I nodded. “I do. Would you accept an alternative?”
“Such as?” Her brow furrowed, her lips tightening with strain.
“Asher and I are moving in with Calum,” I told her; not really on a whim. “I was going to rent my house out. Why don’t you guys move in, and we’ll use this money for a year’s worth of rent?”
“That’s stilltakingthe money.” She pointed out, her frown increasing.
“There’s no paper trail on you. Technically, you’re giving it back to me and I’m putting it in my household account to automatically cover the mortgage each month.” At that, she relaxed, her frown slipping away—although she still didn’t smile. She considered my offering carefully as she leaned back in her chair.
“I’d be responsible for utilities?” she asked, and I nodded again.
“I’ll email you the bills every month, and you can e-transfer me. I can draw up a rental lease, and we’ll discuss it in greater detail if it’s something you’d be interested in doing.”
Raina chewed on her lip, mulling it over. “When were you planning on moving?” She tilted her head a little, still weighing it.
“Next weekend,” I replied before lifting my coffee to take a sip. “You could move in that Sunday, or the following weekend. Whichever you’d prefer.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I tried to dial back my grin.
“Yes, okay.” Raina rolled her eyes, but I could tell a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “Draw up the lease, and I’ll sign it. Maybe I could use the money in emergencies, but I’d like to handle the monthly rent cost myself.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“I need to get back to work now. My break ends in five.” She seemed a little lighter, a little less worried, as she stood from the table, taking her untouched coffee with her. “I really appreciate it, Harper.”
Standing with her, I followed her to the door. “You should tell Calum soon. Let him help you tell the rest of them.”
“Maybe. But I’m not ready yet, okay? So please—don’t mention anything.”
“I wouldn’t. It’s not my place,” I assured her; even though the prospect of another secret made my stomach clench with uneasiness. “But I reallydothink the sooner the truth comes out, the better.”
She studied me for a minute as if weighing my words to see how much she trusted them. Nodding, she gave me a small smile and pushed open the doors, heading down the street to the diner.
Calum
Harper had decorated the entire store for Asher’s Minecraft birthday party. Two black curtains framed a purple curtain that hung over the hallway to the café’s restrooms, the wordsNether Portalprinted in the blocky Minecraft type on a gray vinyl sign above it. All of the café tables were cloaked in green table clothes.
She’d even decorated the storefront doors, hanging a vinyl wooden sign outside that readWelcome to Asher’s 8thbirthday party!
Ellery made a variety of treats; homemade pretzels, the ends dipped in white icing with yellow and orange glitter sprinkles. Chocolate cupcakes with dark green icing and fondue creeper heads, and an activity table with a bunch of different supplies. Twizzlers bounded in paper with TNT printed on it, little blue fish gummies, square chocolates wrapped in silver, and gold for iron and gold ingots.
The place was jammed—twenty of Asher’s classmates filled the café, and Harper’s family and a couple of their local friends gathered in the space that was usually full of table book displays. Those had been cleared, tucked into the aisles after closing to allow for more space.
Even Margaret and Ted Watson were there, each settled into a pair of the bookstore’s comfortable arm chairs, watching the children with matching reminiscent smiles.
Dare and Evan were also present. They’d arrived early to help set up, and I introduced them to Asher as his uncles. While not related by blood, these men were my brothers, forged in music. My family was their family—well, discounting my father. He blamed them for influencing my decisions, just as he’d blamed Gramps.
Harper skirted past, about to head to the café, when I caught her.
“Everything looks so amazing,” I told her, my hand slipping around her waist as I tugged her back against my chest.
“Thanks,” she said, glancing up at me with a smile. “This has been a little bit of a tradition since we opened four years ago. We have Asher’s parties here so that we can include more of the kids.”
“Well, it all looks incredible. So do you.” I murmured into her ear, tucking a strand of her flyaway ponytail behind it. She was wearing dark denim skinny jeans, and a cream-coloured sweater that complimented her rich brown hair.
Her cheeks flushed, and she placed her hand over mine, my fingers still splayed comfortably on her hip.
