Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“I missed you. We had all the new shelving installed today, and it looks amazing. Well, it will be a huge help when our first fabric orders arrive, which I think will be tomorrow.” She stopped hugging him but took his hand, locking their fingers together, to pull him into the shop.
Miley went to her husband and followed suit.
“Look.”
The shop had been thoroughly cleaned as it had been closed for many years. The FOR SALE sign had been up so long, it had started to crumble. The main structure was secure, it just needed some love, and Willow had been more than happy to provide that.
The windows were no longer thick with dust, but almost sparkled. The floor was clean. No more dust, cobwebs, or stains that had been there from spillages. The scent of decay wasn’t there, but a strange mixture of pine and lemon filled the air.
She had donned dungarees and an old T-shirt to start cleaning. Willow looked adorable, especially as her round stomach seemed to protrude against the front of her dungarees. They didn’t know if they were having a son or daughter yet, not that he cared. He would love them both regardless.
“What do you think?”
Carson didn’t even realize she’d been talking to him, wanting his opinion.
“It looks fantastic,” he said.
She chuckled. “You’ve not heard a word I’ve said. I’ve been asking you for advice. Remember, you did help me in my own shop for a couple of days.”
He had. “I think you know what you’re doing, and you need to stop second-guessing yourself. Just think about what you want and what your grandmother wanted, and then you’ll have the answer.” He wrapped his arms around his wife, and then pressed his face against her neck. “Are you done for the day?”
“There’s not much else to do,” Miley said. “All we need to do is wait for the fabric to arrive.”
Willow looked at him and smiled. “So I’m all yours for the rest of the day.”
No, she was all his for the rest of their lives as he wasn’t going to let her go. She belonged to him now.
She was all his.
****
Three Weeks Later
There were a few setbacks at the shop. Some of the orders got lost during their journey to the shop, and Willow had to chase them down. There were a few wrong orders sent, which was very rare. However, she never announced online or locally the exact date she was going to open until she was one hundred percent certain.
Her grandmother always told her not to be too excited, to learn to take her time and only make decisions when she absolutely had to. Her impatience nearly got the better of her, but she forced herself to remain focused on the goal, and that was to have an amazing shop to open.
So, on the correct day, her baby had decided to constantly kick her stomach, which made her wonder if she was having a boy, but then she had to wonder if it was a girl, who also liked to kick to get her own way. Either way, she didn’t allow it to stop her from working. Opening the shop on a Saturday at nine o’clock, she had been so nervous.
The online store had also been launched, and she was nervous about the time they had spent away. She remembered that day she had to email all her customers to explain what had happened, and why she had to issue a full refund with an apology. Each time she wrote it, she felt like a failure.
Willow pulled out of her thoughts as Carson slid his hands onto her shoulders. “You’re thinking too much,” he said.
“I’m nervous. I remember when my grandmother first opened her shop. Grandpa was there, and she was so worried she’d made a mistake. This had been an investment from their retirement fund, and I knew they had no choice but to make it work.” Willow felt tears spring to her eyes. “Wow, I feel so scared right now.”
He pulled her against him. “Don’t feel scared. You ran a successful shop. Nothing is going to change.”
“The location has changed.”
“But the people haven’t, and that is all you need to remember. You haven’t changed, nor has anyone else.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “I also happened to check your social media accounts. There were a lot of people happy to hear that you were opening again. Just be patient, wait, they will arrive.”
Willow wanted to sink against him and to believe him, she really, really did, but that was hard to do when the store had been open ten minutes and still no one had turned up.
She felt a little sick. Carson kissed her neck and she closed her eyes. What would she do if she couldn’t do this like her grandmother?