Josie and Malcolm both woke early and spent an hour on their laptops with their various projects. Malcolm was surprised at how much reading Thoreau’s Walden was helping him see he needed to simplify his work life. What was the point of all he’d achieved if he simply stayed on the hamster wheel of deal after deal? Twice in the last week, where he would have jumped in to handle an issue that had come up, he’d delegated it to Genevieve Duvall. Maybe she hadn’t handled things exactly the way he would have, but she’d been successful both times.
Turned out he wasn’t as indispensable as he’d thought, which was quite a revelation. Still, he was glad he hadn’t left the country. They were having a tricky time with House in a Box, the New Zealand company that Malcolm knew in his gut was going to be big. If only the founder could just do what Malcolm was learning to do and let go of control. Until he did, he could never expand globally.
While he worked on that, Josie talked to a man who was coming to the retreat suffering from burnout. Malcolm had a pretty strong feeling that Walden would be on the exhausted exec’s reading list. For a moment, he imagined what it would be like to take a holiday from work, not to go to an exotic location or throw himself down a mountain on skis or over water on a speedboat, but simply to sit in a beautiful, historic cottage garden and read. He already knew that Josie didn’t allow phones or laptops at the retreats. He’d struggle to be disconnected from business even for a few hours a day, and that made him understand how much he needed to change.
They managed a quick breakfast, fast and satisfying sex, and then showers, and still made it to the cottages by nine.
Malcolm was fitting bookshelves, and Josie was cataloging all the books that had been delivered. He could see her eyeing the bookshelves and knew that the second he finished, she’d be filling them with books. In truth, he was excited, too, to see the reading retreat taking shape.
There was a knock on the door, and Mari came in. She walked around and then gave first Josie, then Malcolm a hug. “I can’t believe how good this looks already. You two are an amazing team.”
Even though it was just the two of them working this morning, Josie hastened to remind Mari that a team of people, including Sullivan family members, had helped get the cottages turned around quickly.
Then Mari cried, “You’ll never believe what’s happened!”
She seemed happy and not upset, so Malcolm was fairly sure it was good news.
“Tell us,” Josie said.
Mari was grinning from ear to ear as she said, “We’re sold out for the whole year.” She laughed. “I know neither of you have any idea what I’m talking about. Sorry, I just logged in this morning and couldn’t believe my eyes.” She laughed again. “The reading retreats. For the rest of the year. They’re already booked.”
Josie’s mouth fell open. “Really? How can that be? We’re not even ready for the first one.”
“I know,” Mari said. “I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone to sign up yet. I mean, we haven’t even done any promotion. But I mentioned them in a couple of interviews I’ve done recently, and I decided I might as well put up the website that you got going just in case there were any inquiries. An internet influencer picked up the news and ran with it. But I didn’t think the entire calendar would fill up so fast.”
Josie had pulled out her phone. “I have to see. Maybe there’s a mistake.” She quickly logged into the backend of the website. And then stared at what she saw, stunned. “I just never thought—I mean, I hoped the retreats would be a huge success here, but selling out this quickly? That’s amazing.”
She and Mari looked at each other as the reality of it all sank in. “We really need to finish setting up the bedrooms,” Josie said as Mari nodded.
Was Malcolm the only one who saw this as not unqualified good news? One of the things he admired about Mari was how much of a go-getter she was, but he’d seen so many small-business owners take on more than they could handle, and he was worried Mari had done just that.
Gently, he said, “How are you going to manage the bookshop, the publishing schedule for your father’s books, and a full year of reading retreats?”
“I—Well, of course I—” Mari blinked and looked as if lightning had struck. “I can’t.”
This might be the first time she’d admitted it.
She shook her head. “I can’t do it alone.”
Then, to both his surprise and Josie’s, she grabbed Josie’s hands. “Don’t leave. Stay, Josie. Stay here on Elderflower Island. I know you have other retreats that you work with, and we could find a way to make sure that you can work with everyone, but… what if these became your primary ones? What if these were your home base?”
Josie looked even more shocked now. “But they’re not mine. They’re yours. These are the retreats for your store.”
“Yes, a store that is booming so quickly now that I can barely keep up with it. Plus, I’m publishing my father’s books. It’s all so much more work than I anticipated, even though I love every minute of what I do. The truth is that if you don’t stay to take over the reading retreats, I’m going to have to hire someone else to do it. That just doesn’t seem right. It should be you. And you’re uniquely qualified to do this, so hopefully we wouldn’t have an issue with getting you a work permit in the UK.”
“But I—” Josie barely got two words out when Mari looked at Malcolm.
“This is a great idea, isn’t it, Malcolm?” Before he could reply, she said, “Convince her!”
And now the two of them were looking at him. How had this become his decision? The truth was that the idea of Josie staying, about Elderflower Island being her new home, did feel right. It meant he wouldn’t have to say good-bye. And that was all he could think, after the time they’d spent together—he wasn’t ready to say good-bye.
He smiled down at the woman who’d become such a vital part of his life in such a short time. “Stay, Josie.” It wasn’t eloquent, but it was exactly what he was feeling. He turned and took her hand in his. “How does the idea sound to you?”
She seemed speechless for a moment, looking deeply into his eyes as if she were trying to read his mind. Trying to see if he truly meant she should stay.
“Well, since my mother’s moved away from Coeur d’Alene, it’s not the same without her, even though I have great friends. And I do absolutely love it here. It has felt like home from the first moment I arrived. Mari, you and your bookshop are amazing. And Malcolm, your family has been so friendly and welcoming.” She paused as though she was trying to corral her thoughts. “Can I think about it? Can I have a little time to digest all of this?”
“Of course,” Mari said. “I didn’t mean to just spring this request on you, for you to uproot your entire life and change everything. It’s just—it would be so amazing if you were here full time. Elderflower Island just doesn’t feel like it would be the same without you now. I know you’ve only been here a week, but I really feel like you belong here. Like you’re a local already. Doesn’t she, Malcolm?”
He nodded, smiling. “It’s true. You really do fit in here.”
She smiled at both of them. “Wow. Of everything I thought might happen today, I never saw this coming.”
Mari’s phone rang, and after a glance she said, “It’s my book editor. I really need to take this. I swear I don’t mean to pressure you, but whenever you make your decision, let me know.” She gave Josie a hug and dashed off.
Josie sat on an antique painted bench that Fiona had brought over for the garden. “I am floored by this. Move here? Sure, there’s been a part of me the entire time I’ve been here that was dreaming of it. But actually making it a reality? I don’t know what to think.”
He sat beside her, knowing that he should give her time and space to process. But he couldn’t keep the words from spilling out. “Stay, and we won’t end at two weeks.”
Her head whipped around so she could face him. “What? What did you just say?”
He took both of her hands in his and drew her closer on the bench. “Let’s try. Let’s try to make this be real. A real relationship, not just a two-week fling. If you’re going to live here, then don’t you think we’re worth a shot?”
She looked at him as though she couldn’t believe what he was saying. “What have you done with Malcolm Sullivan? When we first decided to have the fling, you made it totally clear that you had no interest in a real, permanent relationship.”
“I know, and I meant it then. But things have changed.”
“What has changed?”
A part of him had assumed that when he told her he wanted to have a real relationship, she would jump at it. Instead, she was questioning him. Almost as though she was questioning his sanity.
“Being with you, that’s what has changed things. Every moment we spend together… I love it. I love being with you.” He’d never said those words to anyone else. Because he’d never felt what he felt for Josie. He’d never loved being with anyone the way he loved being with her.
“I love being with you too,” she said softly. “But I don’t want either of us to make a hasty decision just because my career and living plans might be changing.”
“Why not? Why not take the risk?”
She stared at him, and he knew that she was mulling over the question, thinking about her answer. “Because I’ve been hurt before. Badly. I swore I wasn’t going to get involved with anyone again. That even our fling wasn’t going to move into any kind of emotional territory where I would end up hurt.”
“Did that work?” He studied her face, realizing that her answer mattered. Deeply mattered. “Were you able to keep things with me from becoming emotional?”
She shook her head. “No. I haven’t been able to do that.”
He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Then jump with me, Josie. I know you’ve been hurt. I don’t want to hurt you, not the way he hurt you. I care about you. More than I’ve ever cared for anyone, apart from my family.”
He released her hands to cradle her face. “Be mine. For real.”
Then he kissed her. Kissed her with all the emotion he felt, kissed her with all the passion she inspired, kissed her because it was what he wanted to do all day long and all night.
When he finally let them draw back for air, he had to know. “So, what do you say?” He couldn’t give her even the rudimentary amount of breathing room that Mari was giving her to make her decision. He had to know.
“If I stay…” She licked her lips, still looking a little uncertain. “Yes. I’m willing to try. I’m willing to trust you.”
He kissed her again, a kiss of pure joy, a kiss that felt like all of his dreams had come true.
A throat was cleared behind them. “Sorry to interrupt,” Alice said, “but I have that huge flat of flowers in the van I was planning to plant this morning before I head off to work. And I need some help bringing it all out.”
Josie laughed, her cheeks flushed. “Of course.” She jumped up and gave his sister a hug.
“Good morning.” Malcolm kissed his sister on both cheeks as well.
Alice had one hand, clad in a gardening glove, on her hip. “So, I assume you two are out in the open now?” she asked. “Or am I supposed to pretend I didn’t see that?”
Malcolm was the first to reply. “You don’t have to pretend anything. We’re together. In a proper relationship.” He felt proud saying the words. They felt right. Telling Alice felt right.
Alice’s eyebrows went up. “That’s great news. Everyone is going to be so thrilled!”
Josie looked surprised to hear that. “Why?”
Alice laughed. “Are you joking? All of us think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Malcolm. Everyone from Gran to Aria have been wishing and hoping and praying that the two of you would get together.” Then something occurred to her. “Can I spill the beans? Or should I let you two do it?”
Malcolm turned to Josie. “Got any preference?”
She looked a little steamrolled, but said, “Whatever works for you works for me.”
“See?” Alice said. “That’s one of the reasons why we all adore you. You’re so easygoing. And also fabulous and brilliant. I don’t know what we’re going to do when you leave. I suppose you’re going to have a long-distance relationship? Malcolm, you could always open an office in New York.”
“Prying much?” Malcolm said, then led the way to the van. Alice opened it up so that they could each grab a flat of flowers.
“Actually,” Josie told Alice, “I might not be leaving.”
He was 99.9 percent sure she would stay. After all, he knew firsthand how much she loved everything about Elderflower Island so far. She got along great with his family. And he knew the idea of being completely in charge of the reading retreats appealed to her.
“Why? Are you getting another job here after you finish setting up the retreat and the cottages?”
“Mari came by this morning and said the retreats are completely booked out for the rest of the year. She’s asked me to take them over.”
“You could do more than that even,” Malcolm said. “Remember how you said it would be fun to have reading retreats on houseboats? What if that’s what we did? What if we renovated a bunch of houseboats and turned each of them into a floating reading retreat?”
He didn’t know where the idea had come from, only that he knew it would work.
“Oh my gosh,” Alice said. “That would be amazing. And I could help set up all of the plants on the decks, and some flower boxes by the windows, and any land around the dock of wherever the houseboats are, if you needed it.”
Josie held up her hands. “That sounds amazing, but right now I just need to focus on one thing at a time. I’ve got to get these cottages ready faster than ever, and then decide whether it’s feasible for me to stay.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to pressure you,” Alice said.
But Malcolm didn’t apologize. He wanted her to stay. And that meant she needed to take this job.