He shook off the chill as the door closed, his eyes on the scene before him.
“I don’t think these things are workin’,” Stone said, jingling the bells with his hand to get Brady and Reilly to stop making out like teenagers behind the register counter.
“We knew it was you,” Brady said, not bothering to look over.
Stone shook his head as he watched the pair. No, he never would’ve predicted those two would end up together,but based on the look on Brady’s face, it wasn’t surprising that they were. Now that he thought about it, Stone recognized that look. He merely hadn’t ever connected the dots. Brady was head over heels for Reilly and wasn’t bothering to hide it.
Good for him.
“Here’s your keys,” Stone said, placing Reilly’s set on the counter.
She planted one more loud, smacking kiss on Brady’s mouth, giggled, then shifted so she could hop down from the counter. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. Love looked good on her.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” he told her as she reached under the counter.
Stone hadn’t been sure what to expect since Reilly had boasted proudly that she was updating the store to be more like its original design. That had been about the time Donovan and Brady started renovating the barn for Reilly and Tate. Since there’d been a significant amount of rotted wood, they’d all but taken the thing down in order to build it back up. Reilly had insisted she could put that old wood to good use. Looked as though she’d used it to practically wallpaper the interior of the store, and though it looked rustic and worn, there was still a clean, airy feel to it all.
Reilly placed his keys down. “You’re welcome to work here anytime.”
Stone laughed. “Why in the world would I do that?”
Reilly shrugged. “Boredom?”
“Who said I’m bored?”
“You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”
Maybe she was right. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m headin’ home to pass out. I don’t plan to get up for at least ten hours, so don’t stop by.”
She smiled. “I make no promises.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“Kidding.” She took her keys from the counter and tucked them underneath. “All you gotta do is clear the biometrics on the lock. The instruction manual’s in the kitchen somewhere.”
“Good to know.”
“We left a few things up in the loft, but we can get ’em next week sometime.”
“I can always drop ’em off this—”
The sound of the bells clanging cut him off as all eyes, including his, shifted to the person walking in.
“Oh, my God!” Reilly squealed, dancing out from behind the counter. “Is that a yellow Lab?”
Stone stared at Nico, watching as he braced himself for Reilly’s approach.
She didn’t give Nico a chance to answer when she said, “Boy or girl?”
“Boy,” he answered, his gaze shifting to Stone briefly.
“He’s so cute!”
“Thank God for that,” Nico grumbled, holding the dog toward her. “He peed in my truck.”
Reilly laughed, taking him into her arms as gently as she would a newborn baby. “I’ve got some paper towels behind the counter if you need ’em.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
