Page 52 of Beautiful Desire (Blossom Beach #3)

Georgia

G race: Have you met up with Alden yet?

Me: I just parked in front of the bookstore, but I don’t think he’s here yet.

Grace: Call me when you’re done!

Me: …? Is everything okay?

Grace: Oh my gosh, yes! Sorry. I just want to hear how it goes!

Shoving my phone in my bag, I head inside the store and walk over to the register, where Hazel is training the new girl.

“Hey, ladies,” I murmur as they both look up at me and smile.

“I’m expecting somebody in the next few minutes.

His name is Alden. He’ll most likely be wearing a suit that probably costs more than my mortgage, and he’ll look really out of place in here.

Can you show him to my office when he arrives, please? ”

Hazel snorts. “Sure thing, boss.”

Alden and I are finally signing the paperwork today that’ll make this building officially mine.

We were supposed to take care of this two weeks ago when I got back from Charleston, but something with work came up for him, so he asked to push it to today instead.

I won’t lie; part of me thought he was trying to back out of the deal, but he emailed me last night to confirm the time, so I guess it’s really happening.

I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be, but I’m not sure why. This deal was made months ago, so it’s not like I haven’t had time to prepare. Not to mention, it’s what I wanted, so what is there for me to be anxious about?

A moment later, as I’m scrolling through my emails and trying to calm the jitters bouncing around inside me, a knock sounds at my door. Glancing up, I watch Hazel usher Alden and another man about Fletcher’s age into the office. She gives me a wide smile and a thumbs-up before leaving.

“Alden.” Standing up, I shake his hand before doing the same to the other guy. “I’m Georgia. I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Georgia,” he says with a warm smile. “I’m Reese, the St. James’ attorney and Fletcher’s friend.”

Ah, yes. I don’t know why it never crossed my mind that Alden would bring his attorney. The documents obviously have to be notarized.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Reese.” Gesturing at the chairs in front of my desk. “Please, have a seat, you two. How are you?”

“Livin’ the dream,” Reese offers.

“I’m doing well,” Alden states matter of factly. “How are you?”

“Doing pretty good.”

Fletcher told me that his father now knows about us, and while I don’t see somebody like Alden bringing it up, it’s still awkward.

Aside from my sisters—and well, now him—we haven’t explicitly told anyone else in our family.

I’m still not sold that my dad and his mom don’t know, though.

It’s still so new, and with him being in Charleston and me being here, it didn’t make sense to have that conversation without him by my side.

He’s supposed to be coming to town this weekend, so we have a loose plan to do it then.

Really looking forward to that conversation.

“Wonderful,” Alden says, tone completely unenthusiastic. “Shall we get started?”

“Ready when you are,” I chirp, glancing from Alden to Reese.

Setting a stack of documents on the desk, Reese walks us through each one, explaining what we’re signing.

The whole process doesn’t take very long because there are far fewer documents than when I bought my house, but once I sign the last one, my shoulders relax.

It feels so good knowing this building is mine, and I don’t have to worry about it being taken from me ever again.

As they’re packing up and getting ready to leave, Reese gives Alden a look that I can’t decipher.

His lips tug into a barely-there grin and his eyebrows lift underneath his dark-framed glasses, but no words are spoken between them.

Odd. Then, when they get to the door, Alden clears his throat and glances over at me.

“Georgia, would you like to come with us next door? I’d like to show you the plans I have for that space, just so you know.

Confusion furrows my brow. “Uh, should I be concerned with what’s going over there?” I ask. “It’s not another bookstore, is it?”

Reese snickers. “It’s nothing like that.”

There’s about a dozen things I need to be doing, and none of them are going on a tour with Alden St. James and his attorney, but what the hell.

“Sure, why not?” Standing from my chair, I follow them through my store and out on the sidewalk.

I knew he bought most of the buildings on this side of the street, but I’ve never considered what he planned to do with them.

As long as my store remained as-is, I wasn’t too concerned.

Especially since most of the other buildings are vacant.

Reese holds the door open for Alden and me, and I spot Conway and his crew as we walk in.

Grace’s man owns the only contracting company in town, so it’s not surprising to see he’s working on the renovation for whatever this is.

Conway nods as we pass him, and I don’t miss the slight twitch of his mouth, like he’s biting back a grin.

The two men lead me through the space, my heart suddenly in my throat.

First, the look Reese gave Alden back in my office, and now Conway.

What is going on? When they take a left into one of the rooms, anxiety flutters around in my stomach at what they’re about to show me, but as I walk in behind them, my breath catches in my throat as my gaze lands on the very last person I expected to be here.

“Hey, Peach.” Fletcher’s watches me with a wide, toothy grin as he sits on the edge of a desk in the far corner of the room.

“What are you doing here?” Flicking my gaze over to Alden and Reese, they’re both wearing matching smiles. Which is odd for Alden. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so…happy? “What’s going on?”

“Remember that business plan I created for my capstone project?” Fletcher asks.

“Yeah… What about it?”

“Well, I decided to tweak it a little and make a real plan.” He pauses for a moment, eyes on mine, and my heart beats a mile a minute.

“I knew St. James Properties had purchased this building, and I knew there has been discussions over the last few years about expanding the company, and this seemed like it could be the perfect location to finally open up a second office,” he goes on, sauntering over to me.

Swallowing thickly, my tongue feels like sandpaper as Fletcher stops in front of me, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. His eyes are soft, the corners of them wrinkled with his smile.

“We’ve wanted to expand business to more states around the country, but it was too much for one office to manage.

The building we’re currently in is a great size, but with the number of people we’d need to hire to expand, we’d run out of space.

And sure, we could’ve put in another office in Charleston, but doing it this way would keep me right where I want to be. ”

My head is spinning, and my skin tingles, goosebumps covering my arms as I try to make sense of what Fletcher’s saying. “Here?” I ask, voice rough. “Right where you want to be is here?”

Breathing out a chuckle, Fletcher nods. “Yeah, Peach. Right here is where I want to be. It’s where I want to stay.”

“Fletcher presented the idea to me the day after graduation, and I have to admit, it was impressive,” Alden chimes in, pulling my attention to him.

“Blossom Beach wouldn’t be my first choice, nor would it have even been on my radar, but the numbers were good, he had a strong argument for putting it here, and we already own the building, so we wouldn’t have to search for one. ”

“So, you guys are moving here?”

Alden chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I’m staying in Charleston.”

“But I will be moving here, and once the renovation is complete, this location will take on its own properties.” Fletcher tips his head toward his dad.

“My father will oversee operations for the East Coast, while I’ll oversee operations on the West. It will involve some traveling, of course, but my home will be here.

” Taking my trembling hand, he adds, “With you.”

Reese and Alden quietly exit the room, leaving me and Fletcher alone, my mind unable to wrap around everything he just said.

He’s moving…here.

To be with me.

Fletcher cups my cheek, his touch warm. “I love you, Georgia.” It’s not the first time he’s said it, but there’s so much emotion packed behind those four words, and it sends a buzzing feeling scattering through my body.

My eyes sting, and I’m frozen, unable to move or think or speak.

Thankfully, he continues so I don’t have to.

“I’ve had a crush on you since my mom first married your dad.

A crush I never saw going anywhere. When my father sent me here, I thought my life was over. ”

I snort and roll my eyes, which makes him chuckle.

“I realize that’s dramatic, but it’s true,” he goes on.

“The life I had always known was ripped away from me, and I had no say in the matter. But what I found here is worth so much more than anything I could’ve had there.

I am so goddamn in love with you, Georgia, and I couldn’t stomach the idea of being anywhere but here.

Getting this office up and running won’t be easy, but it’ll be more than worth it because I’ll have you to come home to every night. ”

My throat is tight, emotion making it hard to breathe. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”

Fletcher flashes me a cocky smirk. “I told you I’d figure it out.”

“So, you’re here now…to stay?”

He nods, his hand coming around the back of my neck. “I’m here to stay, Peach.”

Bringing his mouth to mine, Fletcher parts my lips with his tongue, kissing me deeply.

I feel this kiss everywhere ; from my head, the way it’s foggy and like I’m floating, down through my body, and the way it heats and awakens, all the way down to toes, and how they curl inside my shoes.

This kiss isn’t hurried, it’s intentional.

Like Fletcher is repeating everything he just professed to me using his mouth.

I’m dizzy and my lips tingle by the time he pulls back, and as his green eyes gaze into mine, I feel not only his truth deep in my chest, but mine as well.

So, before I allow myself a chance to bite my tongue and chicken out, I say, “I love you too, Fletcher.” My voice cracks, and my eyes well up with moisture.

I never thought there would come a day when I’d utter those words to another person, at least not in this sense.

And I sure as hell never expected it would be to Fletcher.

But maybe I had to go through all that I did in order to find a safe, true love in him.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he murmurs, wiping the tear from my face. Then his lip twitches before he adds, “You know, we could christen this new office.”

“Oh, my gosh.” I huff a laugh, rolling my eyes. The most Fletcher sentence there ever was.

He cocks his head to the side, eyes glinting with humor. “Come on, I could bend you over this desk.”

“Not a chance.” I swat his chest playfully. “There is a whole crew of guys out there. I don’t think so.”

Groaning, he mutters, “Fine, but it’s gonna happen soon.”

“I would expect nothing less from you.”

“Damn right.” His chest rumbles with a chuckle. “Now, say it again.”

Lifting a brow, I ask, “Say what again?”

“That you love me, obviously.” He’s wearing a boyish grin that makes my stomach flip.

“I love you, Fletcher.” The words come out natural and easy the second time around, knowing that not only I mean them, but that he does too. I feel it in my chest that he’s not going to hurt me. That my heart is safe with him.

“Goddamn, that sounds so good,” he quips. “I love you, Peach.”