Viola’s smile fell as she looked up at Lucas.
He gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It’s not ideal with my parents, but we go back to uni in two weeks and then we graduate so we’re out on our own anyway.”
“Are you going to get a place together?”
“Our flats are sorted for this year but when we graduate, yeah.”
“And at least Vi’s parents are okay with us,” Lucas added.
“Yeah, no one saw that coming after the shotgun incident,” I joked.
Lucas smirked but his tone was solemn. “I did. The Taits have always been good people. If it was up to Milly, this feud with my dad wouldn’t have gotten past the three-month mark, never mind thirty bloody years.”
Viola caressed his arm in a soothing manner and gave me another smile. “Thanks for letting us take some time in the apartment this morning. There’s not much privacy at mine.”
“It’s no problem. I was young once,” I cracked.
“Oh, aye.” Lucas chuckled as he and Viola strolled toward the door. “Was that not yesterday when everyone saw Roane feeling you up at the harbor?”
Viola swatted him on my behalf while I rolled my eyes. “There really is a downside to living in a village.”
“You’re just learning that now?”
I waved them out, watching Lucas throw his arm around Viola’s small shoulders as Roane appeared before them. They exchanged a few words with Shadow bouncing around them for attention, and my heart did that leaping-in-my-chest thing it always did when I saw my fiancé.
My fiancé.
Would that wondrous feeling ever leave? Would I one day settle comfortably into my feelings for Roane?
As he strode inside the store, holding the door open for Shadow to trot through, we shared a loving smile, and then I got down to the business of greeting the dog. Once my hands were sufficiently covered in doggy kisses, I shared a long, lingering kiss with Shadow’s owner.
“I need to wash my hands,” I murmured against his mouth, noting the brown bag of lunch he clutched.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Even though I’d already closed the shop when I shouldn’t, I found myself turning over the sign and locking the door. Upstairs, after I’d washed away Shadow’s sweet kisses from my hands, I joined Roane in the kitchen.
“From the bakery in Alnwick,” he said, pushing a plate with a massive sandwich on it toward me.
“Thank you. Had a good morning?”
“Well, I heard good news. Maggie and Annie Foster have reconciled.”
I grinned. “I heard from a customer, but it’s nice to have it confirmed by a reliable source.”
Roane’s gazed washed over my face, bright with tenderness. “Milly says Maggie told her you had something to do with it.”
My cheeks felt a little hot under his obvious admiration. He was looking at me the same way he had when I’d pulled Shadow out of the way of that car. “We just talked. The rest was Maggie.”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “You have no idea of your effect.” He leaned in and brushed a soft kiss to my lips. “I love you, Evie Starling soon-to-be Robson.”
A little blissed out on his praise, I reached for another kiss. Deeper, longer. When we broke apart, Roane’s eyes were dark with want. “Do you think we have time for a quickie after lunch?”
I chuckled. “I think we can make that happen.”
Roane tore a huge chunk of sandwich with his teeth, a hungry look in his eyes. I laughed, almost choking on a bite of my own sandwich.
“So where are you at with everything?” Roane asked. There was an infectious energy about him since I said yes to his proposal. He seemed to buzz with a constant happiness and excitement.
It had led to a lot of sex in the past week.
“I’m waiting on a call from my lawyer about the purchase contract. Apparently, it can take a while, so I’m a little antsy. Um, booking my flights home today. Talked to Phil. Talked to Greer—”
“How did that go?”
I sighed. “She cried. I cried. She’s happy for us, but I know she’s worried about me missing the birth, so I’ll have to find the money to fly back out for that.”
Roane stared at me, his eyes searching. “Evie, we can make that happen. I . . . uh . . .” He cleared his throat. “We need to talk—”
My cell suddenly blasted on the kitchen counter, vibrating toward me. “It’s my lawyer.” I recognized the number, excitement causing little flutters in my belly. I shot Roane an apologetic look. “I need to take this.”
He frowned but nodded. “Of course.”
I answered, hopping off the stool because I needed to move with the restless energy that bounced between Roane and me.
The call took longer than I’d thought as my lawyer, Sally, went over everything in the contract that she’d like to negotiate so it sat better in my favor. Some things had come up on the survey, like the age of the roof, and Sally was determined to get money off the purchase price because of it. I didn’t want to create problems between Penny and me, but Sally was adamant the agent had overpriced the building.