Page 118 of Wildfire
“Don’t sweetheart me,” she grumbles, spinning to face me. She plants her hands on her hips and pouts. “You did this, Russ Callaghan. You told me I could run my own business. A bookstore, no less. Not even a bar or a strip club or something I might actually be good a—”
Whatever she was about to say dies when I close the space betweenus, taking her face in my hands and pressing my mouth against hers. Her body melts into me, the tension dissipating with every passing second. Moving my hands to cup the nape of her neck, I rest my forehead against hers. “You are the most capable woman I have ever met in my life. There’s nothing you could suggest that I wouldn’t support. I will be there to hold your hand through all of it, Ror, but you don’t need me to. You’ve never needed me to be incredible. You. Just. Are. And I love you more than I can put into words.”
“I love you, too.” Her arms wrap around my neck, her big green eyes staring into mine. “This is our last chance alone all weekend. Tell me a secret, Callaghan.”
Secrets aren’t really a thing between us. I’ve spent so many years with Aurora that her ability to overshare has finally rubbed off a little. “I did eat your Cheetos last week. It wasn’t Neville. He looked at me with such judgment when I blamed him that I felt guilty for, like, three days.”
Those eyes I love so much roll extra-dramatically. “No shit. You had orange dust all over your face. Try again.”
It’s thetry againthat throws me. Like she’s waiting for me to admit something specific, something she already knows, which isn’t how this game works. Our friends and neighbors will be arriving soon for the opening, but she’s still staring up at me expectantly.
And that’s when I realize.
She knows.
“Oh shit.” The corner of her mouth tugs up into a smirk. “I invited your mom and forgot to tell you.”
“Oh shit is right, because yes, you did.”
“How did you know?”
“Because she called me to confirm I’d be serving good champagne.”
“ITHOUGHTI’D ESCAPED BEINGforced into bookstores with Aurora,” Henry sighs, eyes scanning the tall mahogany shelves lined with new books. “And yet here I am. Again.”
Aurora wanted the kids’ corner painted like the northern lights, so she enlisted her favorite—and possibly the only person she knows who can do it—artist to help her. The painting he was good with. It was helping make the hundreds of tiny origami stars to hang from the ceiling that got him.
“Here we both are.” I nudge his shoulder with mine playfully. “Thanks for bringing those signed editions, man. Aurora appreciates you being here. We both do.”
“It’s fine; it means less books in my house. She’d have come, but it’s just a bit far with the baby and—”
“What about me?”
We both look at the child perched on Henry’s hip, clinging to him like he’s her favorite toy—which he pretty much is. “Yes, Mila. We’re very happy you’re here, too.”
She smiles brightly, which reminds me the older she gets, the more it’s like staring at Stassie. “Uncle Henry, can I have my ice cream now? It’s been the mandatory five minutes.”
Henry drops her to her feet and nudges her away. “Go ask your dad for money.”
“Mandatory five minutes?” I ask as we watch her crash into Nate’s legs, shouting her request up to him. Nate pauses his conversation with Emilia, sighing as he reaches for his wallet, scowling at Henry from across the room as he places some bills in his daughter’s palm.
“Mandatory five minutes of socializing,” Henry says.
I smother a laugh with my coffee and Mila comes barreling back toward us. “He said I have to get the twins some, too, but they’re taking a nap, so I don’t think they need any and we should get extra for us.”
“That sounds reasonable. Come on, kiddo.” She reaches up to take Henry’s hand and the pair of them head in the direction of the ice cream shop, The Little Moo, leaving me to fend for myself. I still don’t love being the center of attention, and I’m thankful today is about Aurora. A mixture of customers and friends are scattered around the room, each scanning the shelves, chatting with each other. I can see JJ and Alex talking to my parents, Stassie rocking a double stroller as she talks to Jenna, Mrs. Brown intensely inspecting the romance section. What was an old, forgotten bookstore not that long ago now feels full of life.
I know my mother-in-law is in here somewhere, so I’m avoiding our inevitable meeting for as long as possible by keeping myself busy, taking candid photographs of everyone like Aurora taught me. That’s when I take the best one: Aurora, behind the cash register with the biggest smile on her face, selling a huge pile of books to someone. The light pouring in through the windows is making her practically glow. I’m immediately overwhelmed by her beauty, and the feeling of pride that she did all of this herself.
She spots me watching her while her customer looks down, patting around their body to find their wallet. I mouth “I love you” and she mouths it back. I mouth “I’m so proud of you,” and she mouths back something that looks like “I’m proud of how hot you are.” It’s the moment that all the moving, all the renovations, all the working in my boxers because I couldn’t find the box with our clothes feels totally worth it. Everything brought us here, to being this blissfully happy.
After another hour, I realize that I won’t be able to work from the store like I was planning to. I’ll get absolutely no work done if I’m staring at my wife all day. Rory is a natural, like I knew she would be, and every customer makes her relax a bit more.
When the opening party starts to wind down and she steps awayfrom behind the register, someone, likely JJ, shouts, “Speech!” We all watch in awe as she accepts a glass of champagne and throws it back quickly. Sarah tuts disapprovingly, but Aurora is an expert at not listening to her mom’s complaints. “It’s for courage.” She laughs. “Um…”
I make my way through the people who have gathered around her so she can see me front and center. Her shoulders relax, and her eyes lock on me.
“Thank you everyone for being here today. Really, thank you. I can’t believe it. I know a lot of you have traveled a long way, and I’ve promised those of you staying with us pancakes in the morning, and this is my way of telling you that I’m really terrible at making pancakes.” She really is. “Thank you to the people of Meadow Springs for welcoming us into your community. I know it wasn’t easy at first, but Russ and I feel so at home here. For everyone else who might not know, many years ago, I made a joke about opening a strip club here. Apparently nobody forgot.”
