Know Me Well (Wishful 3)

“Nobody else is wearing a blindfold.”

“It’s not a surprise for them. Now come on.” He took both her hands and led her through the doors into the newly renovated pharmacy.

Molly, Jessie, and Ruby followed them inside, trailed by Norah and Mitch, who’d joined the back of the group without Riley noticing. They’d all already seen it when the group convened late the night before to set all the displays and stock back up, so they kept silent as ordered. Riley had been kept out of the loop, under the impression that the floors needed a couple of days longer to cure than they really did.

Liam led her down the center aisle, to the front counter, then turned her to face the finished space. “Ready?”

“So ready.”

Strangely nervous, he slid the bandanna off.

Other than a sharp intake of breath, Riley didn’t make a sound. She scanned the completely stocked aisles, the reclaimed wood floors, the freshly painted walls with their new wainscoting, past the new shelving displaying her entire collection of antique pharmacy memorabilia, all the way up to the ceiling, which had not only been repaired, but had been covered in vintage tin. The whole place fit neatly in with Norah’s historic restoration concept, the building having been dialed back as much as possible to the original early 20th century architecture from the Woolworth’s it had once been.

“It’s finished.” Riley’s voice was barely audible.

For a moment, Liam wondered if he and his mother had miscalculated, if Riley wanted to do that part herself. But she turned into his arms and buried her face against his chest, squeezing tight.

“It’s beautiful.” Her eyes were suspiciously glassy as she looked up.

Liam felt a trace of panic. “No crying.” She’d done far too much of that this summer.

Riley laughed a little “They’re happy tears.” She rose to her toes and kissed him. “Thank you.”

“Hey, I helped too,” Mitch protested.

“Get your own woman, Campbell.”

“I keep telling him he should do that,” Norah said.

Mitch clapped a hand to his heart. “The good ones keep getting snapped up.”

Riley kissed Mitch’s cheek. “You will find someone when you’re least expecting it. Autumn swears that’s how this works.”

Liam snorted. “Give her the least bit of encouragement and she’ll start matchmaking you.”

Riley arched a brow. “Oh, you mean unlike all the female members of your family?”

He tucked an arm around her. “I’d have gotten here on my own eventually.” Sensing his mother was about to speak, Liam pegged her with a look. “Not one word.”

Molly pressed her lips together, but he could see the laughter in her eyes.

“Now come see the rest.” He pulled Riley over to the wide, cased opening into what had been the storage room and turned on the light. The new displays lit—carousels, shelving, free-standing units that could be converted to shelves or hanging space, as needed. All were currently empty.

“You built my artisan marketplace!” She ran her hand along the smooth wood of a tall unit serving as a partial room divider. “Oh it’s wonderful! Where’s my actual storeroom now?”

“Back here.” Liam opened the double doors. “You’ve got stainless steel racks around the perimeter. It’s a smaller space than you had before, but it’s actually organized. With all the junk that was in here tossed, you don’t actually need more than this. Which left plenty of room to maximize your consignment space out here.”

“Do you think we can find enough people to use all this?” Riley asked.

“Already on it.” Norah stepped forward. “I’ve put together a list of artisans who are interested in leasing booth space from you, along with a couple of example contracts for how the terms can be laid out. All you need do is pick your poison and call them, and you’ll have the whole place full up by the open house. Oh, and the draft marketing plan is also in the folder.”

Riley accepted the folder and stared at her. “You never just sit on things, do you?”

Norah grinned. “Now, where would be the fun in that?”

“Thank you.”

>