“Hey.” I grab her hands and pull them away from her face. “At least it wasn’t a complete stranger.”
That earns me a smile. “I guess it could be worse.”
“See? Bright side. Is that the end of your list?”
“Yes. Do you have anything to add?”
I shake my head. “I think you pretty much covered everything.”
Alice hops down from the counter and stalks over to me.The resignation from earlier is gone. Now that I’ve agreed to this marriage, she seems more at ease.
She sticks her hand out. “Let’s shake on it.”
I take her proffered hand. I ignore how soft her hand feels in mine. How warm it is. The small calluses that have formed over the years of working with flowers.
“Deal.”
Chapter Nine
ALICE
“You know, you could have paid someone to do this,” Cash grumbles to Declan.
“And miss your whining? Never.”
“I am not paying people to help me move,” I tell him as he passes over another box. “Not when it’s something I can do on my own.”
“Moving sucks,” Declan whines. “I could have hired someone and gotten this done in a few hours for you.”
I grab the box from him and pin him with a fierce stare. “They don’t treat your belongings like they’re your own. I don’t want anything to break.”
Walking into the open floor plan, boxes are strewn all over the floor. A few pots and pans are already out of the box but not in their new home.
“Please be careful with that one.” I hurry over and grab the flower vase that is falling out of the box. It must have gotten jostled on the ride over.
“Sorry, Alice,” Cash tells me. “Where do you want this box?”
I look around the living room. We’re almost doneunpacking my car and Declan’s with the things I needed most from my place.
I hold the pink vase with red hearts painted on it to my chest. It’s my favorite and I don’t want anything happening to it. “Umm, that one can go into the guest bedroom.”
“Got it.”
“How do you have this much stuff?” Declan groans, dropping one last box in the entryway.
“You realize how little I actually brought, right?”
I decided to pack the essentials. Since this marriage is supposed to be temporary, I didn’t think I’d need to bring everything right away. Winter clothes? What’s the point when we’re in the middle of summer? I can get those later.
Declan looks around the house as Troy’s wife, Angie, takes another box into the guest room. “Why is everything going in here?”
I roll my eyes. “Because Declan hasn’t made space yet. As long as we get it inside today, I can work on this tomorrow.”
She shrugs a shoulder and walks away.
“Really? That’s what you’re going with?” Declan asks.
“I thought it would be good to have an excuse ready. Besides, it’s not like you’ve done anything.”
