Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
He released her hands to cradle her face. “Be mine. For real.”
Then he kissed her. Kissed her with all the emotion he felt, kissed her with all the passion she inspired, kissed her because it was what he wanted to do all day long and all night.
When he finally let them draw back for air, he had to know. “So, what do you say?” He couldn’t give her even the rudimentary amount of breathing room that Mari was giving her to make her decision. He had to know.
“If I stay…” She licked her lips, still looking a little uncertain. “Yes. I’m willing to try. I’m willing to trust you.”
He kissed her again, a kiss of pure joy, a kiss that felt like all of his dreams had come true.
A throat was cleared behind them. “Sorry to interrupt,” Alice said, “but I have that huge flat of flowers in the van I was planning to plant this morning before I head off to work. And I need some help bringing it all out.”
Josie laughed, her cheeks flushed. “Of course.” She jumped up and gave his sister a hug.
“Good morning.” Malcolm kissed his sister on both cheeks as well.
Alice had one hand, clad in a gardening glove, on her hip. “So, I assume you two are out in the open now?” she asked. “Or am I supposed to pretend I didn’t see that?”
Malcolm was the first to reply. “You don’t have to pretend anything. We’re together. In a proper relationship.” He felt proud saying the words. They felt right. Telling Alice felt right.
Alice’s eyebrows went up. “That’s great news. Everyone is going to be so thrilled!”
Josie looked surprised to hear that. “Why?”
Alice laughed. “Are you joking? All of us think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Malcolm. Everyone from Gran to Aria have been wishing and hoping and praying that the two of you would get together.” Then something occurred to her. “Can I spill the beans? Or should I let you two do it?”
Malcolm turned to Josie. “Got any preference?”
She looked a little steamrolled, but said, “Whatever works for you works for me.”
“See?” Alice said. “That’s one of the reasons why we all adore you. You’re so easygoing. And also fabulous and brilliant. I don’t know what we’re going to do when you leave. I suppose you’re going to have a long-distance relationship? Malcolm, you could always open an office in New York.”
“Prying much?” Malcolm said, then led the way to the van. Alice opened it up so that they could each grab a flat of flowers.
“Actually,” Josie told Alice, “I might not be leaving.”
He was 99.9 percent sure she would stay. After all, he knew firsthand how much she loved everything about Elderflower Island so far. She got along great with his family. And he knew the idea of being completely in charge of the reading retreats appealed to her.
“Why? Are you getting another job here after you finish setting up the retreat and the cottages?”
“Mari came by this morning and said the retreats are completely booked out for the rest of the year. She’s asked me to take them over.”
“You could do more than that even,” Malcolm said. “Remember how you said it would be fun to have reading retreats on houseboats? What if that’s what we did? What if we renovated a bunch of houseboats and turned each of them into a floating reading retreat?”
He didn’t know where the idea had come from, only that he knew it would work.
“Oh my gosh,” Alice said. “That would be amazing. And I could help set up all of the plants on the decks, and some flower boxes by the windows, and any land around the dock of wherever the houseboats are, if you needed it.”
Josie held up her hands. “That sounds amazing, but right now I just need to focus on one thing at a time. I’ve got to get these cottages ready faster than ever, and then decide whether it’s feasible for me to stay.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to pressure you,” Alice said.
But Malcolm didn’t apologize. He wanted her to stay. And that meant she needed to take this job.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Josie had never worked so hard or so quickly on so many different fronts—the garden, the furnishings, and filling the bookcases Malcolm had put together with books and more books. The people who had signed up for the retreats were already emailing to ask questions about how it all worked and to give her their information on the kind of books that they loved, which meant that she didn’t have a moment to breathe until the sun had fallen and only she and Malcolm were left on the property.
They hadn’t had a chance to talk again since this morning, not even to eat alone together. His parents had dropped by with lunch and raved about how much they’d done. Penny took on the task of stocking the kitchen with snacks for the retreat guests. She pulled on rubber gloves and washed the mismatched china they’d found in the cupboards, and talked about stocking the brand-new fridge with juice, water, and soft drinks.