Chapter Twenty-Six
THE NIGHT BEFORE GRANNY was set to return, Emma barely slept a wink, her thoughts running a mile a minute and her nerves jangling.
Hunter had slept over—she was mostly on the mend, but the stairs down from her apartment were still a little intimidating.
Also, she’d gotten awfully used to having him around.
Whether they stayed at his place or at hers, his warm, solid presence made anywhere feel like home.
The one night she’d spent without him, when he’d gotten tied up at work and Hattie and Abby had invited themselves over, she’d had fun, but she’d missed him.
Fortunately, that one night of distance had seemed to do the trick. Whatever weirdness she’d sensed from him was more or less gone by the next day, leaving her to wonder if it had even been real or if she’d just let her imagination run away with her.
Either way, she was happy things were back on an even keel. He’d stayed over the following night, and then taken her back up to his cabin the night after that, and somehow, they’d fallen into a pattern of alternating nights.
At this point, he had to see that she was mostly back to full strength. But he hadn’t suggested going home without her, so she hadn’t brought it up, either.
Surely this couldn’t be their new normal—right?
Couples who just moved in together right away almost always ended in disaster.
But cohabitating with him was so easy. Easier than it had ever been with Brock, and they’d lived together for years.
She didn’t feel like she had to tiptoe around him or change up her plans to suit his preferences.
Instead of her fitting herself into his routine, they’d created a new routine. Together.
That said, he was currently standing directly in front of a vital part of her routine. She scowled at him, but he didn’t budge.
“Look.” He held his hands up in front of his chest, which wasn’t fair, considering the way his thin undershirt clung to his biceps and pecs. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. Obviously.”
“Uh-huh.” Ignoring the allure of his delicious muscles, she kept her eyes on the prize.
“But…” He winced. “Are you sure more coffee is really the answer right now?”
Of course, she started to say. More coffee was always the right answer, especially after a crummy night’s sleep.
But the man had never commented on her caffeine addiction before, and the tone in his voice was so gentle. Not manipulative at all.
She glanced down at her hands. Were they shaking, or was she vibrating?
She curled them into fists and shoved them in the pockets of her pajama pants. Her heart was also racing, and her anxiety was at an eleven out of ten, so maybe—just maybe—he had a point.
She exhaled deeply, giving up. “Fine.”
With that, he breathed out a sigh of relief and stepped away from the coffee maker to fold her into his arms. She breathed in his warm, spicy scent and let her head rest on his chest.
“I’m still having more once we get the pot going in the café, though, you realize.”
He kissed the top of her head, chuckling quietly. “I never doubted it.”
Snuggling up against him helped ease some of the nervousness rattling around inside her, and she was tempted to let her hands slide down his body. Getting naked before getting dressed would be a pretty great way to keep her brain occupied. It had certainly helped before bed last night…
But alas, she wanted to do a final check-over of everything downstairs before Granny got in, so with regret, she tipped her head up for one more-or-less chaste kiss before exiting his embrace.
He let her go with reluctance, and with a smolder in his gaze that had her quivering inside, eagerly anticipating having more time to get distracted by each other later.
From there, it was the usual slalom. She clumsily got dressed in a cute dress with tights and lace-up boots that gave her ankle just a tiny bit of extra support.
She did her hair and makeup, and emerged from the bathroom to find Hunter fully dressed in his autumn forest ranger pseudo-uniform of cargo pants and a thermal Henley and a flannel shirt and damn.
Who would have known that lumberjack chic was going to end up becoming her kryptonite?
“Ready?” he asked.
Ready to tear their clothes back off? Absolutely.
That wasn’t what he meant, though. She nodded and grabbed her bag before heading for the door.
She got herself down the stairs without incident, taking it slowly, one step at a time. Hunter walked beside her, not that she really needed him anymore, but it was still nice.
He gave her a hand with getting the shop ready to open, striding around and turning on lights. She trailed after him, fussing with the autumnal garlands and straightening a couple of books on the central display table.
She woke up the computer and neurotically checked that the website was still up and running, which it was, naturally, but still.
The fall fantasy romance bookstack she’d highlighted on social media had prompted dozens of orders overnight, which just went to show that this had been a worthwhile investment. Definitely.
“Anything else you need?” Hunter asked.
She shook her head, smiling at him, even though she was a bundle of jittering nerves. “Don’t think so.”
“Okay.” He came over to her and gave her a firm, warm kiss. He pulled away, one hand still cupping her cheek.
But before he could get any farther, there was a rattling at the front door.
Emma’s eyes flew wide, and she stepped back just as the door swung open. And in walked Granny Smith.
Emma managed not to let out an actual eep of alarm, but only narrowly.
Granny’s flight had landed the night before, and she’d said via text that she’d try to pop by the shop before it opened, so they could catch up a bit before the Saturday morning mayhem started, but Emma had still figured she had an hour or so.
“Good morning!” Granny called. Her already medium-brown skin was a shade darker from two and a half weeks of soaking in the sun, her tightly coiled, gray hair held back from her face with a scarf.
There was a relaxation to her posture that was new, though as her gaze swept the store, her brows rose and rose.
Then she took in Hunter and Emma, standing together behind the register. Time froze, and Emma gripped the edge of the counter.
Without missing a beat, easygoing as can be, Hunter called out, “Morning, Granny. Good trip?”
Granny cracked a smile, and Emma exhaled.
“Wonderful.” Granny’s eyes sparkled, her cane making soft thudding noises on the tile as she made her way over.
Was she talking about her trip, or about the situation with Hunter just casually hanging out here at eight o’clock in the morning?
To underscore the ambiguity, she darted her gaze between the two of them.
“And I can see that you’ve been busy while I’ve been away. ”
Emma’s throat closed up, but she coughed into her hand and forced a smile. “I sure have.” As in she’d been getting busy with Hunter? Heat rose to her cheeks. “With the store,” she clarified, but her stammering only made her sound more guilty.
“Clearly,” Granny intoned, wryly. She let Emma simmer in her discomfort for a few seconds before gesturing around. “Why don’t you catch me up on everything, then?”
“That’s my cue.” Hunter hugged her in against his side. “See you tonight?”
“Yeah,” Emma agreed, curling her hand around his for just a moment before they both let go.
Hunter stepped out from behind the counter and tipped his head. “Granny.”
“Hunter.”
He cast a single backward glance at Emma, silently mouthing, Good luck, and then he was out the door and off to work.
Emma’s throat caught. “So. Um.”
Raising a hand, Granny chuckled. “No need to explain. The minute you two met at the Crossing, I knew I’d find him lurking in my store some sunny morning, eventually.”
Right. If anything, Granny had shoved them together with an alarming lack of subtlety. Why would she have any qualms about them clearly having had a sleepover the night before?
“Also, Betty Jenkins called me the minute my plane touched down.”
Emma laughed and rubbed at her eyes. “Great, then you’re really all caught up.”
“On the personal lives of everyone in Heart’s Hope Crossing, yes,” Granny said dryly. “But there’s still the matter of everything you’ve been up to here.”
The nerves Emma had pushed down surged right back to the surface, but she was feeling steadier now. “Well, as you can see, I have done a bit of redecorating. But that’s not all.”
“You’d better take me through it, then,” Granny said kindly, all encouragement. No suspicion, no second-guessing.
Emma inhaled deeply before letting her breath out slowly.
And then she did just that.
“Well,” Granny said, plunking down in the chair behind the desk. “Saying you’ve been busy while I was away was clearly an understatement.” She raised her brows and adjusted her glasses pointedly. “And that’s not even touching what you’ve been up to with that young man of yours.”
Emma’s heart was in her throat, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “If it helps, I also learned how to make phyllo pastry desserts, and I got to check out Dr. Nguyen’s clinic.” She winced to show that it hadn’t been a social visit.
“Oh dear.” Granny’s eyes widened. “Are you all right?”
“Mostly.” Emma took a seat at the stool by the register. Her ankle felt okay, but the store was opening soon, so she should enjoy a few minutes of not being on her feet while she could get them. “Just a little hiking incident, but I’m mostly recovered.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.”
“So.” Emma fiddled with her nails, bracing herself. “What do you think?”
Granny smiled. “Mostly, I think I made a good decision hiring you.”
Oh, thank God. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I had a good feeling, the minute I posted that job and you sent in that stellar application not one hour later.”
“We both got lucky.”