AllFreeNovel
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And when the influencer crowd showed up, Rory was filled with glee. So many girls with long, loose curls and hats taking perfectly framed photographs of every corner of the store.
“This is it,” said Rory. “Perfect.”
“Well, your keen eye for merchandising certainly helped with that,” said Fia. “Because I don’t know about any of this stuff, and I don’t care about it.”
“You will, when they all discover your store because of these pictures. Yeah, then you will.”
Quinn went to Levi’s side then, because there was a woman and another tall, good-looking man standing near him, and she assumed that that was Jessie and Damien.
“Hi,” said Quinn.
“Damien, Jessie,” said Levi, wrapping his arm around her waist. “This is Quinn.”
He just introduced her by her first name, which honestly felt more intimate. And he had his arm around her.
“Very nice to meet you, Quinn,” said Jessie. “The store looks beautiful.”
“I love it. Do you think there’s any chance you might want to carry my wine label in here?” Damien asked.
“Yes,” she said. “We don’t have wine yet.”
“If I could get some of your baked goods to carry in the tasting room, that would be amazing. I don’t know how easy it is for you to bake and transport many pies.”
“I would love that,” said Quinn. “That would be a great advertisement for the store.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Damien.
And Quinn decided she liked him a lot. But more than that, she was lost in the way that Levi had brought her over, the way that he touched her, the way that he was being openly possessive of her in this space.
In front of God and everybody.
They worked in the store, selling things until it turned dusky.
And when they were finished, Fia was buzzing. Gus was still there, sitting in the corner playing with Alaina’s hair, holding their baby in his other arm.
Fia was practically lying across the counter, and Rory was sitting in the corner, her book on her lap. Quinn had a man with her. And Levi had stayed.
“That was incredible,” said Fia. “We need to get some food trucks to come park out here sometimes. Or maybe we can make soup and bread. That would be perfect. I need some really good soup recipes, and then we can have them on hot plates ready to go.”
“You’re already thinking of expanding?” said Levi.
“After success like that, we have to. If people could also have a little bit of lunch here...”
“Well, what would Becky think about that?” Alaina asked.
“Nobody is entitled to being the only game in town,” said Levi. “As much as I support every local business, I support this one, too, and everyone ought to.”
“You’ve changed your tune,” said Gus.
Levi shrugged. “Yeah. I have.”
Gus arched a brow. “Good.”
The funny thing was, Levi’s house was even closer to the farm store by way of the road access than their own house was. She smiled thinking about that as they drove back to his place for the night. She felt slightly disloyal, wondering if she should have gone back with her sisters, especially because Damien and Jessie were staying over anyway, albeit in a different structure.
But she wanted to be with Levi. The realization—or rather, her admittance—of how much she loved him had shifted something in her, and she wanted to be with him. She needed to be with him.
They went back to the house and went inside. Jessie and Damien came in for a while, and Damien shared his wine with all of them. They ate some baked goods from the farm store and had some local cheeses. And when it was over, she and Levi settled into their new routine of cleaning up the kitchen. He filled the sink with soapy water, and she got an apron and a dishcloth.
