Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“I am. Are you sure you don’t mind? I haven’t had a chance to drive around and see what’s in the area, so I wasn’t sure if there was a furniture store.”
His brows shot up. “You’ve been here a month and haven’t looked around the area or googled anything?”
“I have not.”
He ran his hand over his chin. “Have you seen the calendar of events page on the city website?”
Laughing, I replied, “I haven’t.”
“Oh, Cadie, you need to bookmark that page. If there is one thing about Moose Village, they love their city and celebrate. This month is the spring scavenger hunt, even though it’s still normally cold out during it.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You meet at City Hall and get the list of what is on the scavenger hunt. Once you get all the locations marked off and what you found at each one, you go back to City Hall. Whoever gets there first with all of the correct items wins.”
Smiling, I asked, “What do you win?”
Kian winked, and I had to force myself not to swoon. Goodness, the man was handsome. Built. Charming. And a bit mysterious. “Respect.”
I laughed again. “Respect? All that running around, and you don’t even get a free ice cream at the ice cream parlor?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t done it in years, and maybe it was because we were kids and we didn’t get anything, but, man, it was a lot of fun. The grownups loved it as well.”
“Did your parents have fun doing it?” I asked.
Kian’s smile instantly vanished. “They never participated in it. At least not with us kids.”
“I’m sorry. That seems like something that would be fun to do with your kids.”
He gave a half shrug. “My parents liked the idea of kids but didn’t like us around. We were messy, loud, and didn’t fit the idea of a perfect world. At least not until we were old enough for them to start shaping us how they wanted us to be. We were a good conversation for them at their functions, and once we were old enough to behave, they would drag us to these events. I liked the Christmas parties, though; they were fun.”
I wanted to take his hand and squeeze it. I didn’t know what it was like to have parents who weren’t in every aspect of my life. I hated that my own lived in Italy, but they made sure to call every other week after I moved out and they even managed to return to the states for Christmas every year. That was the hardest part about this…not having any contact with my family.
Instead of taking his hand, I gave him a soft smile. “I wish I could say I understand, but my parents are very loving.”
“Do they live close by?”
I felt myself wobble for a half second. “No, they live on the West Coast.” Of Italy.
It wasn’t a lie…exactly.
“Do you miss them?”
Tears stung at the back of my eyes. “Yes. Very much.”
“Hopefully, they can come and visit. I bet they would like the area.”
My parents loved Boston and the surrounding area, which was why I moved to Boston.
“I know they would.”
Kian clapped his hands, causing me to jump. “Let’s get going.”
“Oh, um, let me grab my purse. Come in to…um…your cabin.”
He laughed and followed me into his cabin.
“Love what you’ve done to the place.”
I couldn’t help myself; I giggled and instantly felt myself blush.
“Give me a bit of time, and I’ll get this place looking great.”
A crease appeared between his eyes. “And you’re sure you can buy furniture?”
My heart warmed with his concern. “I do. I had a very well-paying job before, and since I’m single with no kids, I put a lot of money away into my savings. I only offered to pay up front because I wanted this cabin, and I wasn’t sure what my job would look like in six months.”
“Are you not happy at the bakery?”
“Oh.” I waved my hands widely in front of me. “Yes! I love working there, but I don’t know if Opal will need me there long term. I thought it was better to play it safe.”
His body relaxed. “Trust me, Opal loves you and thinks you are a wonderful baker. I will tell you, she is worried she put too much pressure on you to decorate this Tigger cake.”
My chest squeezed. “Goodness, I don’t want her worrying about that. I’ve decorated cakes before, so I have some experience. It’s finished, so I’m just hoping she will like it.”
He waved his hand as if silently saying I was worrying about nothing. “She is going to love it. Trust me.”
It was my turn to relax a little. “That makes me happy. I adore Opal. She reminds me of my granny, who taught me everything I know about baking.”
“She is pretty amazing.”
We stood there briefly and looked everywhere but at each other.