AllFreeNovel
Share Us
EPILOGUE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Kelly sighed as she surveyed the empty space that surrounded her. The former shoe store had been bared to the rafters in preparation for the new tenants. Right now, the place was barren, just a shell. Soon it would be bustling with activity and filled to the brim. With people, hopefully. And books.
So many books.
Spencer came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What a way to spend New Year’s Eve, huh?”
“Yeah. The cusp of a new year, the start of a new life.”
“You’re not about to start crying again, are you?”
She laughed, so far from crying she felt as if she could light up the whole building with her excitement. “Not even close. I want to dance. Or maybe do cartwheels. I used to be able to.”
“Now that I’d like to see. How long can you hold certain…positions?”
“You’ve seen me hold enough of them, answer that yourself.” She leaned her head to the side as he kissed her neck, lacing her fingers with his over her stomach. “We’ll have to move fast,” she said after a moment.
“I’d be happy to. Why do you wear so many damn clothes?”
She laughed again and smacked his meandering hand away from the button of her jeans. “I mean here. We’ll have to get things done quickly.”
“Well, yeah, that’s the plan. But we don’t want to rush. Everything has to be perfect.”
“It already is. Too perfect.”
Because he knew her way too well, he spun her around and tipped up her chin. “A minute ago you wanted to dance. Now you sound miserable.”
As the lump formed in her throat, she shook her head. Of course. She couldn’t just let anything be. “I’m fine. It’ll be fine.”
“Kelly.”
“I’m not going to cry,” she said and smiled at his relieved expression. “I’m just scared. The last few months have been a dream. When am I going to wake up?”
“You are awake. We both are. And if they’ve been a dream, it’s because we’ve worked our asses off to get here. We deserve this. Both of us.”
“What if—”
“What if is for tomorrow. We’re living today.” He kissed her nose. “You’re the one who made me believe we could do this. I couldn’t have walked away from the store if I hadn’t hoped to God you’d be waiting for me on the other side.”
She pressed her fingertip over his lips. “See, stuff like that will make me break my promise not to cry.”
“We’re going to make it, Kelly. We already have. Who else but us would open a bookstore in this economy? No one. Every banker we talked to said we were nuts.”
“They’re probably right.”
“But it didn’t stop us. We poured our savings into this, risked everything. Even with The Book Nook right across town, even starting from nothing with only hopes and dreams and plans, we didn’t give up. Because we’re about the books. Even as things change, people still want to read. And we’ll find a way to reach those people.” He turned her toward the glass door that still bore the name Funky Shoes. “We want to give the gift books have given us to everyone who walks through those doors. It’s not about profit margins and making a quick buck. We’re in this for the long haul, baby. And we can’t fail.”
Every time she started to get scared, he was right there, holding her up. Reminding her why they were doing this. Nail by nail, page by page, moment by moment, they would ensure nothing could shake the foundation they were beginning to build.
Right down the line.
“You know, some women might want to spend their first New Year’s as part of a real actual couple doing something couple-ish. Like going out for a fancy dinner and dancing. Or to a party. Not standing around in the sawdust spinning fairy tales.”
“It’s no fairy tale.”
“I know. But I love yanking your very big, very thick chain.” She patted his cock through his jeans—something he actually wore pretty often now, amazingly enough—and grinned.
