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Then he cleared his throat, breaking us out of the bubble, and he pushed to his massive height at the side of the bed.

He was quick to walk back to the door.

Palms pressing together like maybe he was trying to rub the moment off his conscience.

“Why don’t you get some rest?”

Talk about deflection.

I shook my head. “I need to get into the shop. There’s too much to do before opening, and Penny is going to be there at ten. What kind of boss would I be if I started taking sick days before we’ve even opened?”

Trevan’s brows rose to his hairline. “You aren’t actually serious?”

“Have you even met me, Trevan Niles? A little hangover isn’t going to keep your girl down.”

His gaze skated over me. Soft and sure. Before those eyes were latched onto mine. “No. I don’t think anything could.”

THIRTY-TWO

ELENA

“I can’t believe it’s actually happening tomorrow.” I peeped the awe, bouncing up onto the toes of my Docs.

I finally understood what it meant to have the urge to pinch myself as I stood in the middle of The Crimson Apple Boutique.

Four days had passed since I’d woken up with that killer hangover, and Penny and I had been working nonstop to get everything ready since.

Now, I fought happy tears as I took it all in.

Was it weird that I couldn’t quite comprehend that I’d done it?

That I was standing on the precipice of a dream and fully getting ready to step into it?

“You’d better believe it because you’re about to have a horde of people mingling around here come tomorrow evening.”

Penny gave me a playful smirk from the other side of the counter where she was stocking the custom paper bags that had finally arrived today, something I’d been sweating over since they were three days late.

But just like Trevan had told me, there was no need to fret because everything was going to come together exactly as it should.

I let go of a chuckle. “Okay, okay, I rationally grasp it, but somehow, it still feels impossible. It’s like that surreal thing where you’ve wanted something for so long, and when you finally get it, it almost seems like you must be imagining it. Tell me I’m not the only one to experience this.”

Penny slanted a wistful smile. That lonely one she always wore underscored in it. “I think you’re definitely not the first to experience it, but for a lot of people, it’s not really what they expected.”

There was almost a question tacked to it.

“It’s better than I imagined,” I whispered.

Softness curled through her features, the creases at the edges of her eyes more acute as she studied me. “You have a hard time not seeing things that way, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so optimistic.”

Emotion swam. A bundle in my belly and a thrumming of my heart. “There are just so many awful things in this world, Penny. Awful things that shape us all, and I had to make a choice. Let them hold me back or allow myself to believe in spite of them.”

Sorrow washed from her. God, I wanted to hold a little of it. Tell her she wasn’t alone anymore now that she was here.

She seemed to wrestle a smile onto her face, forcing a tease. “And you chose torture instead? My back is aching from all the work.”

Mortified, I choked out a half laugh/half cry.

“Oh my gosh, Penny! Sore backs are not supposed to be a part of your job description. I hate that you’re so sore. I told you that you didn’t need to be carrying in those boxes. We have brutes for that.”