Page 53 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

“Oh, that’s such great news. Let’s have a dinner tonight at our place. A little celebration. Melanie, we’d love for you to join us as well.”

“You don’t have to do that. I was only gone a week,” I laughed .

“I want to. It didn’t feel right not having you around at Jane’s birthday party. We all missed you.”

“Thanks, Sheila. I was really sorry to miss it too. A dinner sounds great, as long as it isn’t putting you or Charlie out.”

Sheila fluttered away with a smile on her face.

“You sure seem to know a lot of people here,” my mother observed.

“Yeah. I guess so. It’s a small town, so you get to know people pretty quickly.”

“You’ve made an impression on them though. They like you.”

I shrugged, but I couldn’t stop a small smile from tugging at my lips.

“Thanks, Mom.”

After breakfast, I brought my mother to the library.

The sun was glistening off the lush green grass that blanketed the property.

The atmosphere couldn’t have been more different from the first time I saw this building on a rainy and dark October afternoon.

The stone building still stole my breath every time I saw it.

Nerves whirled through me, my heart beating harder than it should have.

I was so proud of this project and all the hard work I’d put into it. I was even more proud of Reid and the Wilder Construction crew. This was the first project they had ever taken on of this scale, and it was utterly perfect.

“Well, this isn’t some small community library, is it?”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. The Delano Library spoke for itself, with its stone spires and intricate etched details. The large oak doors stood open to the public, inviting people in.

I watched as my mother’s gaze shot around the space, taking it all in, a look of awe on her face .

“This is truly stunning, Claire.”

A weight lifted in my chest. I didn’t think I needed her approval anymore. I had made my choices, and I was happy with them, but hearing her acknowledge my work, admiring it, made me feel giddy.

“Thanks, Mom. You should see the third floor. There is a small nook in the back corner with a love seat, the leaded glass window overlooking Calla Bay. It’s beautiful.”

“I’d love to.”

We walked the length of the library, toured both mezzanine floors, and browsed the selection of books for the next two hours. I was, surprisingly, thoroughly enjoying our time together.

“I’d better get going soon,” my mother said as we walked back to my car after leaving the library.

“You don’t want to stay for dinner? Sheila’s a great cook.”

“It’s a long drive back, and I’d like to be home before your father is.”

“Does he know you’re here?”

For a minute, I didn’t think she was going to answer me. Her lips pulled into a flat line, and she started fussing with her hair. It was answer enough. I nodded at her.

“He didn’t think it would be a good idea to visit,” she said sadly.

“Well, he is more than welcome to come, if he can be civil. Otherwise, I think it might be best if we have some distance for now. But you can come anytime you want, Mom. You don’t need his permission.”

“Right. Well, like I said. It’s a long drive home. I should get on the road.”

My mother had been in my father’s wake for as long as I could remember. I hoped that one day, she would see that she deserved so much better.

I brought us back home and gave her a hug before she left. It was an oddly nice visit, and I realized that I actually did want her to take me up on the offer to visit more.

After she had gone, I put some things away that I hadn’t gotten to yet and puttered around the house.

It was nice to have some time off. I had thoroughly enjoyed my day wrapped around Reid in bed.

But now, I was getting a bit restless. The dishes were done, the floors were swept and mopped.

I was debating about scrubbing down the already clean bathroom when the front door opened.

“Hey, love,” Reid said. His eyes bounced around the room before settling on me.

“She’s gone. She wanted to get home before my father.” I shrugged.

“How was she?”

“Really good, to be honest. I kind of liked having her here,” I laughed.

Reid toed off his boots and greeted me with a deep kiss.

“Uh-uh.” I backed out of his embrace. “We don’t have time to get something started. We are going to your dad’s house for dinner.”

Reid growled playfully. Then, he swatted my ass on his way past me to take a shower.

We walked into Charlie and Sheila’s house one hour and two orgasms later. The entire Wilder family was there, except in Juliet’s place, Seb was there.

Everyone was congregating in the kitchen, although it didn’t look like dinner had been served yet. It took a second before anyone noticed that we had walked in, but as soon as Maeve yelped in surprise, everyone turned toward us.

Maeve ran up to me and wrapped me in a tight hug, like she hadn’t seen me in years. The guys all cheered, mostly giving Reid a hard time about his sour attitude.

“The house is still available. I can bring the key by Reid’s place later,” Wyatt offered, his arm slung around my shoulder. I didn’t have any siblings, but I’d bet this was what it felt like to have a brother.

“Thanks, but you can keep it.” A blush crept up my cheek. I didn’t know why I felt embarrassed talking about it, but sharing my living arrangements with Reid’s family, his father and Sheila listening in, made me nervous.

Wyatt smirked and jostled my shoulder.

Sheila started setting the table, and everyone pitched in to help.

By the time the food was served, attention had shifted away from me and Reid.

They all treated me like I was part of the family now, ingrained into their tight-knit group.

I looked over at Reid and found his eyes on me.

I couldn’t help but smile at him. He squeezed my leg before he was pulled into a conversation with Luke and Seb.

“Claire, do you have any idea what you want to do now? I can ask the school if they will need a new history teacher if you want me to,” Maeve offered.

“Actually, I ran into David Pratchett this morning at breakfast. The library historian position should be opening up in June, and he’s going to put in a good word for me.”

“Seriously?” Reid asked. His eyes held a proud sparkle in them as he looked at me. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“It just happened this morning. And then we were… distracted when you got home.” I shrugged.

“That’s great news,” Sheila said .

Maeve and Sheila were talking to me about the possible new job. Reid was pulled into a conversation with Charlie, Wyatt, and Luke about Luke’s police case. Seb was playing with Jane, lifting her up in the air and pretending to drop her, ignoring the rest of the chaos.

It was a perfect evening.

I would be thanking the universe for bringing me to this little coastal town in Massachusetts, for forcing Reid to work with me even when he didn’t want to, for the rest of my days.