Page 52 of The Birchwood House

“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her, and her stomach gave a jolt when she saw that his usual impish grin had transformed into something sweet and genuine.

She nodded her head at him, since she couldn’t wave with her hands full, and turned around and headed toward the house. She still felt a little flustered, and she wondered if Theo was watching her, since she wasn’t hearing his truck drive away.

She paused at the steps of the mansion and turned around to see if he was still there. He was, leaning toward her to get a better look. When he saw her turn, he waved cheerfully and then eased the truck out onto the street. She watched him drive away for a few seconds, a strange feeling like rising soap bubbles dancing in her core.

She turned back toward the Birchwood House, smiling from ear to ear, and went inside.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Audrey stepped back, taking in the sight of the Birchwood House. Late afternoon sunlight was steaming across the yard and the front garden, lighting up the mansion with golden hues. There was a sweet fragrance in the air as the aroma of the flowers mingled with the ocean-scented breeze. Birds chirped and trilled in the birch trees, and the leaves rustled like a quiet kind of music.

“And three, two, one…” Michelle stood on a ladder, carefully lifting up the sign that she was hanging over the entryway of the mansion.

Audrey clasped her hands together underneath her chin as she looked up at her daughter, feeling a glow of pride in her chest. Michelle hung the sign with a cry of “Ta da!” and Elaine, who was standing beside Audrey, placed her hand over her heart.

The sign was a beautiful hard-carved wooden one that read “The Birchwood House” in an elegant, swirling script. They’d had it commissioned by a local woodworker who’d been friends with Audrey’s father, and all three of them felt that it couldn’t have turned out better.

“It’s just gorgeous,” Michelle said, her tone almost a squeal of delight.

Elaine wrapped her arms around Audrey and squeezed her tightly. “I’m so proud of all of us. We stepped out in faith toward our dream and now look at us. We’ve got a gorgeous new porch, clean rooms, and a plan for turning our house into a place where people can gather and have a wonderful time. If you’d told me a few months ago that things were going to turn out like this, I would have thought I was dreaming.”

“Me too.” Michelle scampered down the steps to stand next to her mother and grandmother. She looked up at the sign she’d just hung, a grin on her face. “I never would have expected to end up here, doing this with the two of you. But it makes me so happy. I loved working for the travel agency because I loved the idea of helping people get away to a place where they could find relaxation and healing. And here I am, having found both myself, starting to run a vacation destination with my two most favorite people in the world.”

“Oh, Michelle.” Elaine blinked back tears and reached for her granddaughter, hugging her tightly. “That makes me so happy to hear that. You two are my most favorite people in the world too.”

“Same here,” Audrey said, wrapping her arms around both of them at once to join in the hug. “I love you both so much.”

“Mm, but is Mom about to get a third favorite person in her life?” Michelle said impishly, her tone gleeful.

“Shh!” Audrey exclaimed, glancing up at the mansion, where Evan was inside somewhere, puttering with things. He’d offered to help them out that day, since they were still arranging some of the rooms and setting up new pieces of furniture inside them, such as bookshelves and vanity tables.

“He can’t hear us from out here,” Elaine said with a chuckle.

“Unless he’s watching Mom from the front door keyhole, which is more than possible,” Michelle said breezily. “The man is completely smitten.”

“Shh!” Audrey hissed again, feeling herself reddening.

Michelle arched an amused brow. “What does it matter if he hears me? I’m only stating the obvious.”

Audrey sighed dramatically but couldn’t help smiling a moment later. Although she and Evan were still taking things slowly, she couldn’t deny that the spark between them had been growing. She felt incredibly thankful that she had people in her life who had urged her to step out in hope and not let her fear and hurt hold her back from something good.

I still don’t feel entirely ready,she thought,but that’s okay. It’s just like our hotel. We’re not perfectly ready, but we’re opening our doors anyway. This beautiful sign is a symbol that this new business of ours is indeed taking shape. And me and Evan starting to date is a sign that I’m choosing to heal and accept the possibility of love in my future.

She felt a flutter of hope deep in her chest, and she looked up at the mansion with a radiant smile. Just like she didn’t have to run the hotel alone, and she was going to have the help of her mother and daughter as she set out on that venture, she didn’t have to face the struggles of learning to open up her heart alone. She had Michelle and her mother there for that venture as well—they would offer her support, encouragement, and guidance when she was feeling unsure about her relationship with Evan.

“I’m so thankful for you both,” Audrey said, squeezing her mother’s shoulder and lovingly tapping Michelle’s foot with her town. “This is so exciting. We’re stepping into the future together.”

Tears slipped out of Elaine’s eyes, and she laughed as she wiped them away. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said. “It seems too wonderful to be real, doesn’t it?”

“You’d better start believing it,” a voice said behind them.

They turned and saw Evan stepping out of the house, carrying a champagne bottle and a tray of champagne glasses. He was grinning at them, and Audrey thought to herself that she never would have expected the grumpy, irritated man she’d met on the day she arrived back in Coral Sands to have such a wonderful smile.

“According to your new legal status as a fully equipped, approved, and perfectly registered hotel, you’re open for business,” he said, setting the tray of glasses down on the wide railing of the porch. He popped the cork off the champagne bottle with a flourish that Audrey found both charming and impressive. “Let’s celebrate the opening of The Birchwood House.”

He filled their glasses with the bubbling, golden champagne and handed each of them one. Audrey held her glass up to the light, thinking to herself that the liquid seemed to be made of the same iridescent hue as the afternoon sunlight.

“To The Birchwood House,” Evan said, lifting his glass and leading them all in a toast.