Page 54 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I

AUTUMN

ONE YEAR LATER

“Did you make sure there were extra blankets in the bedrooms?” I ask Zane, pacing across the foyer floor.

“I did,” he murmurs, watching me with a soft smile on his face.

“Do you think I put enough toiletries in the bathrooms?” I worry, nibbling on my bottom lip. “Maybe I should run up and check.”

“There are enough, little rebel.”

“What about?—”

“There are plenty of toys in the toy boxes, and extra clothes in the closets, and towels in the pantry, and food in the kitchen, and laundry detergent in the laundry room. The computers are working. So are the phones and the toilets, and the televisions, and the game consoles. The swings swing, and the slides are safe,” he murmurs, reaching out to grab my hand. “Everything is perfect.”

“How do you know? Something could have gone wrong?”

“It didn’t,” he murmurs, pulling me into his arms. “You’ve been working your ass off for a year straight to turn this place into a safe place for every woman and child who needs it. Nothing has gone wrong. You wouldn’t allow it.”

“I’m nervous,” I whisper, melting against his chest. Our first official residents—a young mom and her baby boy—are due to arrive in a little over an hour, and I’m so worried that I’ve forgotten something important that will make this place feel like a home to them.

And I want it to feel like a home to them.

She’s on the run from a powerful ex who is threatening to take her son because she refuses to let him control her. She needs a safe place to land, somewhere she and her baby can settle in and know they’ll be protected. That’s what we want Mina’s Place to be.

I don’t want to mess it up on day one. Zane and I have worked so hard to make this place a reality, and we haven’t been the only ones. All of our friends and family have chipped in to help. They’ve dedicated their time, energy, and labor into reinventing this place.

If my father’s ghost still lingers here, we’ve made the place as inhospitable as possible for him.

And if my mom’s does, well, I think she’d be proud of what we’ve turned this place into.

I don’t think she’d feel trapped here anymore.

For the first time, this place feels like a home, the one thing my father could never turn it into.

It took love to do that. Zane and I have poured so much love into this place, turning it from a cold, lifeless estate into a place of refuge.

We stripped everything out and started fresh.

New floors, new paint, new furniture. There are kitchens and laundry facilities on every floor, as well as play rooms and family rooms. Every suite has its own bathroom.

I’ve fallen more in love with Zane every day that we’ve worked on this place. He’s poured everything into this project, sparing no expense. I am in awe of him and his devotion to me. No one has ever loved me like he does, and I know no one else ever will. He’s my world.

When I first came to Silver Spoon Falls to work for the family company and Andreas for a year, I couldn’t wait to leave. Now, I know this is where I belong. This place and this man are my future. They’re my home. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

“I noticed,” Zane says dryly, running his lips across my forehead. “But everything is perfect, little rebel. You’ve made sure of that. Now, I need you to do what you do best.”

“What do I do best? Other than drive you crazy.”

He smiles at me, his expression soft. “I need you to let that giant heart of yours guide you,” he says, bumping his nose against mine. “It won’t steer you wrong. When they get here, you’ll know exactly what to do. You always do. That’s who you are.”

“Zane,” I whisper, my heart fluttering.

“It’s true. You lead with your heart in everything you do. Do that now, and everything will be okay. I’ll worry about the details. You worry about making them feel welcome and wanted.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” I ask, blinking watery eyes.

“You forgot to fire me. You gave me your heart.” He smirks at me, slipping his hand between us to run it over my very pregnant belly. “And then you let me put my kid in you.”

“I didn’t forget to fire you. I just got busy,” I mumble, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. “I’m still busy, by the way.”

“Yeah?” He nips my bottom lip and then kisses me slow and sweet. “Doing what?”

“Forgetting to fire you,” I whisper against his lips.

“Get busy then,” he growls. “We’ve got an hour. I want you to forget you even know the word fired before the hour is up, little rebel.”

“Oh, a challenge.” I slip my hand down his body, reaching for his erection. “I like it.”

“Good girl,” he groans as I squeeze him through his pants. “Fuck. You’re such a good little rebel.”