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I meet Olive's eyes across Minnie's lap. She gives me an encouraging nod.
I swallow hard. "This is a gift. But this gift comes with strings attached. If you accept the house, you must also accept a permanent helper in the store. In my condition, I'm not able to assist like I used to."
Minnie's face darkens. "Absolutely not. I won't have a stranger coming in and mucking about in my shop."
I meet Olive's gaze again. She clears her throat delicately. "What if it wasn't a stranger, but rather...me?"
Shock flickers across Minnie's face. "You, my dear? But your teaching position at the university—"
"I'm considering going part-time for a while," Olive says. "Until I determine my next move. I would love nothing more than to manage the bookshop for you. You would really be doing me a favor by letting me work with you."
"And her pay will come from us," I add quickly.
Minnie is quiet for a few moments, looking back and forth between the two of us.
"You really want to come work with me?" she asks Olive. Olive nods and hurries to explain.
"I'm in a little bit of hot water since the university folded my lab into a larger lab that's already run by someone else."
Minnie squeezes Olive's hand, misty-eyed. "Well in that case, my dear girl. It would be an honor to have you at the shop." She turns back to me with a slow smile. "It seems you've thought of everything! I accept your gift gladly, along with its strings."
Olivia heaves a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Minnie."
Minnie pats her face and gives her a hug.
Relief washes over me. The first part of the plan is complete. Now I just have to bring Dare on board.
We talk for a few minutes more before parting ways. I give Minnie a final hug, blinking back happy tears. I’m making my way back when the window of an idling black SUV rolls down. Dare squints out the window at me. I wasn’t expecting him, yet I am so glad to see him that the emotion nearly brings me to tears.
"Looking for a ride?"
I grin and hurry to climb in the back seat with him.
Dare glances up from his phone, eyebrows raised. "That was quick. I take it everything went smoothly?"
"Smoother than I expected," I admit, exhaling as I settle against the plush leather. "She agreed to let Olive help manage the bookshop in exchange for the house."
"Excellent." Dare slides his phone into his breast pocket and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. "You handled that brilliantly. I know confronting Minnie with her lack of mobility can't have been easy."
I shake my head wryly. "I was a bundle of nerves. But it worked out in the end, thanks in large part to you." I smile at him gratefully. "I don't think she would have accepted Olive working at the shop so easily without the house being part of the bargain. You were instrumental in making this plan come together."
"More like my money."Dare lifts my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "All that matters is Minnie will be taken care of, and you'll have one less burden to shoulder before the baby arrives."
I lean against his solid shoulder, finally allowing the tension to drain from my body. "I'm so worn out," I murmur. At least with Minnie sorted and the shop under control, I feel ready to embrace the future stretching before us.
"Come here, my love." Dare pulls me into his arms, his large hand cradling the back of my head as his lips find mine. He kisses me deeply, tenderly, as if reaffirming our bond. I melt against him, my earlier anxiety fading away.
When we finally break for air, Dare keeps me tucked close to his chest. His voice rumbles low and warm against my ear. "Everything's falling into place now. Minnie has the house, Olive will manage the shop, and soon we'll be holding our baby." He splays his hand over my belly, over the precious life we created together. "It won't be long now before our family of two becomes a family of three."
I cover his hand with my own, emotion swelling in my heart. "Our family," I whisper. After so many years alone, the words feel sacred. I blink back tears, overwhelmed by how much has changed since I stumbled into Dare's world.
ChapterTwenty-One
DARE
I've been summoned.
The rotting wooden stairs groan under my Italian loafers, years of salt and sun bleaching the once cherry-red boards a pale gray. At the bottom, the boathouse comes into view—weathered shingles curling up at the edges, cobwebs clinging to corners.
