Page 24

Chapter twenty-one

Naomi

“Ouch,” I mumble to myself, dropping the hot baking sheet onto the stovetop with a thud. Using the oven mitt, I move the tray back while I suck on the tip of my freshly burnt thumb that somehow managed to graze the pan.

Then I can finally step back to admire the spread of three dozen assorted cookies that need to be cooled and boxed up for an order. They look as delicious as they smell, if I do say so myself.

As I work to clean the kitchen island of my baking mess, I watch Robbie out on Mrs. P.

’s dock, fixing her boat canopy that came loose in the storm last night.

I bite the corner of my lip and smile as I think back to our moment on the couch last night.

I’ve tried—and failed—to keep the butterflies at bay all day.

His effect on me is unavoidable at this point.

The chemistry is there—no doubt about it.

The only question now is what do we do about it?

My mind wanders to a far-off reality where this is our day-to-day life.

Robbie is not a touring musician but instead a successful mortgage banker.

He works in town, helping Pine Falls residents as well as out-of-towners who need financing options to purchase their dream cabin on the lake.

We live a simple life, one that’s slow and steady, filled with an obnoxious amount of the sweetest unconditional love.

I huff, noting how my daydreams have become much less grandiose and more realistic lately. Less outlandish and more attainable. Ones that are simple. Soothing. Practical.

But…this isn’t a dream. My life is a far cry from a fairy tale, and we have real-life roadblocks in the way of whatever this is—big ones too. The man can’t leave this town fast enough, for one.

He starts crossing the yard toward my house and I dip my head, busying myself with the rest of the cleaning.

“Hey,” he says as he comes in through the deck door.

“Hi. Did you get the canopy fixed?”

“All done.” I don’t miss the look of pride on his face as he says it. Seeing it now makes me realize just how rare it is for him to look like that.

“Who knew you were such a run-of-the-mill handyman?” I tease, leaning a hip against the island as I fold the towel.

“Definitely not me.” He smirks, grabbing my laptop as he slides onto a stool.

“Do you have a second to look at your website?” he asks. “I can show you what I did.”

“Sure.” I put the towel down and slide onto the stool next to him, feeling every single inch of where my shoulder slides against his. “You do know that I’m in IT, right? I’m fully capable of building my own website.”

“Yup,” he says simply.

“Alright, show me what you got.”

“We can change up the colors if you want, but I just ran with the ones you chose for your logo.” He uses the pad of his thumb to scroll down, revealing a stunning pink-and-orange- cream-themed website, complete with a candid picture at the top that he must have taken of me at some point, mid-dough roll, complete with flour streaked across my hair.

“You have an ‘About Me’ section and a tab where I list your menu here. Right here is where they can place an order. Oh, check this out—I even got a few glowing reviews from some previous customers.”

“When did you do that?” I gape at the screen, amazed at what he created.

“I called a few of them from the road last week.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, don’t give me those sappy doe eyes. You have no idea how embarrassing it was to admit to myself that I have Iris’s and Opal’s phone numbers memorized.”

I giggle. “We’re coming back to that…I need to know who else’s numbers you have memorized.”

He continues, “I have order inquiries set up to go to both you and me. I hope you don’t mind. I can add them to the calendar if I see them come in before you do. I want to be able to help out if I can, even from the road.”

“Robbie, this is incredible,” I say under my breath, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

“I’m not done,” he croons. “Over here is where the calendar is. All your orders and their due dates will be entered here so you can look ahead and see what’s coming up. Like the Pine Falls Flea Market this weekend, see?”

“Oh, you mean the market that you signed me up for without asking?” I chide.

“That’s the one.” His cheery tone tells me he doesn’t feel bad in the slightest. “Do you know how many favors I now owe Fred for convincing him to squeeze another booth in?”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“I thought it would be great exposure,” he explains, growing serious.

“No, you’re right. It definitely is,” I agree with him. “I’m just nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before. You know, I’m not great at the whole ‘putting myself out there’ thing.”

“Are you kidding?” He twists in his seat so he’s now facing me, his outer thigh pressing against my own, caging me in. “You’re going to kill it. Think of it as another exercise. I’ll be there to help.”

“You don’t have to leave?”

“Not until the day after.”

“Okay.” I smile. Knowing he’ll be there with me does put me at ease.

“I bet you’ll get a ton of new inquiries. Plus, all the out-of-towners will be up here for the weekend so we’ll see plenty of new faces who could, of course, turn into new clients.”

“That would be amazing. Did I tell you how many orders I’ve done in the past week? A lot, Robbie. I never expected this many so soon. I’m actually staying consistently busy,” I say incredulously. I’m still in awe and feeling overwhelmingly grateful that this is my reality right now.

“That’s the beauty of word-of-mouth in a small town, right? Especially when you deliver a killer product like you do.” He beams back at me.

“I kind of feel like I’m jinxing it if I say this out loud, but…if my orders stay this steady, I might even be able to cut back at the dealership in a few months, at least to part-time. My dad will love that.”

“That’s your goal, right?”

“It is.” I nod. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

We both fall silent naturally, my words left hanging in the air, as if referencing the word ‘want’ somehow touches on a broader meaning for both of us.

He stares intently at me. “I’m really proud of you, Naomi.”

My chest warms at the words I don’t hear often—if ever.

“Really?” I ask quietly as he slowly leans in, a gradual pull from an invisible magnetic force that hums between us. I let the same force pull me closer too.

“I am.” He hovers closer to my mouth, making my heart beat wildly in my chest. Before he fully closes the gap, once again, the logical part of my brain takes over, cutting the romance of the moment.

“What are we doing, Robbie?” I whisper.

“What do you mean?” He pulls back but still hovers close, intently probing me for answers.

“You know. You. Me. This kissing that seems to keep happening—with or without anyone else around.”

“I’m not sure,” he admits with a subtle shake of his head. Except, now there’s a softness to his gaze as he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “But I know that things have changed for me.”

“How?” Nerves dance on the top of my skin, and I’m suddenly terrified of what he’ll say next.

“I definitely have feelings for you,” he admits with a slight crack in his voice. The implications of what that means and the challenges we face play behind his tentative smile.

My throat constricts at his words, but my chest balloons, nonetheless…as if I don’t have a choice in the matter but to feel the same exact way.

“Me too,” I say quietly.

“I don’t know exactly when it happened or what it means, but there’s no denying it, Naomi. There’s something here.”

“I know,” I whisper, hoping that something in my stare will convey that I feel the same way he does. “Do you think it could work?”

“You and me?”

I nod, feeling terrified again.

“I don’t know. There’s a lot to figure out, I guess. You know how I feel about Pine Falls. I can’t stay here. I won’t,” he says adamantly, regret playing deep in his eyes. “I know that complicates things.”

“I know.” I nod. The last thing I would want to do is force him to stay if it wouldn’t make him happy. “Let’s just see what happens, yeah?”

His gaze skates across my face slowly, as if taking all of me in.

“See what happens,” he repeats with a nod.

“Although, I’m fully aware of what happens in here.” He taps a finger against my temple. “Are you sure you can take it slow? Or have you already married us off in your mind?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve already envisioned several different ways you permanently sweep me off my feet.”

He chuckles, closing the gap to give me a quick yet firm kiss.

“And how do I do?” he murmurs against my lips, not pulling away.

“Grade A. Top-tier boyfriend material,” I say through a grin.

“Good.” Only then does he pull away slowly, still much too quickly for my liking.

“I’ll print out the invoice for those cookies.” He winks at me before keying my laptop.

“I guess I’d better finish baking—now that I have to bake for an entire flea market.” I playfully roll my eyes, pretending to be complaining as I slide off the stool.

“Hey, is that how you should talk to your business manager?”

“Is that what you are now?” I laugh.

He shrugs, a boyish smile on his face. “I think I missed my calling. I’m pretty good at this if I do say so myself.”

“You are, and thank you,” I say sincerely from across the island. “I’ve seen the work you’ve put in, and I appreciate it, Robbie. I really do.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves me off as he focuses on the computer. “Enough sappy stuff. You better get moving. I promised them you would fill a whole table with goodies—including a few pies.”

I get to work but not before playfully tossing a handful of flour in his direction.