Chapter Nineteen – Aurora
Aurora
Of course, the morning would be busy. I wasn’t sure why so many tourists were in town, but I wasn’t going to complain. We had a ton of sales, which made the morning go by quickly. I was also grateful that Lou had come in this morning.
“Liam sent this over,” I said as I forwarded the information on where we would be camping on to my sister.
She sighed as I walked her through the process of depositing the day’s earnings at the bank. “Jesus H, Aurora. I’ve done this before. You being out of town isn’t going to make it harder.”
“I know! I know! I just worry. And you promise to take care of Luna?”
Lou rolled her eyes. “You named that cat after me on purpose.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Her name is Luna. L.U.N.A. Not Lou.”
With a wave of her hand, she said. “Please just go, will you? We’ve got this covered. Go have fun with your new boyfriend.”
I hugged her and turned to head to the back.
“By the way,” Lou called out. “These walls are not very thick.”
Confused, I tilted my head and regarded her. “What do you mean?”
Her mouth twitched. “It means I heard you and Liam this morning when I was sitting in your office, and I’m not going to lie, I threw up a little in my mouth.”
I was positive my entire body turned red. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
My sister slowly shook her head. “If a guy can make you come that hard you scream his name for all the heavens to hear, I hope to God you don’t let him go.”
I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “Oh my God! My baby sister heard me having sex.”
Lou laughed and headed back to the front of the store, but not before saying over her shoulder, “Sure wish he had a brother.”
I dropped my hands and laughed. It was the only thing I could do. Turning, I quickly went to the office and finished up a few last things, then turned off my computer when Brystol texted that they were all upstairs at my place.
“Hey,” I said, giving each of them a hug after setting my stuff down. “Where is the baby?”
“Gavin is on baby duty this afternoon.”
“I brought pizza!” Harper stated.
Cadie came walking out of my kitchen with a wide smile on her face. “And I brought cherry pie with ice cream!”
“We thought maybe we should go shopping,” Brystol said.
“Shopping?” I replied. My face screwed up in disgust. I hated shopping.
“This is like your first date with Liam, so you have to have the proper clothing. You don’t want to look like you’ve never been camping before, yet you want to be prepared in case you get a chance for a date night by the fire.”
I laughed. “I was just going to pack shorts, sweats, things like that. I imagine we’re going hiking and fishing and sitting around a campfire with Winnie. Why in the world would I need new clothes for that?”
Brystol swung her eyes from Harper to me as she said, “You still want to look your best, and I have a bet to win.”
When I didn’t say anything, Brystol gasped.
“What?” I asked.
She pointed at me. “You had sex today, you lying little whore!”
I laughed again. “What?”
“How did I not notice? Your lips are swollen!”
Touching my lips with my fingers, I let out a nervous laugh. “They are not!”
“Okay, they’re not, but they could be!”
Harper slowly shook her head. “Wait, I thought you said you didn’t sleep with Liam at his place last night.”
“I didn’t.”
Cadie leaned in and stared at me. “Oh my God. You had sex. When?”
Brystol dropped her pizza onto her plate. “You couldn’t have! When you talked to me, you were getting ready for work and…”
All three of them screamed.
“How could you not have told us you and Liam slept together?” Brystol shouted.
“When did you and Liam have sex?” Cadie practically screamed.
I hit both of them on the arm. “Would the two of you please be quiet!”
“Who is going to hear us?” Harper asked on a laugh.
Before my mind could catch up with my brain, I said, “Lou heard me and Liam this morning.”
Brystol gasped while Harper cried out, “What!”
I closed my eyes and shook my head before opening them to see all three of them sitting on the coffee table, looking at me with wide, toothy grins.
“This is huge!” Harper said as Brystol nodded her head.
Cadie giggled like a preteen learning about sex for the first time. “So huge! Give the details!”
Harper jumped up. “We need wine!”
“Wine? It’s only one in the afternoon!” I said as Brystol made her way over to the small cart where I had the hard liquor.
“Fuck wine, we need a few shots!”
Cadie laughed as she kicked her feet. She was too happy about this, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Who wants wine and who wants a shot?” Brystol asked.
“Why not have both?” Harper stated.
“Well, I can’t have too much because I’m breastfeeding, but I did pump in anticipation of what we might find out this afternoon.”
I stared at her as she poured each of us a glass of wine and one shot.
Smiling, Brystol held her glass up. “To Aurora and Liam finally admitting they like one another!”
We all clinked glasses, and I took a sip of my wine and set it down on the coffee table. Brystol reached for her shot and downed it.
Harper huffed. “Bry, the shot was for after Aurora told us about the sex!”
“Oh, bummer. I’ll have to pour myself another.”
Cadie smiled. “If you keep this up, we’re going to be carrying you home to Gavin and the baby.”
Brystol winked at her before turning to look at me.
“Tell us everything!”
I did just that. I told my three best friends everything that was said, except the fact that Winnie was not Liam’s biological father.
Cadie let out a low whistle. “I would never have known they were getting a divorce. I mean, Hope would make strange comments, but she never once let on that Liam had asked for a divorce.”
“Me either,” I replied, taking the last drink of wine, then setting my glass on the coffee table.
“It just goes to show that you think you know people and you don’t. I mean, I didn’t know Hope as well as the three of you, but I did notice the way Liam would look at Aurora. It was with very caring eyes and was way more intimate than a friend would look at another friend.”
I felt my cheeks warm. “I will admit that I’ve always thought he was handsome, but I didn’t have those feelings when he was with Hope. Not at all.”
Harper leaned forward. “Aurora, do not feel guilty for falling for Liam. He wasn’t happy, but he did the right thing and stayed by Hope’s side. You both deserve this, and don’t ever think you don’t.”
“Agreed!” Brystol said. “If I learned anything from my relationship with Gavin, it’s that you have to be honest with yourself and with him. I’m glad you guys finally told each other how you feel. You’re going to have the best time with Liam and Winnie this week.”
I felt my face break out into a wide grin. “I think so, too. And I’m honestly excited about this camping trip. Liam is, too, I can tell.”
All three of my friends beamed back at me. Brystol stood and said, “Let’s go find some cute camping outfits to pack!”
Laughing, I got up and led them to my room, where we spent the next hour pulling nearly every piece of clothing I had out until we had the perfect number of outfits and shoes.
“Nervous?” Harper asked, bumping my arm and smiling.
“Let’s see, I’m going on a camping trip, which I’ve never been camping before with a father and daughter who are camping for the first time together as well. We’re starting a new relationship while being confined to a small camper. Yeah. I’m nervous.”
The girls chuckled.
“You know what we should do?” Cadie said as she laced her arm around mine. “We should go get some ice cream.”
“Ohhh…yes. Let me text Gavin and see if he wants to bring Lily. The weather is so beautiful right now, I’m sure it would do her wonders to get some fresh air.”
“I’ll text Declan,” Harper said.
Cadie laugh. “Let’s text Kian and Liam as well!”
A warm sensation flowed effortlessly through my body, and I couldn’t help but be excited for what the future held.
With a nod, I pulled out my phone and sent Liam a text.
Me: The girls want ice cream and are inviting their guys. Would you and Winnie like to join us?
The bouncing dots appeared within seconds.
Liam: Camper is packed up, and Winnie is totally down for ice cream. We’ll walk over and meet you guys there.
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
Me: See you there!
After ice cream, Liam and Winnie walked back to my place.
Winnie played with Luna while Liam brought my two bags down to my car.
I finished cleaning up, and we grabbed Luna and headed down to the bookstore.
Lou was going to be staying up at my place to make it easier with Luna and for herself, since she would most likely be opening and closing.
“Well, if it isn’t our little princess!” Lou said as she hugged Winnie tightly. Taking her hand, she added, “Let’s go pick out a few new books to take camping!”
Winnie jumped in excitement as Liam groaned. “I fear I’m going to have to build a library.”
I laughed and leaned against the counter, watching my younger sister with Winnie. “I’ve always wanted a big library with the rolling ladder.”
Liam laughed. “You have a ladder here at the bookstore.”
Shrugging, I replied, “That’s not the same thing. A personal library with books on old shelves and an old-fashioned ladder. You know, the kind you see in old historical houses.”
Liam nodded. “Is that what you would like someday?”
Facing him, I nodded. “Since I was a little girl, I used to dream of owning a house that overlooked Moose Lake. There is this one, it’s old!
” I laughed. “One of the first homes built on the lake, I believe. Anyway, I don’t even know who owns it, but it needs a lot of work.
Harper said the Moose Village Historical Society has done some work on it, mainly structural, to keep it in good condition. It’s been for sale forever.”
“So, you’d like a fixer-upper?” Liam asked.
“Yes!” I replied, bouncing on my toes. “It was a struggle for me to decide whether I wanted to remodel The Book Nook or keep that money tucked away to buy the old Miller mansion.”
“The Miller mansion? That giant Victorian up on Summit Peak?”
I smiled. “Yes! That’s the one!”
The corner of his mouth twitched for a moment before he slowly shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aurora, I hate to tell you this, but someone bought that house.”
I was positive my mouth fell to the floor. “What? When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“How do you know that?”
He gave a half-shrug. “My father was hired as the contractor to start remodeling it.”
I closed my eyes and saw that dream slipping away. When I opened them again, I let out a long sigh. “That is a real bummer.”
Liam drew me to him. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
My head was nestled onto Liam’s chest, and when the bell above the door chimed, Liam made no effort to move away, so neither did I. That was until we saw who was coming in.
“Oh God,” Liam whispered. “Betty Lou.”
Betty Lou Start was the Moose Village town gossip. If there were still a soul left in Moose Village who hadn’t heard about me and Liam, she would have that fixed in the next three hours.
I patted Liam on the chest. “The cat’s out of the bag now.”
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head, which made Betty’s eyes widen in surprise. She made a beeline straight for us.
“I had to see for myself, and I cannot believe I’m the last to know about you two!”
Liam laughed, and I loved the way it sounded. “The last to know what?” Liam asked with a grin.
“Don’t you play with me, Liam Turner. I heard rumors of you two being together, and I had to come and see for myself. This makes me so happy.”
I let out a huge breath and I felt Liam’s arm tighten around me some.
“Why does it make you happy?” I asked out of curiosity.
Betty Lou smiled, which was kind of a rare thing. Usually, she wore a serious expression. “Anyone with two eyes could see how you two looked at each other. And you’ve both been through a lot. It’s nice to see good people happy.”
Stunned, I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Luckily, Liam was able to speak.
“Thank you, Betty Lou.”
With another smile given when she saw Winnie, Betty Lou turned to me and dropped the smile. “I ordered that book on how to survive an apocalypse. Has it come in yet?”
Liam coughed next to me and before I could answer, Lou came sweeping up with Winnie, who was carrying five books in her little arms.
Motioning toward the other end of the counter, Lou said, “I’ve got it up here, Betty Lou.”
Glancing back over her shoulder, she said to Liam, “The books are on the house, Liam. The boss is on vacation and I’m in charge.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Luna is in my office, we’re heading out.”
“Have fun!” Lou called out as I heard Betty Lou ask, “Where are they going?”
As Liam, Winnie, and I made our way to exit the back of the store. I heard my sister say, “To elope, but that’s between you and me.”
I rolled my eyes as Liam tripped over something that wasn’t there.
“What did she just say?”
Wrapping my arm around him, I guided him along. “Trust me, it’s a much tamer story than what Betty Lou would have come up with.”