Page 168 of All This Time

Yvonne glares at me. “You and I both know that if Glenn were in charge, you’d come back to chaos and glitter everywhere.”

I cringe. “God, I hate glitter. It’s the herpes of craft supplies.”

“ Exactly.” She fans her grabby hands at me again. “Just let me have the keys, that way you can sleep in tomorrow and don’t have to worry about waking up to open the salon.”

Fletcher comes up behind me, burying his face in my neck. “She does have a point. I’m sure we could find other things to do tomorrow morning if you don’t have to get up and go to work.”

Closing my eyes, I focus on the feeling of his lips moving across my skin before handing Yvonne the keys. “You’re lucky I’m addicted to this man.”

“Lucifer was alluring, and people gravitated to him for a reason. I’m just glad you finally gave into him.” Winking, she saunters off.

I let out a heavy sigh.

“You all right?” Fletcher asks me as he takes a seat on the stool next to me.

“Yeah. It’s just weird.”

He kisses my shoulder. “I know, but Yvonne loves that salon as much as you do. She’s going to do a fabulous job of running things during the season for you.”

When Fletcher and I discussed our living arrangements for the next five to six months of the season, I knew I would have to give up time at the salon to make this work. It was difficult, but the idea of spending more time away from Fletcher was harder to imagine. So, I asked Yvonne if she would be willing to step up and she agreed eagerly.

As much as Blossom Beauty has been my love for the past six years, my new love is now my focus, and I’m vowing to pour as much energy into my relationship as possible. We break ground on our house next month too, so in between living in two different cities and finallysitting down to write my book, I’m already stressed just thinking about all the changes. But I’m definitely not complaining.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past two months, it’s that the “broken” people will always be able to love harder than most. Once you’ve been in the dark, you learn to appreciate everything that shines.

I wanted this, and I’m going to appreciate every single second of the chaos.

Dilynne walks up to us again, holding her drink. “Uh, have you seen my brother?”

I glance around the room. “I feel like he was just here a second ago.”

She looks to the arched entrance to the room just as Henley walks through, holding a baby carrier in one hand and a diaper bag in the other. “Is that a baby?”

When he makes his way over to us, Dilynne prods. “Why do you have a baby? You’re aware that a baby is in that thing, right?” She points to the carrier in his hand.

Henley’s face looks pale as he sets the carrier on the table. The baby dressed in a pink outfit is sleeping soundly inside, but everyone’s eyes are locked on him. “I finally figured out why that girl Meghan has been calling me so much.”

“Who’s Meghan?” I ask.

“Shit,” Fletcher mutters beside me. “Meghan is a woman Henley slept with last year, and she’s been calling him for months.”

“Okay…” Dilynne drags out the word, not putting two and two together yet.

“Your brother thought she just wanted a repeat with him, but I’m guessing that wasn’t the reason she was calling.” Fletcher flicks his chin in the direction of the baby.

Dilynne gasps as everything clicks. “You have a daughter?”

“I—Iguess I do.”

Dilynne assesses her. “How old is she?”

Henley clears his throat. “She’s three months old.”

“And where’s Meghan?” Fletcher asks.

Henley takes a deep breath. “She’s gone. She never wanted kids, so she left the baby with me.”

Our group of friends look between each other, completely shocked and at a loss for what we should say.

Henley has a kid.

Looks like the man who never wanted any responsibility is about to eat his words.

THE END

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