Page 6 of More Than Words (Trickle Creek: The Lyons #2)

Chapter Four

Delaney

I t had already been a long day. Half of my latest shipment of trade paperbacks I’d ordered had arrived damaged. My part-time girl had called in sick, and to top it all off, I was still finding plaster dust on every single surface in the shop.

By some miracle, I’d managed to clean the chairs and tables in my reading and meeting nook in time for the writing group to meet the day before, but the rest of the shop had taken way longer. I’d been up way later than I should have been, putting things back in order.

What I really needed was to soak in a hot bath with a glass of wine. Instead, I was getting ready to settle into a plastic folding chair for the next few hours for the town meeting.

As a business owner, it was a good idea to participate in these things, especially considering the agenda was set to discuss the upcoming Fall into the Plaza event.

The town hall smelled like old paper and lemon cleaner. The scratch of folding chairs on the old floor mingled with the happy chatter of the townspeople as I stepped inside.

I spotted Ethan before he saw me. He stood near the back, talking next to his brother, who managed the hardware store.

He looked like he was scanning the room for someone and only half listening to whatever Grayson was saying.

When his gaze shifted my way, I veered to the left and slipped into an empty seat next to Lauren before he could make eye contact.

“You’re avoiding him,” Lauren said, not even trying to hide the fact that she was looking at Ethan over my shoulder.

“Who?” I played dumb.

She raised her eyebrow and laughed before she asked, “Did you get the mess cleaned up?”

“It took me all day.” I let out a breath and picked up a copy of the agenda from the stack next to me. “And most of the night, too. Not that he’d care.” I looked at my friend. “Do you know that somehow he managed to make it seem like it was my fault?”

Lauren gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure the construction will be over soon.”

“Right.” I tried not to groan. “And then I’ll only have to deal with the fact that there’s an entire brewery full of people drinking next door to my peaceful little shop.

” I exhaled slowly and tried to clear my thoughts.

“Sorry,” I said to Lauren. “I don’t mean to be so negative.

I’m just exhausted. And I really need a break from…

well, the mess.” I put a smile on my face. “You’re right. It will be over soon.”

Lauren squeezed my arm. “I know this isn’t your first choice, but maybe this meeting can be a little break from all?—”

“Ladies.” Brody Lyons dropped into the seat on Lauren’s other side with a flash of that smile that made him one of the most well-liked people in Trickle Creek.

The same charming smile his brother had.

I pushed the thought from my mind. Ethan’s type of charm was different. Brody was warm, affable, and easy to like. Plus, he wasn’t the brother whose construction zone was currently threatening my livelihood.

He and Lauren bumped elbows and exchanged a quiet laugh. The way they moved around each other always made me wonder why they weren’t together. We hadn’t known each other long enough for me to be comfortable asking Lauren about it, but their chemistry was obvious.

I didn’t have much time to ponder it, though, because a moment later, the seat on my other side scraped back. I turned as Ethan settled his big frame into the chair next to me.

My shoulders stiffened reflexively. I turned away, but not before I saw his easy smile. He smelled of soap and sawdust and whatever sinfully good cologne he was wearing that should be outlawed in a small, enclosed space where I had to sit next to him.

I didn’t acknowledge him.

“Evening,” he said anyway, low and smooth, just loud enough for me to hear. “I was hoping you?—”

“Of course I was going to be here.” I cut him off sharply. “My business is important to me.”

“I think we’ve established that already.”

I turned and glared at him for a second before straightening my shoulders again, focusing on the front of the room.

“The agenda looks like?—”

“The meeting is starting,” I said, grateful for the distraction.

Next to me, I could have sworn I heard Lauren and Brody giggle.

I regretted my choice of seat, but it was too late to change without looking stupid, so I focused on the council at the front of the room as the meeting started with the usual budget updates and long-winded acknowledgments on the progress of various committees.

Finally, the focus shifted to the only reason I’d attended. At the front of the room, Tilley Beckett moved in front of the crowd. Tilley was the head of the festival committee—yes, Trickle Creek had a festival committee chair. The town took their celebrations very seriously.

Tilley, who, from everything I’d been told, had held the position both officially and unofficially as long as anyone could remember, stood and clapped her hands for attention.

“Okay,” she started. “Fall into the Plaza is just over a week away. There are still a few details to work out.”

A few murmurs rippled through the room. I didn’t miss Lauren’s quiet groan beside me.

“This year,” Tilley continued, “we’ll be doing the passport challenge again.

Any business that wants to participate will give customers a stamp on their leaf.

” Tilley held up a big construction paper maple leaf.

“Once the card is full, they can enter for a raffle prize basket. Prizes donated by all of you, of course.”

Someone asked a question about booth sizes, and another about permits. I was halfway checking off my mental to-do list when Ethan’s voice broke through.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But I don’t have a booth.”

My attention snapped back to the meeting as Tilley slid her glasses up her nose and assessed Ethan. “That’s right,” she said. “We set up the map of the tables before you took over the space with your new brewery.”

Next to me, Ethan nodded. “I was just wondering if there are extras or any way to squeeze one in.”

“Hmm.” Tilley looked concerned. “The maps, information flyers, and posters have already been printed up, Ethan. I’m not sure what we can do.”

Someone on the other side of the room spoke up. “Maybe another business could share?”

Instinctively, I stiffened. I knew exactly what was coming before anyone said it out loud. The universe was lining up to screw with me.

I dropped my gaze to my lap, but there was nowhere to hide.

“Delaney.”

I flinched at the sound of my name on Tilley’s lips.

“You’re right next door, and you have a great spot with excellent visibility. What do you think?”

Every eye in the room turned to me. Including his.

I could feel Ethan’s gaze burning into me. Hot. Expectant. And I’m sure there was a grin on his lips, too. I didn’t need to confirm it by looking.

“I…I…” I cleared my throat. “Sure. Fine.”

“Perfect.” Tilley beamed. “I’m sure it’ll be a match made in heaven.”

I definitely wasn’t sure about that. But it’s not like I had much of a choice.

“This will be fun.”

I didn’t look at him. But I knew he was smiling. I could hear it in his voice. And damn it if my stupid heart didn’t have the nerve to flutter in response.

Ethan

“Delaney.”

I reached for her, but the moment the meeting was adjourned, she jumped up and was halfway down the aisle to the door before I managed to extract myself from the tiny chair and go after her.

I wasn’t going to let her walk away like this without at least trying to apologize. After all, I had promised Quinn. But even if I hadn’t, now we were going to be working together and…

“Hey.” I managed to intercept her as she reached the door. “Delaney.” I tried to keep my tone casual but for some reason, my heart was pounding. Grayson was right; something about this woman got under my skin. “Can we talk for a minute?”

She stopped, and her shoulders stiffened. She didn’t look at me. I could see the tension in the set of her back, but at least she didn’t walk off right away. It wasn’t much, but I’d take it.

After a moment, she blew out an exasperated breath and turned to look at me.

“I’m sorry for yesterday.” My words came out a bit quicker than I’d meant. “I was…it was a bad day. Stress got the better of me, and I snapped at you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so short. You didn’t deserve that.”

Her expression softened, so I pressed on. “It looks like we’re going to be working together for the festival. Thank you for sharing a table with me. It means a lot that you?—”

“I didn’t really have a choice, did I?”

Her words were sharp, but I wasn’t going to be deterred.

“Regardless, I appreciate it.” I flashed her a smile, but she still didn’t crack. “Maybe we should try to start fresh. How about we grab a coffee later this week? We can go over our plans for the booth and see how we can work it all out together.”

She was a tough nut to crack. Maybe I’d pushed her further than I’d thought. There was a slight hesitation before she responded. I held my breath, half expecting her to shoot me down again.

Finally, her lips parted. “Okay. Coffee,” she said. “But you’re paying.”

I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth. It wasn’t much, but I’d take whatever crack in her exterior I could get.

“Deal,” I said. “Tomorrow?”

“Two o’clock. Let’s get this over with.” She turned quickly to leave, but before she slipped out the front door, I caught the faintest trace of a smile on her lips.

Maybe this would work out after all.