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Jerry got off too easily. Eugene refused to press charges, and I knew it was because she worried that he would retaliate by messing with me. He couldn’t have, but she didn’t understand how much power my father had.
“I love you.” she said, kissing my cheek.
I felt the tension drain and said, “I love you, baby.”
“This is good news. At least people will get answers. Maybe they’ll get their money, too.”
“I don’t really give a damn as long as they stay the fuck away from you.”
“Do you like this nail polish?” she said as she laid her head on my shoulder. Her hair tickled my cheek. I smiled as she waved her hands toward my face. Her nails were painted red. She dropped her right hand, keeping her left hand up as she brought it closer. She was being so obvious about staring at her fingers that I kissed her hair, watching her fingers flex.
“It looks good,” I told her.
“It’s missing something, though. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm.”
She burst out laughing, burying her face in my neck as she curled up on my lap.
Bliss.That was what that was. Fucking bliss.
EPILOGUE
EUGENE
Three years later
“Is this the bookstore?” the old lady asked right as she peeked into the door that led to and from Homestyle. When Hudson added to the restaurant, he created a hall leading to the bookstore. He oversaw the dessert menu that I offered, so he needed direct access to my building. Plus, I believed he wanted a direct connection to me.
“Hello. Welcome toBooks & Caffeine.We also have cakes and other desserts for anyone who has a sweet tooth,” Georgianna said to the old lady, only for her to greet another customer with the door chimed again.
It was opening day for my bookstore.
My palms were sweaty, and I was jittery with excitement. I couldn’t believe how many people were walking aroundmyplace, looking through the book aisles. The bookstore existed thanks to my husband, his dad, and Finnick, who built it within a couple months. Hudson constantly told me it was me who made my dreams happen, but I liked to think we did it as a team.
To the left of the bookstore, I had the cash register. There was an entire bar of desserts, including donuts, cakes, and cookies. We also decided to try custom orders to see how it went. Daisy liked the idea of baking sweets when Hudson couldn’t. We also decided to offer milkshakes and smoothies for those who didn’t like coffee. I would try a little of everything at the beginning to see what the customers liked.
While I felt bad that I stole Georgiana and Loretta from Homestyle, it didn’t take my husband long to find waitresses. I’d grown close with the women and wanted them working in my store.
When I saw a couple of women walk into the monster and alien romance aisle, I grinned. Right below the aisle name there was a sign that read:The bookstore is not liable for your newfound obsession with alien men. Read at your own risk!
I put the children’s books on the opposite side of the store, so there would be no mix up with the romance books. Besides, I thought there were too many signs for all the categories of books. While the majority of my books were dedicated to the romance genre, I included aisles for non-fiction, science fiction, mystery, and young adult.
When I glanced away from the alien romance aisle, the little old woman stood in front of me. “Are you the wife?”
“Huh?”
She smiled, and an older gentleman stood behind her, grinning too. “Are you the owner of this place and the wife of that man who keeps giving out these vouchers in the restaurant?” She held up the voucher Hudson printed to hand out to his customers.
My chest warmed. “Yes, that would be me.”
“Your husband is stopping everyone at the door before they walk out of Homestyle and asking them to walk over.”
Oh, Hudson.
