39. Alice #2
Without another word, Harold leaves, two bags of romance novels swinging from his fists. He beelines for Mrs. Devonshire’s house, stepping past Maggie as she slides inside the bookshop.
“What are we looking at?” Maggie asks, joining us by the front window.
“Harold bought Mrs. Devonshire some slutty books,” June explains.
The three of us practically press our noses to the glass, watching as Harold knocks on Mrs. Devonshire’s door. She swings it open, and we hold our breath. They talk, he shows her the books, and Mrs. Devonshire’s face breaks into a slow smile.
“Yeah,” Maggie mutters as Harold goes inside. “Get ya some.”
I pull my friends away from the window, laughing, and rush back to the counter when I spot a customer. After I scan their books, I add a bookmark and a sleeved cookie to the customer’s bag, thanking them before turning back to my friends.“What are y’all doing here?”
“We came to relieve you.” Maggie steals a cookie from the jar. “You’re going to miss the entire river thing, which you came up with.”
“But I can’t leave the store,” I argue.
Maggie looks at June. “Are we useless?”
“Do we not have arms?” June adds.
Maggie glances back at me. “You think we haven’t run a register before? Or restocked shelves?” Maggie rounds the counter and takes my shoulders, guiding me away from the register. “We can cover you for an hour. Unlike you, we have part-time employees, which I strongly suggest you hire. Now go!”
I laugh, asking if they’re sure, but June is already handing me my sweater and waving down Colt to go with me. I barely manage another protest before they’ve effectively evicted me from my own shop.
“I guess we’re going to the river.” I smile and give Colt a helpless shrug.
Colt takes my hand and raises it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. It’s the first second we’ve had to connect since customers started pouring in, and I suddenly find myself longing to hug him. To kiss him. To maybe even spend the free hour in our bedroom instead of…
Colt releases my hand, his smile vanishing.
I spin around, following his gaze, and see my parents standing on the sidewalk. They’re watching people flow through the bookshop, their faces open with surprise. When they catch sight of me, their expressions morph into something cautious, but warm.
My parents walk toward Colt and me, and I note that my brother is with them. He stayed at the inn last night, saying he wasn’t about to overhear something and be forced to put his head through a window.
“Alice.” My mom looks at the shop, then at me and Colt, her eyes bright with wonder. “It’s…it’s beautiful. I can’t believe what you’ve accomplished since we were last here.”
“Told you,” Grant says.
“Colt.” My dad takes a small step forward. “I wanted to… We wanted to apologize for what was said at the soft opening. I was out of line.” His cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Colt starts to say something, but my dad forges onward as if he needs to get this out.
“We’ve had the pleasure of getting to know you very well, and when we slowed down to actually remember that, we realized that… Well, we should be so lucky to have Alice date a young man like you. If that’s what you both want.”
I take Colt’s hand, lacing my fingers through his. “It is.”
My dad looks at our joined hands and then nods.
He reaches out his own hand and, after a heartbeat of hesitation, Colt shakes it.
My dad smiles a little, shoulders dropping in relief.
Then his eyes trail to the bookshop. “We underestimated you, Alice. It appears you’re the dark horse of the family and a real visionary. Look at this place.”
We all turn for a moment and admire the hand-carved sign, the flower arch, the carefully crafted bookshelves and buzzing customers visible through the window.
“Will you show us around?” My mom looks at me with such hope in her eyes that I feel myself soften.
“We have to run right now,” I tell them. “But y’all should go inside and check it out. Maybe we can meet up for dinner.”
I glance at Colt to gauge his reaction, and he smiles down at me. “I’ll book a table at Hillstone,” he offers.
My mom hugs me, holding on far tighter than necessary.
Her hug says more than I know she’s capable of.
And while I know my parents aren’t perfect, standing outside my new bookshop and their old home, I feel an unexpected wave of gratitude.
Because Colt encouraged me to chase my dream, but all my life, they’ve pushed me to remain focused and to follow through.
And this time, I did exactly that.
Colt and I walk toward the water’s edge, admiring Holly River in all its festive glory.
Music plays in the streets, children chase one another around street lamps, and the smell of fried dough fills the air.
As people stroll, they bite into sticky candy apples and hold hands and duck in and out of storefronts, bringing much-needed commerce to our businesses.
There are more festival attendees than we dared hope for, and all of Holly River owes Maggie and her social media savviness a debt of gratitude.
I glance up at Colt. “You sure you’re okay with meeting my parents for dinner tonight?”
“For sure.” Colt stops suddenly, squeezing my hand. “Alice, they’re kind of my family too, remember? I get to be mad at them also. And forgive them.”
Emotion tightens my chest as certain words fight to leave my mouth. Three words, in fact, that would perfectly encapsulate how much I care about Colt.
Colt’s eyes drift toward the river, and he spots the crowd. “Am I finally going to see this secret of yours?”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
He growls at the innuendo and loops his arm around my waist. “Very soon, my girl.”
Dalton waves when he sees us, and we head toward him.
“We can wait in line, Dalton,” I say as we approach.
“Nonsense,” he responds, eyes alight with something I must be missing. “You created this. And besides, we have a special boat waiting just for the two of you.”
“Kayak,” I specify. “Though I suppose it’s—”
I stop cold when we reach the dock. Tucked away from the cluster of kayaks are two electric picnic boats, exactly like the ones I showed Colt.
They are low-slung, elegant vessels with a helm bench toward the back and, near the front, a circular seating area surrounding a built-in picnic table.
Both boats have been decorated in fall garland and shimmer in the dappled sunlight.
My hands fly to my mouth. “Who did this?”
Colt smiles down at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck. Dalton’s grin and pointed stare at Colt gives it away.
“I can’t believe it.” I gaze up at Colt in shock.
He shrugs. “Your dad told me to save and invest, and to take a financial risk only when I found an idea that made sense.” He meets my bewildered stare. “I can’t think of a single thing that makes more sense than you, Alice.”
“But what if it doesn’t work?” My heart races. “What if you lose your money and—”
Colt juts his chin toward the lines. There’s a shorter one for people awaiting kayaks, but the one for the picnic boats stretches nearly to the Hall. “The only concern I have right now is whether to add a third boat.”
I shake my head at him, smiling like the lovesick woman I am as he leads me into our private vessel.
The picnic table holds thick wedges of cheese, ripe pear slices, sugar-dusted cider doughnuts, and tarts filled with caramelized onions and goat cheese.
In the center, nestled in a bucket of ice, is a bottle of champagne.
The immaculate spread has June’s name written all over it.
Dalton jumps behind the wheel. “Pretend I’m not here.” He winks and starts the whisperlike motor.
The boat glides away from the dock, the movement so smooth it’s like we’re floating on air. Colt pours two glasses of champagne and hands one to me. We sit huddled together on the padded bench, and I drape the wool blanket over our shoulders.
As we round the river bend, the world transforms into an autumnal wonderland.
The arching trees lining the banks have been wrapped in thousands of tiny orange lights, creating a glowing tunnel.
White lanterns hang from branches like low-hanging moons, and glowing pumpkins dangle from invisible wires.
Just overhead, chains of marigolds sweep back and forth, so close that when I reach up, my fingers graze the soft, silken petals.
Colt glances at me, awe stretched across his face.
I kiss him, quick, wanting to bottle the look in his eyes. Wanting to keep it by my bed and revisit it time and again. Shake it with both hands and watch flecks of gold dance around his expression like a snow globe.