“I have a better idea,” the woman said, clearly able to read my panicked expression. She reached for a drawer under the counter, pulling out a selection that was clearly for children. The price tags were also more reasonable.
“Would you like a necklace with a pendant in the form of an infinity knot?” she asked Avery.
“It looks like a bow,” Avery said skeptically.
“Yes, exactly. You know what infinity means? For all times.”
Ryker and I were content to watch them go back and forth over several options. He put a hand on the back of my neck, keeping me so close that my breast squished against his chest. I barely kept from grinning when he moved that hand a little lower.
“Why are you smiling like that?” he asked. Ah, I’d kept my grin at bay, but not a smile.
“I was wondering how long it would take you until your hand started... wandering.” I spoke in a low voice, even though there was so much commotion in the store that there were zero chances of being overheard.
“And?”
“You lasted seven minutes since we came in,” I informed him.
“That’s five more minutes than I expected.”
“Love that you’re not even pretending.”
“Should I?”
“Nah, I quite like knowing that you can’t resist me.”
He laughed, just as Avery turned around, proudly pointing to the infinity pendant the sales assistant had hung around her neck. Her smile was so huge, it was obvious she’d fallen head over heels for it.
“We’re taking it,” Ryker said to the sales assistant. Avery squealed when he paid.
“Thanks for doing this,” I whispered as we left the store.
“I love making our girl happy.” Our girl. Oh, heavens. I didn’t think I’d ever swooned quite this much. And when he kissed my forehead, taking my hand as we walked out of the store, I knew that he wasn’t anywhere near done.
Epilogue
Heather
Two weeks later
“I’ll have refreshments ready right away,” I announced, just as I filled the last glass with lemonade. Tess, Skye, Cole, Hunter, and Josie were here, helping me move. Josie’s siblings, Ian, Dylan, and Isabelle were also here. They’d come in to see their sister and attended the Ballroom Gala on Friday. When they got wind of the fact that I was moving today, they offered to give up their Sunday to help too, so we made a party out of it.
The three of them were arriving in a different Uber with the last few boxes, but everyone else was sitting in the living room, exhausted though still chatty as usual. Amelia had taken Avery out for ice cream, something my little girl couldn’t refuse.
I put the tray with glasses on the coffee table in front of the couch before sitting next to Ryker. Or well... on Ryker too, at least with one butt cheek. But hey, I had a great excuse, as we all sat close together on the couch. Ryker’s playful gaze clued me in that he was on to me, but I wasn’t going to make any apologies for my behavior. Not that he seemed to mind. In fact, he was taking advantage of the crammed sitting situation too, touching me a lot.
“This was a very productive day,” Tess exclaimed.
“I never thought we’d get everything done so quickly. Thank you so much for helping. How can I make it up to all of you?” I beamed, looking around. I loved this loft so much. It was just so bright. No matter where you were in the room, you had plenty of light and an amazing view. I couldn’t believe my life had changed so much since March. It was mid-June now, but I felt as if a lifetime had passed since I met Ryker.
“Don’t mention it,” Cole said. “On second thought... I’m going to cash in on that later. Never know when I’m going to need an ally.”
“Against whom?” I asked. I was slowly starting to understand what Ryker meant with getting as many members on your side as possible being a survival strategy in the group.
“Don’t know yet, hence why I’m cashing in later.”
I raised my glass of orange juice in a mock toast. “Got it.”
“Tess and I are less demanding than our little brother,” Skye said. “We just want more of this amazing lemonade.”
“Perfect.”
“A word of warning,” Ryker said. “Don’t say yes so quickly every time... it’s a surefire way to get into trouble with this group.”
That hand on my lower back slid even lower.
“I think I can handle this lot.” I looked him straight in the eye, trying to convey that I could handle him too, only I couldn’t, really. All it took was for him to be this close, and I was already done for. I was pretty sure it was written all over my face, because Ryker smiled brilliantly. I loved being surrounded by this group. Watching Skye and Tess work so tirelessly for their store had rubbed off on me. Between that and Ryker’s encouragements, I’d started working on that book I’d always wanted to write. I could tinker with it whenever I had some time in between assignments.
My Pearman article had been published at the start of the week, and let’s just say, it hit the mark.
“We need to go back to the store,” Skye said, yawning. “Our sales assistant’s shift ends in one hour.”
I shifted in my spot, looking at her and Tess. This was the right moment for me to put the plan in motion. We’d started brainstorming ways to help Skye and Tess while they were going through this rough period. They were no longer looking for an investor, because they’d decided to postpone their expansion projects. But they had their hands full trying to put out the fires that had escalated because their last investor pulled out at the last minute.
“I’ve had an idea,” I said. “Since I’m now living a stone’s throw away from your store... I could help out sometimes. Say, Saturday afternoons? Your mom said she’d love to spend that time with Avery.”
Tess tilted her head, assessing me. “And let me guess, since you and Ryker are inseparable, he’ll join you too?”
Damn, they caught on fast. Ryker had warned me they would, but I’d thought that if I was the one who voiced the idea, we stood a better chance.
“Why not?” I said. “It’s something fun for us to do, a change from our regular jobs.”
Skye tapped her chin. “I’m trying to picture Ryker in the store. He’ll scare the clientele away.”
I held up a finger. “Already thought of that. He’ll be in the back office most of the time, doing whatever you girls don’t get to do during the week. Something you can delegate, obviously.”
“Well, Tess... this is the chance we’ve waited for—we can boss him around again like when we were kids,” Skye said.
Ryker’s eyes bulged. “Talk about an unexpected angle.”
Tess focused on Hunter, Josie, and Cole, who’d been silent during this whole exchange.
“And let me guess... the three of you would alternate on Sundays?” Tess asked.
Damn! This was scarily accurate. How was this even possible?
Cole shook his head. “Told you they’d catch on to the plan, Heather.”
Eh... it was more a conspiracy than a plan, but I was getting the hang of this conspiring thing and absolutely loved it.