Page 24 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

“It really is. Your shop is going to become even more popular in the very near future,” Malcolm said.

“I don’t know. Does an article in the paper make that much of a difference?” Mari asked.

Before Malcolm could respond, her phone rang again. This time, it was her shop assistant, Grace Whitmore, calling. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out what was being said, and Mari confirmed it when she hung up. “Grace says there’s a line outside the shop already, even before we opened.” She sighed. “Seems Mathilda decided to announce an impromptu book signing. I guess that article really did make a difference.” She glanced at them both. “I really need to get back to the shop. It’s too much for Grace to handle on her own.”

“We’ve got this, Mari,” Malcolm told her. “Go back to the store and sell books to all those customers.”

Mari looked at Josie. “Is that okay with you? I didn’t intend to leave you all by yourself on your first day here.”

“Absolutely, you should go back to the shop. And don’t worry, I’m not alone. Malcolm’s going to stay to help, remember?”

Mari put her hands to her cheeks. “Yes, sorry. I’m just feeling sort of flustered by this news.” She gave them both a hug and then hurried off in the direction of the shop.

“Looks like we’d better get these cottages fixed up quick. Now that the bookstore is suddenly so famous, the reading retreats are sure to become extremely popular too,” Malcolm said.

Josie nodded. “I agree. I think Mari’s absolutely wonderful, and I want to help her any way I can. Should we just begin a thorough inventory of the cottages and everything in them? And then we can compare notes and work out what needs to be done?”

He nodded. “That was precisely what I was going to suggest.”

She gave him another one of those sunny smiles, and though it made his heartbeat pick up, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He’d always been brilliant at focusing, no matter the distractions. But he’d never known anyone quite like Josie. And though he would never call her a distraction, it was certainly true that he hadn’t been able to completely focus since he’d picked her up at the airport. She was always somewhere in his head. He couldn’t stop thinking of her. Thinking of her in a way that he had never thought about another woman. He was attracted to her—frankly, more attracted to her than he could remember being to anyone else. But it was more than that.

He also truly liked being around her. He was interested in what she had to say. And he was interested in her story and how she’d come to be who she was today. He found himself wondering what had shaped her. What did she love? What was she afraid of? What had her childhood been like?

All questions that, honestly, he’d never really had about any of the women who had come before her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

During the next several hours, Josie seemed to discover a new treasure around every corner. Whether it was the blue and white cups and saucers hidden in the very back of a dingy kitchen cupboard, whose hallmark identified them as Royal Crown Derby and which Malcolm said were very collectible, or a dining chair with the family crest hand embroidered on the seat cushion in what had once surely been a lovely dining room, or very dusty old tomes on even dustier shelves in what she hoped they would transform back into a beautiful library.

Although there was a lot of work to be done, she could see how gorgeous the space would be when it was cleared out and thoroughly cleaned and then filled with books to read and cozy nooks to read them in. The cottages seemed solid. But more than that, the soul of the structures was still there. She knew from the feeling she got in these three interconnected cottages just outside the walled garden that there had been happiness here. Of course, there had been sorrows too—that was life—but on the whole, she would guess the laughter had outweighed the tears. She couldn’t wait to help bring the cottages back to life.

“This is going to be my favorite reading retreat so far. I just know it.”

Malcolm looked up from his phone, where he’d been making a list of supplies, surprise on his face. “Are you sure about that?”

She nodded. “I’m positive. I know there’s work to be done, but it really is cosmetic. And I think Mari’s idea to transform these cottages for a reading retreat is very doable. Among the three, the bedrooms will be able to sleep a dozen people, depending on the configuration. Just think, a dozen people every week finding joy again. Finding love. Becoming whole again. Or just taking a much-needed break for the first time in a long time.”

He didn’t reply for a long moment. Finally, he said, “How do you do it? How do you always see everything in such a positive light?”

“I… I guess I didn’t know that I did.”

“You do. You’re always smiling. Even when some grumpy jackass picks you up at the airport, you don’t let it rattle you. I show up in the middle of the night smelling like booze, and you’re okay with it. Mari brings you into a project where it turns out you are going to be dealing with cobwebs and broken bits of old furniture before you can bring in books and readers. And still, you never stop smiling. You never stop seeing how great everything is going to be.”

It was quite possibly the nicest thing anybody had ever said to her. Even when she thought she’d been in love, her ex had never said anything even close to that nice or complimentary. And more than that, she felt as though Malcolm was showing her a fresh window into herself.

“Well, thank you. And you just… You made me feel really good, not just because of all the lovely compliments, but because hearing you say that makes me realize I’m really resilient.”

His eyebrows rose at the word resilient. She might’ve said too much. She didn’t want to go into the whole sob story about what had happened to her. She’d told Mari, and that had felt right, but talking to Malcolm about her recent heartbreak felt different somehow. Like it would create an even deeper intimacy between them, an intimacy that frankly scared her. Not just because of what had happened in high school—they’d already washed that water under the bridge. But more because, as she’d said to Mari, she didn’t think she could trust a man anymore. If she couldn’t trust a man, how could she ever be truly intimate with him?

In any case, she said, “Well, we’re certainly going to have a busy week or two, aren’t we?”

“We are. It’s a good thing I’ve booked a holiday, but I’m thinking a week away from the office isn’t going to be sufficient. I’m going to need at least two if we’re going to be reading-retreat ready.”

“Are you sure you want to do menial labor?” Josie hadn’t forgotten that he worked practically 24/7, and could likely hire people to do things like cleaning out old cottages.

“I am looking forward to getting my hands dirty for a change, and I’m fortunate to have contacts in every industry and trade you can imagine. What I and my siblings don’t know how to do, we’ll hire out.”

“But what about your work?”

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