ISLA
“Do you think you’ll add onto the building?” I asked, staring up at the distillery with fondness. “Or is this actually big enough for what you’re envisioning?”
“I’ll have to see what the architects say when I get them out here,” Locke said, closing the car door and coming up behind me. “But I want the original entrance to be what everyone sees coming down the drive. If thereisan addition, it’ll be built onto the back.”
He snaked his hands around my waist, cradling my belly. We’d spent the last two days at the inn, mostly in bed, and today, we made our way to the property with my camera. I’d promised to take lots of pictures for him to demonstrate to his team what the area had to offer. The first big meeting was scheduled for the end of the week, and I was already painfully aware of how soon he’d be leaving.
I didn’t want to get sappy about it, but I’d quickly grown used to the warmth of Locke in my bed at night and his grumpy pre-coffee expression on the other side of the breakfast table. We’dquickly found ourselves sliding into a comfortable routine, and I wasn’t looking forward to giving it up.
“Why don’t you go stand by the door?” I said, taking the lens cap off my camera. “We should have abeforeshot that you can hang up in your fancy lobby.”
“I don’t know if anyone wants to be staring at my face when they come to stay,” Locke quipped.
“It’s a good face,” I said. “And you know it. But if you’re worried it’s not on theme, you can hang it in your office. I just think you should have a picture to commemorate this moment before you start all the construction.”
He indulged me, moving to stand in front of the building. I backed up a few paces, enough to get the right angle. I looked at him through the viewfinder, imagining showing this picture to our child in a few years. “Are you going to smile? Or are you going for aloof?”
“Just take the picture,” Locke said, playfully rolling his eyes.
“Should I flash you?” I said. “Would that make you more cheerful?”
His serious expression cracked, a cheeky smile appearing, and I clicked the shutter to immortalize the moment.
“Gotcha!” I said, reviewing the photo. It was perfect. I’d grown surprisingly fond of his resting grump face, but Locke with that half smile…Well, it was enough to kick my pulse into gear.
“I hope that’s not how you treat all your clients,” he said, walking back over to me.
“Only my favorite ones.”
He caught me in his arms, tugging me close. “I better be the only one,” he growled, the sound making the space between my legs throb. “Now how about a little…” He waggled his eyebrows at me, staring down the front of my tank top.
I laughed, twisting out of his arms. “Behave. We’re here to work.”
“You’re tellingmeto behave?” he scoffed. “You’re the one who was being a tease.” He huffed as I walked backward, snapping more pictures of him. “No one likes a tease.”
“I need something to encourage you,” I said. “What if I need you to smile again?”
“I’m sure you can get creative.” He darted after me and I yelped, racing along the side of the building. I didn’t get very far before he caught me, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. “While we’re back here, can you get some photos of the way the roof slopes?”
“Sure thing, boss. But you’re going to have to let me go first.”
He did, releasing me enough that I could turn around, snapping pictures of the back of the building. I was thorough, making sure I had a good selection for him to send to his team.
“Can we swing by your old house?” he asked. “I want some photos of that too. Of course I want your input on the renovations, but it might be nice for the architects to have some baselines to work with.”
I grinned at the thought of transforming that space. Of being able to safely walk through those doors again without getting hurt or contracting tetanus. I grabbed Locke’s hand and led him toward the trail, taking the fork that went past my old house.
Memories swelled inside me at the sight of it, like always. Sometimes I swore I could still hear the way Mom used to laugh when I’d show up for lunch, hands yellow from spending all morning outside making dandelion crowns. She always wore the crowns I made her, keeping them on all day until the stems withered and the flowers eventually fell off.
“It’s just through here,” I said, leading Locke up an overgrown trail. I pushed at a branch as we came around a bend, and there it was. Locke was quiet for a moment, taking it in. “I guess it’s probably more of a cottage,” I said, suddenly feeling awkward. Had he been expecting more? The guy stayed in castles, for crying out loud. He’d probably assumed it was a proper house, not this shack.
“I can see why your mother was so inspired here,” he said. “The way the light comes down through the trees is just amazing. And the meadow over there.”
He spun in a slow circle, the light playing across him as insects buzzed and the scent of wildflowers filled the air around us. The awkwardness ebbed away as I realized hesawit. He understood why it was so special.
“I definitely think we should put an addition on the house,” he said. “But for this, we’ll build up, not out. That way we’ll preserve as much of the surrounding property as possible. I think I’d like to build a more permanent pathway that connects the house to the waterfall. Something that’ll hold up regardless of the weather.”
“That would be amazing,” I said. “And I was thinking we could put up a large gazebo here.” I pointed to the space at the side of the house where the grass was long and unkempt. “It might be anice place for families to hang out when the weather’s nice or for artists to work.”
