Page 55 of Finding Her Strength

LEVI

My trowel scraps across the wall, spreading the gray mortar across the surface. The shower tile is going in today on the Silvey house. We’re down to only a few more projects to complete, then the house will be finished. I’ve got a few other builds starting up soon, but I won’t have to be at them full time, so I’ll be able to focus solely on my own house. A good chunk of the upstairs is done, but the downstairs still has quite a bit to go before it’ll be ready to live in.

Making my house livable hasn’t been much of a priority since I’ve basically moved in with Hope at this point. It’s been a couple of weeks since we went to the beach, and I haven’t had any desire to move back into my apartment. Hope hasn’t made it seem like she wants me to leave, either, so I’m taking advantage of the extra time I get to spend with her.

We’ve settled into life as a couple so seamlessly, it’s as if we’ve always been together. Hope has a huge event tonight that she’s been prepping for all week. There have been some late nights at the store, but it could be huge for business. It’ll get her recognition as well as potentially bring in a slew of new clients.

I wish she’d hire another part-time employee since the shop is doing so well. She’s worried the income won’t be there forever, which I can understand. I just don’t want her to have to work so hard. It’s been killing me how much time she’s been putting in the last few days. I know she’s exhausted. At least she’s letting me help her drop off the flowers tonight instead of trying to do it all by herself.

Continuing to put the tiles against the wall, I make sure everything is as straight as possible. This is when I love my job. The moment my mind wants to start moving a million miles a minute, all I have to do is start on a project that requires my full attention.

If I didn’t have to focus solely on these tiles so they’re straight, I’d be thinking about everything I could screw up with Hope. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her on a deeper level. I know she likes to go through her bedtime routine in a certain order every single night. She knows I like to strip down to my underwear when I get home since I’m usually a mess. I know she loves to cook dinner but hates grocery shopping. All the little things in life you only learn when you get close to someone.

I wish I could help ease the tension Hope has been feeling this past week. She’s been up at all hours, her anxiety not letting her sleep, and working long days at the shop to finish the arrangements for this event. It’s been a lot for her. Sometimes it feels like it’s more than the event that’s weighing on her, but she hasn’t said anything to the contrary. I’ve even asked her to be sure. Hopefully, once it’s over, she’ll be able to relax again.

Shaking my head, I focus back on my task. It’s so easy to let my thoughts slide to the negative. I have to keep reminding myself that Hope and I are adults, who are fully capable of communicating any issues we have. I just have to keep trusting that she’ll tell me if something isn’t right so I can help her fix it.

I pullinto the empty parking lot of Blooming Beautiful. Hope closed the shop early today so she could focus on the event tonight instead of customer orders. I’m going to have to do my best to help her relax when we get home tonight. She’s been stressed to the max and working so hard, she deserves to be pampered.

Walking into the store, I’m surprised the door is unlocked. The door doesn’t chime, reminding me I need to fix it for her. It broke a few days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to get to it yet. I’m early to pick her up, so maybe I can work on the door while she finishes up.

Since I don’t see her out front, I head toward the back room where she has a big walk-in fridge for her extra inventory, as well as another table she uses to make arrangements when she needs more space. I finally find her sitting in her office. There’s only a desk in the small room, so it’s more like a closet than an office, but she likes it well enough.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I say softly, making her jump a mile.

“Jesus Christ.” Her hand flies to her chest as her breathing increases. It’s been a long time since I’ve scared her like that. She must’ve been super into whatever she’s working on.

“Sorry! I thought my days of needing to wear bells on my shoes were over.” I lean down to kiss Hope’s temple while squeezing her shoulders.

I watch her shake her head as she smiles at me. “I was apparently too in the zone to hear you come in.” Her eyes dart to her computer, then back to me.

“The chime is still broken on your door, so that probably didn’t help. If we’ve got some time, I can install the new one.”

“We’ve got about thirty minutes before we need to load up the truck.”

I nod at her before I lean down to press my lips against hers. Soft under mine, she lets me take over the kiss. Ithumbles me every time she lets me lead. Especially after everything she’s been through. Having her trust me enough to let me take over is one of the best feelings.

I pull back before I get too carried away. As much as I’d like to boost her up onto her tiny desk and have my way with her, we don’t have time for me to give her the attention she deserves.

Her dazed face has me grinning down at her. “The quicker we get this event done, the quicker I can get you home, so hurry it up.” I wink at her, then head back to the front with the sound of her laughter following me.

The minute I’m done getting the door chime installed, Hope is ready to pack up my truck. We get everything loaded, then head to the convention center outside of town. There are about a million flowers in my back seat and truck bed, which has a top cover on it to protect my tools. Right at this moment, it’s protecting flowers.

She’s quieter than usual as we drive over to the center. She’s been pretty quiet in general since we hung out at Natalie and Tucker’s last weekend. I worried my friends overwhelmed her, but she assured me they didn’t. She’s been texting with the girls ever since, so I think she’s being honest.

I know she’s been stressed about this event, and I’m sure the anxiety of doing well has made her withdraw into herself. I just hope she hasn’t built her walls back up too high. It was tough to break through them the first time, but I’ll do it again. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I’m in this for the long haul, no matter how hard things may get.

“You worried about the event?” I ask, trying to pull her out of her deep thoughts.

“Not anymore. With the arrangements done, I’m feeling fine about it. Once we get everything dropped off, I’ll be able to slow down again.”

“Good. You’ve been working hard this week. It’ll be nice to see you relax a little.”

Hope sends me a small smile in agreement but doesn’t offer much else in response. I let her have her silence instead of pushing since we’re almost to the convention center.

I park in the loading area and help transfer the flowers from the back of my truck to the conference room. Then, I stand in the back, watching Hope do her thing. She places each piece in the middle of the tables, fluffing them if they were smashed in transport.

Watching her work with the flowers is mesmerizing. Every move she makes is full of confidence, knowing exactly what needs to go where to look the best. She’s amazing and so fucking beautiful it’s hard not to grab her around the waist and carry her home.

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