Page 114 of Versions Of Us

I chuckle at the way her eyebrows crease as I rise from the bed, retrieving my t-shirt from the floor and pulling it over my head. She sits up reluctantly. Then I take her hand and pull her close.

“Okay,” she grunts begrudgingly.

I guide her down the stairs and through the empty tavern. She gives me a strange look when I begin to lean all of my body weight into the bookshelf.

“You woke me up before sunrise to come down here and rearrange the furniture with you? Henley, that’s criminal.”

I straighten, raising my eyebrows at her choice of words, but a grin plays out on my mouth. “Really?”

“Oops.” She winces. “Too soon?”

I shake my head at her, continuing to slide the bookshelf across the floor. Her eyes widen when she sees the closed door that leads to the abandoned room.

“I’ve been working on something down here.”

She narrows her gaze in curiosity as I swing the door open. “What’s in there?”

“Come see for yourself.” I wave a hand, gesturing for her to go ahead of me.

Her hand touches on the handle as she enters the space, her fingers brushing over the new paint work. She spins around, confused. The sky is only just beginning to lighten outside, and the room is otherwise dark.

“What exactly am I looking at?” she asks.

I shuffle through the darkness to the far side of the room. A tinny echo fills the air as I accidentally kick over an empty paint can.

Kristen cries out from the doorway. “Alex! Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “Sorry. I forgot that was there.”

My hands fumble over the wall in search of the power switch. When I finally locate it, the room instantly brightens with the soft glow of a thousand fairy lights. She scans the space in wonder, marvelling the freshly painted bay windows, a stark white in contrast to the shades of purple and pink filling the sky behind them.

“Alex!” she gasps, bringing her hands to her mouth. “This is amazing. I had forgotten this room existed.”

“I hope Liv won’t mind that I made use of her fairy lights.”

“No way. This is incredible. It must have taken you weeks. Have you told Steve?”

She hovers near the double French doors that open out onto the lawn, gazing out at the sand in the distance. The waves appear an icy grey-blue as they crash on the shore in the intensifying morning light.

“Not yet. Wanted to make sure I could pull it off first.” I fold my arms across my chest, watching as she takes in the view from the bay window. Her palms smooth over the glossy woodwork, then she lowers herself onto the window seat below.

“It still needs to be re-upholstered,” I say, waving a hand at the newly built bench she’s sitting on. “I was going to do it myself, but I wanted to give Maggie and Steve the opportunity to choose the colours they like.”

“You built these yourself?” Her eyes are wide with wonder.

I give a subtle nod and I can’t deny the warmth that fills my chest when her face beams with pride.

“It’s beautiful.” She rises from the seat, wandering to the middle of the room, then gestures to the final piece of my project. “What’s all of this?”

“I’m halfway through building a table. There were some old pieces of broken furniture dumped in here and I thought I could save some of the timber and repurpose it,” I explain. “I was thinking it might look good there, on the paved area outside.” I point to the small patio on the other side of the French doors, currently still overgrown with weeds and in need of a serious acid wash.

She moves to the doors, and I follow behind her, resting my hands on her hips. “It sounds perfect,” she says.

“I thought it could make a great function room for the wedding reception,” I offer. “For Liv and EJ.”

“They’re going to love it.” She spins around, snaking her arms around my neck and I lean forward to place a kiss on

her forehead. “Seriously. This is beyond amazing.”

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