“Yes, yes, yes!” she cried, pulling back just enough that she could see him. She wanted to keep touching him though, so she kept her hands planted on his shoulders. “Of course I want you to stay!” She was practically bouncing with excitement in her seat. “I literally cannot think of anything more wonderful!”
“Good,” Shane said. He might not have been bouncing in his chair like it was a trampoline, but his smile provided the same unrestrained, delighted energy. “Now, what do you say we celebrate this great decision byfinallymanaging to have a meal here?”
“You are just nonstop with these great ideas,” Winnie praised.
They ordered and waited for their meals, keeping close enough to one another the whole time that they could steal touches and quick hugs. Winnie ordered balsamic glazed salmon with greens, and Shane enjoyed a pork chop with roasted carrots. The food was delicious, but Winnie unfortunately couldn’t credit the chef with making it the best meal she’d had in… maybe her whole life.
No, that credit went to the man sitting beside her, the man who had decided to stay. Winnie couldn’t wait to see where life took them next.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Shane marveled at the changes that had come to Magnolia Shore in the few months that he’d been here. When he’d arrived, October had just started burnishing the trees in gold and orange. There had been a faint chill in the air, one that was usually banished by the warmth of the afternoon sunlight before the day was done.
Now, with December right around the corner, the trees were all but bare, and the whistling wind was bitingly cold.
And poor Shane, who had spent the past two decades in California, wassuffering.
Well, he was suffering due to the weather. Everything else was pretty gosh darn perfect.
But Eleanor nearly fell off her chair laughing every time she saw Shane bundle up like he was heading out for an Arctic expedition just so he could walk through the streets of town.
“You’re from the Midwest!” she chortled. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a winter before. What are you going to do when it starts to snow?”
He made a snotty, little brother-ish face at her. “Don’t wish such harm on me, Ellie! You’re supposed to love me, not try to chase me back to California!”
Eleanor was unbothered by this threat. “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Unless they suddenly open a branch of the Magnolia Shore Historical Society in San Francisco, you’re here to stay.”
Shane didn’t bother bantering with her about that, since he was too busy grinning. He was thrilled with how things had been going with Winnie these past few weeks, and it made him feel even better to have his sister’s support. He hadn’t really doubted that Eleanor would be on his side, but he knew that it made a big difference to Winnie to know she was on good footing with her newfound friendships.
And he found that he cared a lot about Winnie being happy. About her feeling safe and secure.
And about spending as much time with her as he could. Which was why he was trudging along the street, feeling like his nose was about to freeze off his face, to meet her at Nautical Crafts.
Shane hunched deeper into the collar of his jacket, tugging his scarf up higher around his ears. Across the street, he saw Garrett, who raised a hand in greeting.Hewas wearing a denim jacket with the hood of a sweatshirt poking out of the collar. He hadn’t even pulled up the hood. Shane felt like he and Garrett had to be traversing two different climates, never mind that there was only a few yards of pavement between them.
He'd be in better shape next winter, he promised himself. Then he grinned at the idea that he was already thinking about Magnolia Shore as a place to make his long-term home. His business was already attracting a few clients, and he found that the shine wasn’t going off his work the longer he did it. He liked helping people, rather than faceless corporations or clients he would never meet. He liked feeling like he was really helping out his community.
He had flat out refused to let Eleanor pay him, however, even after he’d worked out some of the kinks in her bookseller software. Flat outrefused.
“If you try to pay me for tech assistance, then I’m going to pay you for room and board these past few weeks,” he threatened.
She’d looked extremely affronted.
“Don’t you dare! You’re my little brother.”
“My point exactly,” he had said smugly, which had put an end to the matter.
The other clients he’d attractedwerepaying clients, however, so he was feeling pretty optimistic about his chances of making this work… of making Magnolia Shore his permanent home.
He chuckled at himself. Who would have thought it? He had never seen himself as a small-town sort of person, but now that he was here, there wasn’t anywhere else he would rather be.
He arrived at the front door of Nautical Crafts. He could already see Winnie inside, standing in a cluster with June, Cadence, and Diana. She was explaining something passionately, her hands fluttering around and a broad grin on her face. He paused for a moment just to watch her, letting pride settle over him like a warm blanket.
She’d come so far. He knew that putting herself out there still didn’t come easily. Over the past few weeks, Winnie’s fears had reared up several times, although she was getting faster and faster at dispelling those moments of self-doubt. He tried to always lend her the ear she needed, as he’d soon seen that was really all that was required in order for her to take enough space and time to gather her courage anew.
She was growing, and he could not be any more delighted.
Delighted… but also cold. Darn this autumn in New England business.
