I point at Buttercup, and Tully looks over and laughs.
“Get ready to enjoy the show,” he tells her.
“Tully! We cannot!” I hiss. “We should either wait until it’s dark or take this to the bathroom.”
“Trouble, she’ll be okay, I promise.”
“I’d really feel a lot better if we didn’t let her see.”
“Tell you what,” he says, advancing over me, now fully naked, “we’ll do it under the covers. Right? That’s what covers are for.”
I sigh in relief.“Right.”
He laughs against my skin. “Thank goodness I pulled that one out of my ass.”
“What did you say?”
“I said, ‘Thank goodness I can put up with your sass.’”
“Hey!”
“Love you, Trouble.”
“I love you.”
“Now close your eyes and let me fuck you. You know if you can’t see her, she can’t see you…”
“Shut up.”
He laughs. “How about you shut me up,” he says.
I pull his mouth down to mine and do just that.
TULLY
The next afternoon, we’re back in Windy Harbor, and Inuzzle Lola’s neck while she’s standing at the kitchen counter.
“Do you have time for me to show you a surprise?” I ask, kissing her ear.
“Um, always.”
“I think Buttercup’s good to go.” I grin, getting her leash.
She already gets excited when she sees it, and she bolts toward me, ready to go. We walk outside and make a few little stops on the way to the car, Buttercup’s nose going crazy with the snow gone.
The Cozy Palette is closed when we get there, but Percy gave me a key. This old building is one of my favorites in town, and Percy and their family have had an art shop in here for as long as I can remember. I didn’t know until looking at retail properties in Windy Harbor that there was a part of the building available that isn’t being used. I assumed it was part of The Cozy Palette.
“This is cute,” Lola says, looking at the storefront.
I take her to the blue door, unlock it, and open it up.
“What’s this?” she asks, looking up at me.
“Want to take a look?”
Her eyes are wide as she nods. We walk inside, and she takes in the space. The high ceilings, the hardwood floor, and the cute little arched window in the back. She crosses to the window and looks out at the lake. When she turns to look at me again, her eyes are all lit up.
“There’s great light in here,” she says.
