Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
She threw herself at me, catching me off guard momentarily. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her before gently easing her back.
“I didn’t know you were home!”
Feeling my face heat, I nodded. “Um, yeah, for a week.”
“Your parents must be over the moon.”
I nodded and caught Sean out of the corner of my eye, walking over. He gave me a look I couldn’t read before glancing at Harper.
“Ready, Harper?”
“It was great seeing you, Declan. I hope you’ll be home for the holidays.”
“I’m not sure yet if I’ll be able to make it home or not.”
Sean touched her arm. “We should get going.”
“Right,” she replied. Turning back to me, she stretched on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. “I hope to see you again before you leave, but if I don’t…stay safe, okay?”
Smiling, I replied, “Will do. See you later, Harp.”
As they walked away, Sean glanced back and shot me a warning look.
Candice chuckled. “Well, that was interesting. Sean didn’t seem to like how friendly you and my sister were.”
I dragged my gaze away from the two of them retreating. “Nah, Sean is just hard to read.”
Raising her eyebrow, Candice simply flashed me a wide grin. “Enjoy your time at home, Declan. See you around.”
Nodding, I replied, “See ya.”
I watched Sean wrap his arm around Harper’s waist as they walked away. Raising my hand, I rubbed at an ache in my chest.
And right there, I made a decision: as long as my brother was dating Harper Browning, I’d stay as far from Moose Village as I could.
Harper
Present Day
The bell above the door to my flower shop, Crazy Daisies, rang, and I glanced up to see my sister Amanda.
“Hey, what brings you by?”
Amanda was holding her six-month-old daughter, Mandy, on her hip as she approached the counter, where I was working on the accounting. Aunt Olivia, my part-time employee, was helping a customer.
“Mom asked me to stop by and make sure you have all the flower displays ready for the Mother’s Day brunch and munch.”
I exhaled. “Does she remember she retired?”
My sister chuckled. “I think she forgets sometimes. I’m honestly surprised she isn’t here helping to make them.”
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I smirked instead. “Well, if she were here, she would be pleasantly surprised to know that most of them are finished and in the cooler, ready to be delivered tomorrow. I only have a few more to make.”
“Wow,” Amanda said, her brows raised. “You’re really doing this adulting thing pretty good, aren’t you.”
I laughed. “Well, I am thirty, so I’d hope I’ve got my stuff together.” Pointing to the baby, I replied, “You’re doing the adulting thing pretty darn good, as well.” I leaned in and tickled under Mandy’s chin, causing her to giggle.
She put her hands out for me to take her. Walking around the counter, I swept her right out of my sister’s arms. “Hello, my sweet, darling girl.”
“Ha. You wouldn’t have said that an hour ago when she was throwing a fit. She hasn’t taken a nap today, and if I don’t get her down soon, I’m afraid we’ll have a little monster on our hands.”
I laughed. “God, she’s so cute!”
“Yeah, I think so, too.”
Glancing at my sister, I asked, “How’s Nathan?”
“He’s on a jobsite. A new house is being built on the south side of the lake.”
“Really?” I asked, my brows hitching up in surprise. “Local?”
She shook her head. “Nope. And apparently, he can’t tell me who’s building the house because he had to sign an NDA.”
Gasping, I joked, “Oh, please let it be Taylor Swift!”
Amanda laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think we could ever be that lucky, but that would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
“It would be, until we were overrun with visitors. I like that our little town isn’t that big of a tourist trap.”
“Agreed.”
Mandy started to fuss, so I gave her back to Amanda. “You can tell Mom everything’s ready to go and she can stop worrying. It’s crazy to me that she’s on the board for this event—and she’s a mom! Shouldn’t the guys be doing all the Mother’s Day planning?”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Please. Men don’t think like women. If we left it up to them, there’d be some hot dogs and chips.”
The bell rang again, and we both turned toward the door to see Sean Gallagher walk in. My ex.
“Why is he here?” Amanda asked in a lowered voice.
Sean and I had broken up a few weeks ago, when he’d decided his future no longer included me. I wish I could say I was heartbroken, but it was honestly for the best. For the last year of our relationship, we’d felt more like friends than anything, and we ended our relationship still being friends.
Of course, my three sisters despised him, and that mostly had to do with the public humiliation I’d suffered when he broke up with me. I was pretty sure Tina put a curse on him as well.