But I’m done with that because I was wrong. About all of it.
“You planned this,” Luna giggles. She runs her tongue up my neck to my chin, where she places a kiss and then sighs. “You planned all of this.”
“If you mean getting Milo to Granny’s so we could have some alone time to talk, then yes, I did. But this…this was just a really over-the-top bonus, and I am the luckiest man on earth. I didn’t plan this bit.”
She’s silent for a minute, and I wonder what she’s thinking about. As for me, I’m thinking about the bracelet that was in the pocket of my jeans and how hot it got when I arrived here. I think it knew, and I believe Granny also knew. The whole world probably knew we were meant to be together.
“I’m thinking about how I have so much I want to know about you. I don’t even know what work you do now.”
“Books,” I choke out. “I’m in books. That’s what I do for a living. Uh, I don’t know why I didn’t tell you before. I own bookstores, all sorts of bookstores. I guess it kind of feels like I’m carrying on Granny’s legacy. She’s in newspapers and magazines, so I guess written words of all varieties. I guess this is my way of doing that.”
“Are you for real?” She jerks up and looks at me. “That’s amazing! That’s what you were always so passionate about. I can’t think of a single person who would do a better job or enjoy it more than you would.”
“You don’t think it’s lame?”
“Lame? No! I think it’s wonderful. The perfect fit.”
I wrap my arms tightly around her, holding her close as I brush my lips over her raven black, fragrant hair. She smells like sweat, oranges, lilies, and me. “You’re the perfect fit,” I whisper against her hair.
Luna tucks herself against me, but I can feel her cheeks shift when she smiles.
CHAPTER 17
Toren
I said nothing could pull me away from Luna and Milo again, but I’m realistic, and I do know that while I’m not going anywhere mentally or emotionally, there are times when I’m going to have to be physically away from them.
I get a reality check on Wednesday night when Mike, my district manager, calls me in a panic about some problems they’re having at one of the stores in New York. I never thought I’d own a physical bookstore in New York, but when I found one for sale that specializes in first editions, antique books, antique and vintage written paraphernalia, and the like, I jumped at the chance to own such an incredible historical building and all the contents inside.
I have my regular bookshops, which do the newer stuff, sell home décor, serve coffee, and whatnot. Then, I have the online portion of the business to handle digital sales, and I also have used bookstores because they’re fun and more exciting to me. The bookstore in New York was simply a passion project I couldn’t say no to.
Mike’s email was urgent. The store has been losing money for some time, and the staff members are all worried they’re going to get shut down and have to find new jobs. Mike wants to have a meeting with everyone to reassure them since I’ve told him it doesn’t matter if the place loses money—I have plenty I can move around to cover for it—and he also wants to come up with a new business plan or model. Some of the staff have been at the store for twenty years, so I can’t just not go.
I called Luna early in the morning, and she understood. She said she was fine. She could take Milo into the store with her for today, and he could watch videos in the back, play with his toys, or read back there. And if he wanted to watch her make jewelry, that’s okay with her too. She wanted me to make sure my business stayed running and that the people who could be impacted got to keep their jobs. Luna is, above all, totally selfless. She’s the most amazing, caring, understanding, intuitive, and intelligent woman I’ve ever met. She told me she’d miss me, but she understands that my business is a big part of my life, and I can’t always blow it off.
She also told me she has several candidates for the nanny position. She assured me that she wasn’t forcing me out, but instead of being her nanny all day, if I wanted to try something else, she would work out a schedule where I could share custody of Milo, and there would be days when we could both have him together.
Together.
Her telling me that we can have days together and family days kept me going through a red-eye flight to New York, through meetings and plannings, and through concerns, questions, and reassurances. It even kept me going on a late-night flight back to NOLA.