Page 96 of More Than Words
Please come next door.
~Ethan
I stared at the words,reading them once and then again.My heart beat so loudly, I was sure Quinn could hear it.
“Well?”
I glanced up at her.“I?—”
“I told him you’d come,” she said, her voice quiet but determined.“You don’t even have to say anything,” she continued.“But if you don’t go, then I’m going to have to deal with him, and I don’t think I can handle that.”She offered me a half smile and a shrug.
“Fair enough.”I couldn’t help but smile.“You’re very bossy for a twelve-year-old, you know?”
“Only when it matters,” she said seriously.“And this matters.A lot.”
I sucked in a breath and nodded.“Okay.”
“Don’t worry about the shop,” Quinn said.“I’ll stay here and help Rochelle close up.And then I’ll head over to Uncle Reid’s for the night.He said something about a coffee cake.”
My heart swelled, knowing how orchestrated this whole thing had been.But that didn’t change…well…anything.
I looked back at the note.My fingers trembled a little as I folded it again.
Without another word, I slipped it into my coat pocket, nodded once to Quinn, and walked out the door.
Ethan
I’d gone over every detail a thousand times.
We’d arranged for Delaney to be at the inn all afternoon.
We’d delivered the countertop and put it exactly in place.
I shut the brewery early.
I sent everyone home.
I’d written the note.
I’d set everything up.
But still, I wasn’t sure that she’d come.
Quinn promised that she’d make sure of it.I knew that it was playing dirty to get my daughter to make the request, but I also knew that Delaney wasn’t likely to deny her.And I just needed her to get here so I could look into her eyes and tell her exactly how I felt.
Finally.
The brewery had never been this quiet.Not since the night before we’d opened.
No music.
No clinking glasses or happy chatter filling the air.
Only the light hum of the coolers and the soft flicker of candlelight cast shadows across the bar top.
I’d pushed back most of the tables in the main seating area and set up one small low table with an eclectic mix of candles on top and two oversized cushions on the floor, just like the ones we’d sat on in her living room during the snowstorm.
I had a crockpot behind the bar, keeping the homemade beef stew warm.But instead of a bottle of red wine, I had something different in mind.
