Page 39 of Love Like Ours

Chapter Twelve

When Palmer’s alarm went off the morning of her party, he practically jumped out of bed. Since he knew he was taking Loki with him to Sophia’s place, he skipped the walk and just let the dog do his morning business before loading him into the truck.

When he pulled up to her house, her brother was already there. Loki let out a happy bark when he saw her brother’s dog, a short-haired chocolate mix that looked like a cross between a lab and a terrier of some sort.

“Morning,” he said when he stepped out with Loki on his leash beside him.

The little brown dog slowly came up and sniffed Loki, who was only a few inches bigger than her.

“That’s Coco. She’s spoiled and gets along great with everyone and everything,” Lucas said, shaking his hand.

“Loki.” He motioned to his dog. “Same, but he’s pretty dumb.”

Lucas laughed as Loki grabbed the leash in his mouth and tried to tug himself free so he could chase and play with Coco.

He bent down and released his dog, and the pair circled and sniffed one another.

“Coco is fixed,” Lucas warned Loki. “So don’t get any ideas.” Palmer chuckled. “We can put them in the backyard while we help set up.”

When he followed Lucas around the side of the house, the dogs came along and then rushed around the grassy yard. Sophia was on the deck arranging chairs but stopped when Loki rushed over to say hi.

“Morning.” She smiled up at him.

“Good morning,” he said, feeling his heart jump in his chest at how pretty she looked without any makeup on. Her long hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants the color of her hair, which clung to her like a second skin. Her oversized T-shirt fell off one shoulder, and he could see a matching tank top under it.

She looked more beautiful than if she’d been wearing silk and diamonds.

“Where do you need us?” Lucas asked casually, as if the heat shooting between Sophia and Palmer wasn’t physically obvious.

“Chairs,” Sophia said after a moment. “They should be here any minute to deliver the table and chairs. You can unload them and haul them back here. I think we’ll set them up in this pattern,” she said, pulling out a paper and showing them. Just then, her cell phone rang somewhere inside the house, and she had to rush to answer it.

They both looked down at the image she’d drawn just as they heard someone pull up out front.

“That’s probably them,” Lucas said. “We can leave the dogs back here.”

For the next hour, they hauled and arranged and rearranged the tables and chairs. Then he helped Lucas move the fire pit and chairs to the edge of the property.

“My mother had plans to build a gazebo on this spot,” Lucas said once they were done setting the chairs around the fire pit. “I never got around to starting that project for her.”

“It’s a good spot for it.” He looked off over the tall grass towards the beach and wondered if Sophia wanted one built there. Then his mind turned to all the things he could do with her yard to make it more comfortable. She’d talked about having a bigger deck, something large enough for the fire pit and a table and chairs, along with a lounge. Maybe a small kitchen area for the grill? Then the gazebo with the Adirondack chairs to watch the sunset.

As Palmer and Lucas helped Sophia and Juliette hang balloons and smooth tablecloths over the borrowed tables, his mind kept wandering to all the little things he could do around her house to make it more hers.

He glanced around as Sophia adjusted a string of lights near the deck, her brow furrowed in concentration. The house still bore so many memories of her mother. Months had passed, and it was clear that she was struggling to make the place her own. Palmer doubted much had been moved or changed since her mother had passed.

Her brother mentioned that Avery had helped Sophia pack up their mother’s clothes to donate, but that was as far as she’d gotten. Everything else—the furniture, the knickknacks, even the faded photographs on the walls—remained untouched, a shrine to the past.

“Palmer, can you hand me that?” Sophia’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned to see her pointing to a roll of tape.

“Got it.” He grabbed it and handed it to her, their fingers brushing briefly. His mind instantly shifted gears as he remembered the other night. He wanted to be with her again so he could tell her how much being with her meant to him.

“Thanks,” she said with a quick smile that lit up his insides and had heat burning in his soul.

He watched her for a moment longer, his chest tightening. She deserved to feel at peace in her own home, not trapped in a museum of memories.

“Earth to Palmer,” Lucas teased, nudging him. “You gonna help me with these flowers or what?”

Palmer shook off his thoughts and grabbed a few vases of flowers that had just been delivered and helped Lucas arrange them on each table.