Read Online Love in a Fix by Leah Atwood - Free Book Online

send for reinforcements.”
    “The good news is, the downstairs will be a cakewalk compared to this.”
    She gave him a mock scowl. “Do we have to do the downstairs?”
    “Afraid so.” Noting the dark circles under her eyes, he added, “Eventually.”
    “No time like the present.” Offering a smile, she walked toward the hallway. “I should sleep better tonight. My muscles haven’t been worked like this since I went to the gym regularly before Josh was born.”
    “I can get the rest of the furniture by myself, if you want to sort through boxes.” Visions of her stiff and sore tomorrow drifted through his mind, and he wanted to avoid her discomfort.
    “Which closet should I use for my clothes?”
    He pointed to the door diagonally across from the master bath. “That one is empty. There’s also a linen closet in each end of the hallway, with plenty of room in each. Feel free to use them however you want.”
    “Do you have a specified spot to store holiday décor?”
    “In the attic. Leave those boxes by the stairs and I’ll take them up, but set any Christmas items that you want this year in the garage since they’ll go up soon.” He walked down the steps with Lyndsey following on his heels.
    They spent six hours working on the house, together most of that time, then agreed to stop for the night.
    Lyndsey propped an elbow atop the oak bannister. “I can’t believe we cleared out all but a handful of boxes and furniture.”
    “We make a good team.” He flipped a switch by the front door and the foyer brightened.
    “Yes we do, but your garage thinks otherwise.” Despite her laughter, exhaustion lurked in her tone.
    “Our garage,” he corrected. “I never park inside it anyway, only Miranda did.”
    Sad eyes shuttered, and she rubbed her neck. When she opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on a picture hanging on the wall, the only one of Miranda he’d kept on display in the years since her death. “Do you think Miranda and Mark would approve of this?”
    His gut twisted—he’d deliberated the same question with agonizing intensity. “I believe so. They would want us to be happy.”
    “Will we be happy?” Her brows knitted, imploring him to tell the truth. “Can a marriage without love find joy?”
    Doubts circled around her, creating a palpable tension. She didn’t have to voice them all. A force existed between them, one in which he knew her thoughts. He read the insecurities loud and clear.
    I should have done this differently, thought it through before letting the proposal trip out of me. Ha, who am I kidding? It didn’t stumble—it came out too easily . They’d approached their impending marriage with a completely pragmatic view, and while their union was for logical reasons, it wasn’t devoid of emotions. He cared for her, and wanted the best for her, but he hadn’t expressed any of that, at least not very well.
    Several times in his life there’d been moments in which he knew with certainty the exact next step he was to take. He didn’t question the strong conviction, or the timing, but did as his gut feeling told him. At this exact second it screamed to go outside, grab the ring from his truck, and slip it onto Lyndsey’s finger, all while telling her that yes, they would have a happy life.
    No matter they were exhausted, dirty, and emotionally frayed.
    “We should talk.” At the downward quirk of her lips, he jumped to add, “Nothing bad, promise.”
    “I’ll clean up then start dinner. We can talk while we eat.”
    “No, I don’t want to put off this conversation.” He inched toward the door. “Will you wait in the living room? I’ll be there in less than a minute.”
    “Okay,” she drawled out for a full second, peering at him through narrowed eyes. Veering left, she exited the room and his line of vision.
    He reached up, grabbed the framed picture of Miranda off the wall, slid it in a drawer of the console table, and snatched his keys from the decorative porcelain