Chapter 46
CALLUM
Kyra’s face is confused, yet she also looks like she is moments away from crying. I am not sure if she is even aware of why she is going to cry. Kneeling on my one good knee in front of her. I brush away a stray tear as it falls down her cheek.
“Why the tears, Sunflower?” My voice is so soft that I’m not sure if anyone else but Kyra can hear me.
“I’m not sure.” She lets out a sob and laughs at the same time. “God, I’m a fucking mess.”
“An absolutely gorgeous one.” Leaning in, I kiss the tears off her cheeks. “Do you want me to tell you what this is, or I can take you there?”
Pulling a key out of my pocket. Off the key dangles a sunflower keychain that glitters in the morning sun coming through the window. Kyra looks up at the key that is hanging between my fingers.
“Will you take me?” Her eyes are bright, the tears gone as excitement replaces them.
“Of course. Let’s go get dressed.”
Kyra bounces in the passenger seat of my truck. The nervous but excited energy radiates off of her. Watching her out of the side of my eye, I can feel the nerves settling in.
What if she hates the space?
What if the dream of a bookstore of her own was just one of those fantasies she never really wanted?
The drive into town seems to take forever. All around us, the world is draped in sparkling snow. This winter has been one of our snowiest in a while, and all of the flakes shine from the morning sun. Behind my truck, there is a caravan of all of our loved ones following us to her present.
A couple of months ago, I came across the perfect little brick building, right beside a Pilates studio and a flower shop.
After doing a little research, I noticed that the area did not have a bookstore, a big-box, or an indie within a twenty-minute drive.
There was also a lack of nearby cute coffee shops.
My Sunflower has talked about opening a bookstore with a cafe inside anytime we daydream about life.
This is my time to give her what she has always wanted.
After starting with Graham and Dee, they let me come in as a co-owner, which allowed me to keep all of the contracts I take on.
The first job was a big paycheck, and I decided I wanted to spend it on my girl.
Granted, she wasn’t my girl yet back then, but she was always it for me.
“This is such a cute neighborhood.” Kyra’s voice startles me out of my daydreams.
“I thought so.”
“And it’s so close to the house.” Her voice always manages to go up an octave when she’s excited.
The store is only about fifteen minutes from the house, but currently it’s the longest fifteen minutes of my life. The only thing that will probably feel like it takes even longer is waiting for her to say yes.
We pull up outside the building, and she squeals.
“Oh my god!” Kyra jumps out of the car at the same time I hear Nyx’s scream too. Before any of us guys can prepare, the entire girl gang is squealing and jumping around.
“I didn’t even know Alyra had that in her.” Graham walks over to me, laughing.
“I think Nyx and Kyra have brought out her feminine side a bit,” Dee says.
Spotting Jason watching her from a distance makes my chest tighten for him. David looks just as lost as Jason. I just shake my head and pull them into the little group with my brother and Dee.
“Shall we go inside?” I call over to the group of girls still squealing.
“Yes, please!” Kyra’s eyes are so bright, and I never want this moment to end.
Walking over to the door and sliding the brass key into the lock. I slowly open the door while Kyra tries to push past me to see the inside. Reaching my hand inside to feel the wall for the light switch. Flipping the light on, a soft glow illuminates the space.
I decided I wasn’t going to do any work on the building yet; I wanted my Sunflower to make this how she wished.
The space is warm and inviting, and there are already a lot of warm woods in here.
In the back, there is a small room that would be perfect for some couches and chairs.
It has a gas fireplace already on the back wall.
“Holy fuck…this is mine?” Kyra’s awe is evident in her voice.
“Yes, Love. I bought this building outright for you. The other businesses are owned by us as well. I wanted to make sure we could keep small businesses in business.” I walk over to her, where she is just standing in the middle of the space, jaw slack.
Giving her a kiss on the top of her head, I pull her into my chest.
“Thank you.” Her voice is so slow that I barely make it out.
“Ky, seriously, this is perfect.” Nyx walks up to us with a huge smile on her face. “You did good, brother-in-law.” She slaps me playfully on the arm and goes back to exploring the space.
“Over here,” I point to a counter space already built in. “I think it is the perfect space to set up the cafe. So you can serve coffee in the mornings and wine in the evenings. In the back, I thought it would be a good spot to host book club meetings or author signings.”
“You have envisioned all this?” Kyra meets my gaze with a little shock and excitement.
“Of course. This was your dream, and it’s my job to make your dreams come true. So I needed to find a space that would work for what you wanted.”
With just a second to react, she jumps up in my arms and wraps her legs around my waist. As soon as her face is at the same level as mine, her lips are on mine.
My knee wants to give out at the sudden weight change, but I quickly walk us over to the counter and set her ass on it, not breaking our kiss.
Kyra starts to grind up against my length when there is a throat clearing behind me.
“Oh fuck!” Kyra squeals. “I forgot we had company.” She blushes and buries her face in my chest.
“We will see you two back at the house.” Nyx gives me a wink as she leads our posse out of the store.
“It’ll be about an hour for me to get dinner finished once I get home.” Demitri pats me on the shoulder with a look in his eye that says ‘take your time’.
“Thanks,” I say with a chuckle.
Once I hear the store door close behind them, I leave Kyra on the counter and lock the door.