Page 98 of Goode Tidings

He looks at me. His eyes roam my face, and then he smiles.

A real, genuine grin.

CHAPTER 46

Callum

The snow melts over the course of the next two sunny days. The sky is a bright, brilliant blue, and rays of sunshine pierce the surface of the lake. Birds chirp with reckless abandon. There may be musical notes floating up from their beaks, anything is possible at this point.

The morning after the snow, Oliver, Eugenio, and Marco grabbed the sleds from my garage and attempted to ride down the sloped backyard. It's not the fun snow that's good for sledding and they quickly abandoned the idea. Eden brightened their spirits with cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.

All three boys took one look at the storm's damage to my makeshift abode and in unison said, "This place is cooked." Roughly translated, I think that means ruined.

I don't care about the cooked office as much as I should. I'm sleeping on Eden's couch, and making her coffee after she finishes her yoga practice. This morning after Oliver pressed Eden again about signing his permission slip and then left for school, I walked up behind her at the kitchen counter and dropped a kiss to the center of her upper back. It was glorious.

Oliver understands why I'm sleeping in the living room, and he seems fine with it. Last night I was brushing my teeth in the small bathroom off the hallway when Oliver pushed open the half-closed door, proceeded to fluff his hair in the mirror, then turned to me and delivered a jab, jab, cross to my arm. I mirrored a couple of his playful punches, then he grinned and shouldered into me on his way out. I never even took the toothbrush from my mouth. Eden appeared in the doorway and whispered, "He's like a puppy sometimes."

Eden and I haven't talked about what we're doing. Or Justin. Or what any of this means.

Instead, we're stealing kisses in dark corners, and last night I snuck into Eden's room in the middle of the night. I left before the sun came up, and we're both tired today, but it was worth it.

"Boss." Dan appears on the screen for our meeting. He tosses a small tennis ball in the air just as he takes a glance at the screen. He balks, and the ball hits his desk, bouncing off-screen. "Why are you back in the cabin?"

"A storm blew apart the office."

Dan squints at the screen. "When there's catastrophic damage to the place where I'm living, I wear that same kind of smile."

"I'm not smiling." I force a frown onto my face. The urge to smile is stronger though, plucking up the corners of my lips.

"You look creepy," Dan says.

I give up and let my face do what it wants.

"I take it you caught feelings for the smokeshow cabin thief?"

"Dan." I sigh and shake my head.

Eden pokes her head out from the kitchen and clears her throat loudly. "Is it safe to assume I'm the smokeshow cabin thief?" She grins. "I thought my nickname was Andes Mint."

"Hi," Dan calls.

Eden appears at my side and waves. "Hello, Dan. My actual name is Eden."

Dan points at me. "Congratulations on getting this grump to smile. That can't have been without tremendous difficulty."

"Ha ha," I deadpan.

Eden slides an arm over my shoulder. "It was worth the work."

"Aw." Dan bats his eyelashes exaggeratedly. "Beauty and the Grump."

"He won't stop," I tell Eden, looking up at her.

"Fine." Dan throws up his hands in surrender. "I'll be serious. Eden, what do you do for work?"

Eden gives my shoulder a squeeze and smiles down at me. Her eyes sparkle with excitement. "When I'm not stealing cabins out from under hardworking men like Callum, I'm starting my own business."

My astonished gaze locks onto her. "Are you serious? You're going to go for it?"