Chapter Twenty-One
BIRDIE SAT AT the desk in the back office, working her way through paying invoices, while Carly monitored her progress.
Carly was leaving for the Caribbean next week, and Birdie had surprised herself by how much she’d learned.
Crew might have been right about Birdie talking herself out of learning accounting.
He’d made it fun, and it turned out she didn’t need to like numbers or enjoy doing the work to learn the process of handling it.
“You’re doing great,” Carly said, sipping her coffee. “I can’t believe it’s almost Halloween already. I haven’t even seen pictures of your decorations. You’re usually buzzing to show them off.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I haven’t had a chance to put any up, and I don’t want to think about how sad the trick-or-treaters will be.”
“Seriously? No decorations? Are you okay?” She touched Birdie’s forehead.
Birdie swatted her hand. “I’ve been a little busy.
” Busy studying accounting with Crew, studying his body, and letting him worship mine, and just being together.
It had been a week and a half since their skating date, and they’d been extra careful about not getting caught.
Crew had even started parking around the corner from her house in case anyone they knew drove by.
They both hated hiding their relationship, but for now it was for the best.
“I know,” Carly said. “I’m sorry about dumping all of this on you.”
“It’s okay. It’s time I learned it anyway.”
“I can’t believe how fast the last three weeks have flown by. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye to everyone at Trunk or Treat, but I am excited for our next chapter.”
“I’m excited for you.” Birdie set the paid invoice aside and reached for the last one.
“That’s a new vendor,” Carly said, motioning to the invoice. “You’ll need to set up a banking rule so it goes into the correct category.”
Birdie nodded confidently. “Got it.”
Carly folded her arms. “You remember how?”
“Uh-huh.” She and Carly had touched on banking rules last week, and then Crew had gone over them again with her. She opened her notebook, flipping to the page where she’d written down notes, and followed the steps.
Carly stared at the screen. “Wow. That was perfect. I have to admit, I was nervous about piling all of this on you, but it looks like I shouldn’t have worried.”
“I really appreciate all the time you’ve put into teaching me, and I don’t mean just accounting.” She’d been thinking a lot about her relationship with Carly. “You did for me what Marie did for you.”
“You’ve never been as broken as I was,” Carly said.
“I don’t mean that part.” Birdie rose to her feet. “You brought me in here as a kid and taught me all about what it really takes to run a business. You let me try new things and supported all my marketing whims, even when they crashed and burned.”
“They never crashed and burned,” Carly said. “Sometimes they barely broke even, but that was early on. Now you’re a marketing dynamo. I couldn’t have grown this business without you, and you’ve talked me off the ledge so many times when I couldn’t find the steps down. We make a good team.”
“We do. I’m going to miss you.” Birdie hugged her tight.
“I’ll miss you, too, but we’ll be back. I promise.”
“You’d better. Baby Indie needs to see his aunt Birdie.”
“Baby Indie?” Carly asked.
“Indiana Jones. He’s an iconic treasure hunter, and he’s good-looking. Indie is good for a girl or a boy, so you can’t go wrong with that name.”
“I so love you!” Carly said, hugging her again.
They filed the paid invoices and shut everything down before heading up front, where they found Quinn wiping down the counters.
“Hey,” Quinn said. “Cutter and I are grabbing dinner at the Mexican restaurant. You guys want to come?”
Carly brightened. “Sure. I’ll call Zev. He’s always up for Mexican.”
Birdie’s stomach dipped. Crew had volunteered at the food bank last night, and after hot yoga, she’d worked on next month’s schedule and new recipes. She wasn’t about to give up the chance to see him tonight. “I’m really tired. I think I’ll skip it, but thanks anyway.”
“Lame,” Quinn teased. “But okay. I’ll eat your share of chips and salsa.”
Birdie felt a tiny pang of guilt and, later, a much larger thrill of anticipation when she finally headed for her car.
She drove through her neighborhood, marveling at the Halloween decorations, as she’d done for the past week.
It never got old, that fizzy happiness that bubbled up inside her every time she saw orange lights wrapped around porch railings and tree trunks, skeletons lounging on lawn chairs, and ghosts hanging from trees.
None of the yards were decorated as elaborately as hers usually was, but they still made her happy.
As she turned down her street, her breath caught.
Her yard was aglow with orange and purple lights.
Jack-o’-lanterns lined the driveway, walkway, and steps, lit up from the inside out.
Ghosts fluttered from the trees, and a giant spider was climbing a brightly lit black netting cobweb that covered one side of her porch.
The grass was covered in crooked graves draped in cobwebs, surrounded by mummies and zombies climbing out of the ground.
In the middle of the yard, three skeletons sat on hay bales, roasting ghosts on sticks over a teepee of wood dripping with tiny orange and yellow lights.
Birdie didn’t need to see Crew to know he’d done this for her. Giddy with excitement, she pulled into the driveway, threw her car into park, and flew out the door.
“Crew?” she called out.
He came around the side of the house, and she ran to him, jumping into his arms, and kissed his smiling lips. He looked around, and her stomach dipped again.
Realizing her mistake, she stepped back, hating every inch between them, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin her excitement. “You did all of this for me?”
“You said you wouldn’t have time, and don’t worry. I was careful. If cars came down the street, I slipped around back.”
“You’re amazing. All of this is amazing! Thank you. It just needs one tiny thing. Give me your flannel,” she said as she took off her puffy pink vest.
He gave her a curious look and handed her his shirt.
She hurried over to the skeletons, carefully putting her vest on one of them and his shirt on the one next to it, then linked their hands together. “There. Now it’s perfect!”
He laughed.
She started to reach for his hand and stopped herself, hating that, too. “Come inside so I can thank you properly.”
They headed inside, and the second he closed the door, her hands fisted in his T-shirt, and she rose onto her toes as he leaned down, meeting her in a scorching kiss. He groaned with frustration, palmed her ass with both hands, squeezing firmly, and then stepped back.
“Come on, Trouble,” he said, heading for the stairs. “We’ve got work to do.”
She stared at his back. “Seriously? One hot smooch?” She hurried after him. “I was hoping for several. A whole series of hotness, actually. Maybe Halloween themed, like werewolf growls and vampire bites.”
He paused at the top of the stairs, his expression far too sober for her jokes, making her nerves prickle. “I’m starting to think you’re only into me for my body.”
He headed into her workroom, leaving her staring after him.
She hurried to catch up. “Crew—”
Her voice vanished as she stepped into the room, her gaze drawn through the glass doors to the balcony, shimmering like it was dipped in magic.
Crew finally cracked a smile and opened the doors.
She followed him out. Black and gold candles flickered from Halloween-themed candelabras on a table set for two, with mismatched plates and funky colored glasses.
In the center of the table was a covered black cauldron with white skeleton hands on the sides, a silver platter with a lid shaped as a witch’s hat, and a ceramic serving dish in the form of a haunted house.
The base was simple and black, but the lid rose into a crooked roofline with crooked chimneys, bats, and skeletons looking out of dormers.
“Crew…?” she said just above a whisper, emotions clogging her throat as she took in several beautiful lanterns, each one a different color and design, shining in each of the crenels on the brick railing.
His arms circled her from behind, and he kissed her cheek. “You decorate to make other people happy. I wanted to decorate for you.”
Her heart swelled, tears burning her eyes. Nobody had ever done anything like this for her. She turned in his arms, and they kissed again, slower and deeper this time, and she poured everything she wanted to say but couldn’t manage into their connection.