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NINE MONTHS LATER

WILLIAM

Did Andrew’s new female stalker finally leave?

OMG! YES! She stayed thirty mins past closing

Did Andrew come out of hiding?

lol yes

Thank you for helping today

Anytime, hun. Your business is half mine. I need to help sometimes.

You’re a silent partner. And as much as you talk, you are not very silent.

I snorted and put my phone down on the counter. Upon returning from Colombia, I’d dove into remodeling the building. I had enough money to renovate and purchase the necessary equipment, but I needed more to order the initial inventory. William and I had worked out a short-term partnership, and he’d cosigned with me on a small business credit line. With his support and with the help of some companies agreeing to supply products on credit, I soft opened the store the first week of October.

Tomorrow marked our two-month anniversary, and tonight, we were preparing everything for the grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and hopefully a few local news crews.

WILLIAM

You know she will be back tomorrow for the celebration. With Andrew around she’ll be your number one customer.

no doubt

The man’s a money maker. We should start selling merchandise with Andrew’s face on it. Cups, aprons, full-size cutouts, chocolate figurines.

12-month wall calendar

Now you’re talking. Naked.

No. Shirtless.

in red speedo

NO!

“What are you laughing about?” Andrew asked, carrying a stack of cookie boxes out of the storage/office room where he’d hid for thirty minutes, waiting for Ms. Kitty Brown, our very loyal customer—but only on the days when Andrew worked in the store—to decide between robust heart-healthy or mild olive oil. Which she’d already bought last week.

“William thinks the only way for our store to break even is by selling your hot body. Would you agree to that?”

“I would agree to anything you asked me to do as long as it made you happy.” Andrew set the packages on the bar’s granite top, leaned his hip against it, and crossed his arms. He wore the same clothes from this morning when he’d left for the university, gray dress pants and a blue shirt, with two top buttons now undone. “What’s left for us to do here?”

While Andrew and I renovated a two-bedroom apartment above my store, we lived in a small Airbnb studio nearby. I had moved off William’s couch in March, and Andrew had moved in with me at the end of April. This fall he’d started teaching an Archaeology course at Emory University in Atlanta, two days on campus and one day online. On the days he wasn’t working, he was here helping me in the shop.

As Andrew promised, the expedition to Iceland had been his last job for Octavian Global. Dr. Evans had overseen Augustine Pérez's treasure excavation and relocated the artifacts to the University of Cambridge. It wouldn't be until the end of next year that the public could marvel at the priceless findings. The only trips Andrew made these days were to see Charlotte and Lulu in England. They also had come once to the States, and we’d gone on a family vacation to Disney World.

The moment I’d met Lulu, I’d fallen in love with her. Now she called me just as much as she called Andrew, if not more, because, you know, we had girl stuff to chat about. The more time I spent with her, the less self-doubt I had about my ability to be a good mother. Andrew’s absolute love and respect for me gave me the emotional and personal stability I’d lacked and lessened my anxiety about having a family.

“I’m almost done with this. Then I need to set up the drinks table and sweep the floors.” I put a medium-sized olive oil bottle next to a California Merlot in a gift basket for tomorrow’s raffle, then adjusted a framed photo on the wall of Andrew and me with a research team in Iceland. We stood beside a Viking vessel sheltered deep inside a ( argh ) cave, literally frozen in time. Over a hundred valuables were recovered: gold jewelry, silver coins, weapons, and an agate-carved Roman vase.

“Should these cookies go into the refrigerator?” Andrew lifted the top box lid and peeked inside.

“They can stay there. They won’t go bad. Plus, the fridge is filled to the brim.”

He hummed. “You’re a few short.”

“William took some vegan cookies home for Brandon. He arrived from London this afternoon.” I tightened the ribbon on the basket and cut it.

Brandon and William were in a serious long-distance relationship. They had been racking up their frequent flier miles each month by taking turns visiting each other. This time Brandon had flown twice in a row because he didn’t want to miss the store’s grand opening. I told him it wasn’t that big of a deal, but he’d insisted. The more, the merrier. I loved spending time with him, and he was like a brother to me already. And the way things were going between those two, he should officially become my family soon.

Andrew disappeared into the office and returned with a broom. While he swept between the rows of the dark mahogany wood shelves with stainless fusti tanks and prefilled oil and vinegar bottles, I rearranged—for the fourth time—the table decorations and placed a jar for the raffle tickets next to two large gift baskets jam-packed with products from our store.

“Anything else we should do before we go home?” Andrew asked, coming up behind me, his body a solid wall against mine. I love the word home on his lips. He brushed his mouth over my exposed shoulder, his hands gripping my hips.

“Hmm.” I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “I can think of a few things we could do, but I’d rather take a shower first. Let’s go. We can finish the rest tomorrow morning.”

Andrew kissed the crook of my neck. “By the way, there was a delivery earlier. I set the parcel by the register.”

I didn’t remember anybody bringing anything this afternoon, but I also didn’t hear Ms. Kitty coming in while I was on the ladder counting wine bottles on the top shelf. In the past several months, deliveries to my store were non-stop, including an array of new products, office supplies, and vendor samples.

I stopped by the register and pulled a light brown package closer. It was light and the size of a thick book. “Oh, it could be the organic soap I’ve been waiting for.”

I leaned over the countertop, fished out scissors from a pencil cup, and used the blade to open it.

“Did you check it had your name on it?” Andrew said with a teasing tone, his voice somewhere near me. I rolled my eyes but then glanced at the label. The name was a bit smudged, but it was definitely for me.

Setting the scissors aside I lifted the carbon folds and inhaled the sweet rose aroma. Inside amongst the pink and red rose petals laid a notecard with the words:

Adriana Jones, will you go with me on the adventure of our lifetime?

With a surge of anticipation, I swirled around and gasped. Andrew kneeled on one knee and held out a platinum ring with a cushion-shaped green stone surrounded by diamonds.

I forgot how to breathe.

“The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person,” Andrew said, his eyes glinting in the light. “I’m grateful that the universe conspired to help me find you by sending you the package with the bracelet. I love you, Adriana Jones. You are the greatest treasure I have found, and I would be forever grateful if you would agree to spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?”

Tears filled my eyes as I practically shouted, “Yes!” Smiling wide, I allowed him to slip the ring on my left-hand ring finger. My hand was trembling, or maybe it was his.

Andrew got up, and I looped my arms around his neck and smashed my mouth against his. I moaned at the warmth of his lips, and the way his tongue moved against mine. “Yes, a million times,” I said, coming up for a breath.

“This is my grandmother’s Edwardian ring. If you don’t like it, we can pick you a different one.” Andrew ran his thumb over my cheek, wiping a tear. I relaxed against his chest, feeling his fast heartbeat.

“It’s beautiful. I love it.”

And then I kissed Andrew again and again, climbing on him, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“Let’s go home,” he said, his hot breath in my ear.

“Too far. Carry me to the storage room.”

His smile told me it was the right choice of location. “Your wish is my command.”