by Anne Harper
“Hey, I told them that we should loop you in first but you know how these Bennetts work. They’re always up to something. Usually trying to stop them just makes things worse.”
“I feel like we should take offense to that,” Nell said to Mateo. But he wasn’t about to go down with her ship.
“I feel like Wren and I should get out there with Owen and wash Wiggly while you two talk this whole thing out. In here. Where we can’t get in trouble.”
Wren nodded.
“I agree.”
The two men tried not to laugh as they fled like the two traitors they were.
Then there was just Nell and Quinn.
He went back to looking at the wall.
“You know, I should be used to things like this by now,” he said.
Nell heard the smile in his voice before she saw it. She moved across the plastic and stopped right in front of him. Quinn angled his head down to meet her gaze.
“And you also know that you love my shenanigans,” she teased.
That finally did it. A grin pulled up the corner of his lips.
“No. What I love is you,” he countered.
“Me, my shenanigans. Same thing.”
He snorted.
“I’ll give you that. Life with you is definitely an interesting one. Plus, I guess you are the big boss. If I grump too much, you could just replace me.”
Ever since Nell had become the new owner of Heart in Hand, their running joke of causing each other trouble at work had become like an inside joke between them. But that’s all it was. To Nell’s utter delight, Heart in Hand was doing the best it had ever done since opening and that was in no small part due to how well they all worked together. Even if they still had managed to get into a few shenanigans here and there since.
“That would be too much paperwork,” she teased back. “And what a headache that would be.”
Nell pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his with a soft kiss. She was careful not to touch his clothes or the birthday banner for her mother’s party that he was still holding. Mrs. McMurray had offered Dweller’s Cove as the venue since the last party had guests packed in like sardines.
A year ago, Nell would have laughed if someone had told her that Mrs. McMurray would become a good constant in her life. They spoke on the phone almost weekly and even Quinn joined in. The two of them spoke about rough edges and having feet in the water and on the land a lot, whatever that meant. Something that made each of them smile when together.
Nell also wouldn’t have believed anyone had they said she’d be engaged to the man who had saved her from her ranting about not being the one. It had only been a month since Nell had said yes, yet it still gave her butterflies thinking about it. As cliché as it might have been to get engaged on Valentine’s Day, it had been perfect for them. Not only had it been the anniversary of the first day they met, Quinn had also asked her to marry him at the same restaurant and at the same table they’d sat at the day she’d ranted about never being the one.
They even had taken a picture with Host Timmy, who still worked there, who then took another of just them to put up on the bulletin board. When his manager wasn’t looking he’d also slipped Nell a laminated menu with the Sweethearts Special as a memento. They now had it framed in their kitchen at the house.
Nell sighed and ended their kiss. She squirmed in her paint- and tea-soaked clothes. It made Quinn laugh. He put the banner down where it was safe and then wrapped one of his arms around her, despite the mess.
“All right, Miss Bennett, let’s go grab the garbage bag from the car and get you out of those wet clothes. I think I have a poncho you can put on until we’re home.”
Nell looked around the room.
“What about all of this? We can’t just leave it, can we?”
Quinn surveyed the damage.
He shrugged.
“Nothing we can’t fix after you’re not so sticky sweet.”
He squeezed her shoulder and dropped a kiss against the top of her head on reflex.
“Oh God.” He recoiled back. “I think I just got paint in my mouth!”
Nell laughed and then soon they were out by the car, trying to wipe paint off each other while the sound of a pig squealing in delight sounded in the background.
Nell didn’t need hindsight to know that this mess?
This mess was one of the beautiful moments.
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Acknowledgments
This book was written during an extremely difficult time for almost everyone and I want to give the most-heartfelt shout out to everyone at Entangled for being such troopers to get this book (and series) where it needed to be!
There also wouldn’t be a book outside of that had it not been for the Bat Signal ladies (insert every gif here) and their constant encouragement in all things. Not to mention specifically Janie and Julie for taking my panicked messages with poise and grace (and more gifs)!
And, for every book ever attached to the Accidentally Viral series, I have to shower Chelsea M. with all of the love. She read every word, more than once, and deserves some kind of medal or award. Or, you know, chocolate.
Thank you, everyone! Y’all are the real MVPs!
About the Author
Anne Harper writes romantic comedy that embodies the shenanigans of an I Love Lucy episode and the awkwardness of saying “you too” after the waiter tells you to enjoy your meal. She lives in South Alabama with her husband, their three cats, and a humidity that threatens to destroy them all. Anne is an advocate for coffee, selfies, and adoption from foster care. When she isn’t dreaming about meeting her future kiddos, she’s getting herself into wild situations and hilarious misunderstandings. #ItsFine
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