Page 63 of Must Love Bees
“I didn’t do anything.” But Astrid was laughing. “And you’re wrong. He doesn’t want to get into my—”
A door closed, blocking him from overhearing the rest of their conversation.
It’s probably a good thing.
He leaned against the bathroom counter, exhausted. Today had been one of those days that would remain etched into his brain. One of a handful of days. Only this one was good—a rarity.
Kiss a lot of frogs?He wasn’t stupid. Nova and Halley had plenty of books with fairy tales about princesses. The princess kisses the frog and the frog turns into the prince—and for some reason that’s a happy ending. He never understood why that was the goal of the story or enough to make the princess happy, but Yasmina said he was overthinking it. She said the message was about getting beyond appearances to get to know the person inside.
Obviously, I’m the frog.
It was also obvious Tansy didn’t consider him prince material—and she was right. The chances of anyone liking who he was—with all his quirks and eccentricities—was slim. He’d come to accept that years ago; he wasn’t foolish enough to think a few kisses would make Astrid feel different. No matter how incredible the kisses had been. For him.
He stared at his reflection.Really?Enough about Astrid and the vortex of unfathomablefeelingsshe’d unleashed inside of him.
Nova had been happy to see him. Truly happy. She’d hugged him with as much gusto as she hugged Scorpio. Thatwasspecial. That he would treasure.
And Halley. She hadn’t run to hug him, but she’d worried about him. It was a start. Maybe. He didn’t want the girls to hate him. He wanted to be there for them—to be some sort of parent. Today gave him hope that he wasn’t an absolute failure.
An especially loud clap of thunder had him shrugging off his wet clothes. He took a quick, icy shower to freeze the lingering effects of Astrid’s touch, then dressed. His khaki slacks and button-down shirt provided the sense of normalcy that had been so lacking most of the day. He put on socks and shoes, combed his hair, and put the wet clothes in his bag.
Downstairs, he followed the chorus of conversation to the large family kitchen. He’d heard the term “heart of the home” but, until now, he’d never understood what the term actually meant.
It wasn’t just his girls, Magnolia and Camellia, Tansy and Dane, either. The two women from the café were here. And the baby. There were also three teens huddled around the massive kitchen table. It looked like Halley and the as-yet-unknown teens were playing a board game. One teen girl and two teenage boys. His internal warning alarm instantly triggered.Great.
“Feeling better, Charles?” Magnolia waved him toward the table. “I’ve made some tea. The girls made some honey ginger scones. They’re still warm, so help yourself. Oh, and there are some more of those cookies you like, too.”
Charlie crossed the room, his gaze pinned on Halley and the two boys. One was undeniably Dane’s younger brother. A good-looking kid. Exactly the sort of boy Halley didn’t need right now.
“Charlie, this is Leif and Benji and Kerrielynn.” Tansy introduced him. “These fine young people are part of the Junior Beekeepers and will be coming out to replace the older hives on the back of Rebecca’s property.”
Of course they were. Charlie managed not to sigh. To his surprise, Leif and Benji both rose and Benji shook his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Benji nodded. “Thank you for supporting our program.”
“Welcome to Honey, Mr. Driver.” Leif had a firm handshake.
“Kerrielynn is the Hill Country Honey Queen, Charlie.” Halley said this as if it was a big deal—and that he should know what a Hill Country Honey Queen was.
“Oh, well. That sounds like quite an accomplishment.” He hoped that was an acceptable thing to say.
“Thank you.” The girl made eye contact and offered a smile.
“She worked hard to get it.” Leif sounded proud—which gave Charlie pause.
The way Leif Knudson was staring at the Hill Country Honey Queen set Charlie’s mind at ease. The boy was smitten. And, from the way the girl was flushed and smiling back at Leif, the feeling was mutual.Crisis averted.
He sat in the chair at the far end of the table, eyeing the game board the four of them were gathered around. “What are you playing?”
“Settlers of Catan.” Halley scanned the board, shaking the dice in her hand.
“It’s for big kids.” Nova came to stand by his chair, her hand resting along the chair’s arm. “I can’t play.”
“You can be on my team,” the boy Benji offered. “I can use all the help I can get.”
But Nova shook her head. “Can you read to me, Charlie?” She looked at him, jumping when another boom of thunder shook the house.
Charlie scooped her up and put her on his lap. “Sure. What are we reading?”
