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Her lips curve slightly as she straps the belt on while I start the engine.
Driving toward town, my eyes keep going to Quinn. She’s staring out the window, looking a little surprised as if she expected things to look different.
When I pull up to the hardware store, her eyes lock on the empty store across the street. I turn off the engine, and reaching for her hand, I give it a squeeze.
I give her time to process that The Green Leaf is no longer there, then ask, “Ready to head inside?”
“Yeah.”
Climbing out of the truck, I wait for Quinn before I walk to the door. Unlocking it, I say, “How do you feel about stocking the aisles?”
“Sure, you’ll just have to show me what to do so I don’t mess things up.”
Stepping into the hardware store, I switch on the lights.
Quinn glances around, and then her eyes lock on the side of the counter where I display her cupcakes.
“Eli,” she whispers as she walks closer.
I made a sign that reads, Made by Quinn. There’s also a jar filled with dollar bills.
Quinn points at the jar. “Is that all from sales?”
I nod. “I need to empty it. I opened a saving account until you’re ready to talk about opening a store.”
Her eyes widen. “There’s a saving account?”
“Yeah,” I grin at her. “Four months' worth of cupcakes’ sales has added up to a nice little amount.”
Quinn glances at the sign. “A dollar-fifty one? How many have you sold?”
My smile grows. “There are almost three thousand dollars in the account.”
Quinn’s eyes fly back to me. “You’re joking!”
“I told you, people are loving your cupcakes. If you open a store and make a business of it, you could make a hell of a lot more money.”
I watch as it sinks in, Quinn’s smile slowly growing bigger, and then she lets out a happy shriek as she darts toward me. I catch her, and when she wraps her arms around my neck, I lift her off the floor with a chuckle.
Laughter bubbles from her, the most beautiful sound I’ve heard in a long while.
“Thank you, Eli,” she breathes, pressing her mouth to mine. She lets out a giggle against my lips, and then she peppers kisses all over my face. “Thank you.”
Chapter 18
QUINN
Since I went into town with Eli, I’ve been thinking about what he said about opening up a bakery.
I’ve started writing down ideas of what the store could look like and what other themes would work for the cupcakes. I call it my dream journal.
Eli brings his truck to a stop in front of his parents’ house. We’re helping Ethan move into his own place.
As we climb out of the truck, Alex and Ethan are carrying a couch out of the garage. My eyes scan over all the furniture Ethan’s collected while living with his parents.
“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to move,” I mention as I walk closer.
“Luckily, I have the two of you helping,” Ethan chuckles right before they load the couch onto the back of Alex’s truck.
“I’m just going to start loading,” Eli says as he walks into the garage.
I follow after Eli and pick up a lamp.
“You don’t have to help, baby,” Eli says as he grabs a box labeled kitchenware.
“I want to.”
“Quinn,” Ethan says when I start walking back to the truck.
“Yeah?”
“When we get to my place, would you mind helping Mom unpack everything?”
“Not at all. Is she already there?” I set the lamp down on the truckbed.
“Yes, she went ahead to open the window so the place can air out,” Ethan replies.
We buckle down and load as much as we can before heading to Ethan’s house. After a ten-minute drive, we pull up to a house, right on the beach, that’s in need of a lot of TLC.
The white and blue paint’s peeling off in places, and some of the shutters are missing.
“Shouldn’t he fix the place up before moving in?” I ask Eli when he brings the truck to a stop.
“You try telling Ethan that,” Eli chuckles.
I help unload the lighter boxes before joining Nina in the main bedroom. “I’m here to help.”
Nina wipes over her brow with her forearm. “Boy, am I glad to see you. Grab a bucket of water and a rag from the kitchen. I want to clean all the rooms before we unpack the boxes.”
“Okay.”
I get to work in one of the guestrooms, and every hour or so, Eli comes to check on me.
When I walk into the guest toilet, I scrunch my nose at the ugly lime green tiles. “Dang. If it was up to me, I’d just yank it all out and redo it,” I mumble to myself.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Alex says as he passes by the restroom. “You hear that, Ethan? Quinn agrees with me.”
“Yeah-yeah, I’ll get to it,” Ethan mutters. He comes to lean his shoulder against the doorjamb and glances around the small space. “I wonder what the previous owners were thinking when they chose these tiles?”
