
In that moment, I should have known that it would always be him.