Maggie smiled, and her beauty only seemed to intensify. I pulled her down and kissed her again. We still needed to talk—about the future of the brewery, about her desire to move and what that meant for us. But for now, for the next few hours, I was just going to enjoy this. Maggie, this little bean, my dog somewhere in the house likely eating something he shouldn’t. Yep, life was pretty much better than I’d ever thought it would be.
25
Beauty
Maggie
The bell over the door to the bookstore rang as Emma walked in, singing out a greeting. “Lunchtime, Maggie May. I’mstarving.” She came through the store and stopped in front of our counter, giving me some big eyes.
Laughing, I teased. “Are you sure you’re not the one eating for two?”
She looked horrified. “Heck, no! Not yet, chickie. Having two pups is exhausting. I don’t have it in me to deal with a child yet.”
I slid the strap of my purse across my body as I came from behind the counter. “Hold on a sec. I need to tell Ivy I’m leaving.” I moved to the small hall to the back and called out, “Ivy? I’m off.”
Ivy’s head poked out of the office in the back. “Cool! I’ll be right up.”
Turning back to Emma, I started to speak before she let loose with a big laugh. “Holy hell, Maggie. That shirt is glorious.”
“Isn’t it?” Ivy appeared from the back.
I shrugged, today I was sporting a pair of rolled-up boyfriend jeans that could still button because they hung below my slightly protruding belly. With them I had my black Converse and a white-and-black T-shirt withSorry I’m Lateproclaimed for the world to see. “Well, after some whispers at the grocery store last week from folks who I’m sure were just curious, I thought I’d just be a bit more in-your-face.”
Ivy nodded, apparently approving of my plan. “I think if you let Lou take a profile shot and put it up on her social media, she could put any gossip to rest.”
“Who says she hasn’t done that already?” Emma laughed. Then she turned to Ivy. “What are you diffusing today? Smells amazing.”
Ivy walked Emma over to show her the diffuser. I heard her talking about the citrus scents that she blended: orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon, and bergamot. No idea, but the smell was refreshing. The vibrations from my purse pulled me away from them. I tugged my phone out, and a warm sensation washed over me. Sully.
Sully:Hey gorgeous. You need sustenance?
Me:Look who is whipping out some fancy words. But no, Emma and I are headed to the deli.
Sully:Cool. Dinner?
Me:Yep. After yoga. You talk to Drew yet?
Sully:After the lunch rush.
Me:Good luck.
Sully:Thanks, babe. Love you.
I looked at my phone, at the two words that still felt like they took my breath away. It had been four days since Sully and I exchanged our first I love yous, and he put it out there multiple times a day since. I had too, but he seemed much more natural about it. Damn, he was a good boyfriend. Four days of agreeing to go ahead with this, and I hadn’t regretted that decision yet.
“That’s the sappiest expression I think I’ve ever seen from you, Mags,” Emma called. I took my gaze from my phone up to my friends. Ivy and Emma were watching me from across the store with twin grins stretched across their faces. “Is that thanks to my bro?”
I rolled my eyes at her nosy questions. “Ignoring you, Em. Now, I thought you were starving.”
Emma gave Ivy’s arm a squeeze as she called out. “Order me the whole shebang, Ivy. And two diffusers, one for home, one for the library. Max won’t know what hit him.”
I laughed. Max would give zero fucks with whatever Emma filled up their house with. He would only care if it made her happy. It still made my brain whirl when I thought of how much had changed for my friends—or hell, for Sully and me—in the past three months. Max had only moved back to the area at the start of April. Since then, he and Emma had hooked up and now were cohabitating and engaged. Mind you they’d both harbored some major feelings for years, but it was still a bit of a race. Sully and I had not only ended up in the same house, but there was also the matter of our little bean growing away. Warp speed was our preferred speed, so it seemed.
Emma hooked her arm through mine as we sailed out of Pages with goodbyes to Ivy and headed across the square to the deli, Goodman’s Deli. Opening the door, Emma gestured for me to go ahead of her. It was lunchtime during the week, so they were slammed as usual. The owner modeled this place on the New York delis of her youth, and it was an awesome spot for lunch. Emma and I stood in line to order from the counter as I waved to some of my former students who were working in the prep area. The smells were overwhelming in the very best of ways. Their bakery here was unreal, and the scent of fresh-baked cookies hit me first. However, the aroma of bacon also wafted my way, and my stomach positively growled. Maybe the bean was a fan of pork products? I knew I was.
“So….” Emma drew it out. “What did my big brother have to say that inspired that look back there?” Emma nodded back in the direction of the bookstore.
I shook my head at her. “Who knew you were such a gossip.”
