Page 58 of A Package Deal

I reached out with my right hand but she nudged it aside as she walked right up to me and put her arms around us both.

“Oh my gosh, you two are the most gorgeous, precious things I’ve ever seen.” Then she honed in on Georgia. “Come here, you cute little thing. Let Gigi get a good look at you.”

Georgia wiggled out of my arms and stood tall, cocking her hip out to the side in a sassy pose. Gigi laughed and briefly looked back at Warrick. “Oh, son, you were right. This girl is magnificent.”

Gigi squatted down impressively for someone her age and held her arms out. “Any chance Gigi can get a hug?”

Georgia, a little girl who loved everyone she ever met, ran right into her arms. Gigi hugged her back and then stood with her in her arms. Damn, Warrick’s mom was strong.

“Come on, darlin’, I have a secret stash of chocolate that not even Warrick knows about. It’s got your name on it.”

Georgia cheered and the two of them walked off to the kitchen. Warrick rolled the suitcase inside and shut the door. He slid his arm around my waist and we followed behind the whirlwind that was Warrick’s mother.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You look amazing in that blouse. Think we can sneak out to the barn later?”

“Warrick!” I hissed, whacking him in the stomach with the back of my hand.

He grunted and then laughed, pulling me tighter into his side. “I’m kidding. Kind of.”

In the kitchen Gigi was sharing a chocolate bar with my daughter. She looked up as we entered. “Who-ee, you two look cute together. Welcome to the family, Emmerleigh. I hear you built me a fancy new house. Goodness. You make gorgeous babies and now houses. Is there anything you can’t do, honey?”

I blushed, instantly liking this woman. Welcome to the family? Hadn’t Warrick told her this was only temporary? I latched on to the one part of the conversation I could speak to without stuttering and stammering.

“Thank you. Want to see all the improvements?”

Gigi enthusiastically agreed and Georgia copied everything Gigi said, her hand firmly in Gigi’s as we toured the house. They oohed and aahed over the screened-in porch, the new bedroom, the kitchen, and both bathrooms. At one point, Gigi put her arm around my waist and leaned her head on my shoulder. Somehow she smelled like a slow-cooked breakfast and home.

“Oh, I forgot one thing,” I said at the end of the tour. Warrick looked puzzled. “I built something in the barn.”

“That wasn’t on the list,” he said, trailing behind as I led the group outside to the barn.

Bessie mooed her hellos and Gigi stopped to greet all her animals one by one before we entered the barn. I pointed to a small enclosure made of wood.

“It’s a milking stall for Bessie. Figured it would help Warrick with that task.”

Warrick just stood there looking at me, shock written all over his face.

“Oh, now aren’t you a doll?” Gigi exclaimed. She patted Warrick on the back. “Quite the sweet wife you got there.” Then she clapped her hands and looked at Georgia. “You want to help me feed the chickens, honey?”

The two left the barn, chatting away like old friends. Warrick still stared at me, like he was trying to figure out a complex math equation. A frisson of disappointment marred the pride I’d had building that little stall. Maybe I’d overstepped.

“You don’t like it?” I asked quietly, shoving my hands in my back pockets. “I can take it down…”

Warrick stopped me, sweeping me off my feet with a rough hug. He spun me around once and then let my feet touch the ground. “No, I love it. Thank you,” he whispered, voice gruff.

When he finally let me go, I pulled back to search his face. “It’s not that big of a deal. It was like an hour of work. I can totally change it if?—”

“No! I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you to do something like that for me. It’s amazing. I love it.”

My eyes narrowed. “Are you always so terrible at accepting gifts?”

His narrowed right back. “Kind of a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation, wouldn’t you agree?”

I broke first, grinning. “Yeah, you’re right. Man, we’re bad at accepting people doing nice things for us.”

He hooked his arm around my neck and pulled me into his side to plant a kiss on top of my head. “Two peas in a pod, Slaywright.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

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