Page 9 of Smoky Mountain Dreams

“Well, bridegrooms are always anxious to please their bride.Sometimes I have to give them a little extra reassurance.”

Christopher’s breath came in and out quickly. “I’m sorry?”

“Let me tell you what I always tell them. I’ll just replacebride with grandmother.” He winked and Christopher swallowed hard. “Let mereassure you, your grandmother’s happiness is what’s important to me. I caremore about that than about making some piece to flatter my ego.”

“Yeah?”

“I hope that helps?”

Christopher felt a rush from head to toe, and he wondered ifhe looked sweaty. “I’ve never done this before.” He waved a hand around toencompass the store in its entirety. “Sorry. I just want it to be perfect. Thelocket, I mean. For my grandmother.”

“Of course you do. And it’ll be great. I promise. Let’s see…”Jesse consulted the notes. “You mentioned you wanted a gold locket for her. Andyou want it to hold four photos. One of each of her grandkids, I’m guessing?”

“Right,” Christopher said.

“And on the back there’s a quote you wanted engraved.”

“Yes.” He hadn’t left it on the machine because he’d been alittle embarrassed to say it out loud back when he’d thought Jesse Birch was anold man. Now that he was here looking at Jesse’s thick eyelashes and sexymouth, he found it even harder. “It’s a song. She used to sing it to me. Well,she sang it to all of us.”

Christopher remembered vividly the way it felt to be fiveyears old, tucked up against his grandmother’s side as she rocked him, singingquietly in his ear until he was warm and sleepy and safe.

“But when she sang it, it felt like it was just for you?”Jesse asked quietly.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

Jesse stared at him, his gaze lowering down to Christopher’smouth, and then slowly coming back up to his eyes again. Christopher’s bloodzipped through his groin, and he bit his cheek in a sudden fear that he mightbegin to get hard if Jesse kept looking at him like that.

“I’ve felt like that before. Listening to someone sing.”Jesse jerked his head down and picked up a pen. “The quote?”

Christopher cleared his throat, but even so the line from “YouAre My Sunshine”came out in a whisper.

Jesse glanced at him, raw heat flashing across his face, andthen he turned his attention back to his notes. Christopher watched Jesse writethe words down in a square, small script different from the loops of the notesfrom the message he’d left.

“It’s cheesy, I know,” Christopher said, wanting to sweephis embarrassment and arousal away with an apology of sorts.

Jesse sang the first few lines of the song in a soft,pleasant baritone. His eyes glittered when he broke off and asked, “Will yousing it? For a fan?”

Is there a hidden camera?Christopher’spalms went damp. “I don’t…”

“Never mind. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, of course not. I mean, I do it for a living—”

“I’m willing to pay.” Jesse’s mouth wobbled suspiciouslylike he was going to laugh.

“Are you teasing me?”

“A little, but not about being a fan. Don’t worry about it.”Jesse looked back at his paper and Christopher wished he’d just done it becausenow he felt like he’d not only disappointed Jesse, but somehow failed a test. “Thelocket. You mentioned that you didn’t have any particular ideas for the frontdesign. Were you thinking of something with gemstones, or gold filigree? Maybebraiding?”

Christopher linked his fingers together and willed his bloodto stop rushing so hard. “I really have no idea. Something pretty, but not toodainty. She’s a strong woman, and I want it to reflect that.”

“Not too fancy?”

“No. Nothing over the top. She’s eighty, and she’ll probablybe mad I even had this made for her. She’ll tell me it’s a waste of moneybecause her next stop is the grave, and she won’t need a locket in heaven. That’sthe kind of woman she is.”

“This might not be good business sense, but I’m curious. Whyare you getting it for her then?”

“Because that’s the kind of grandson I am,” Christopher saidwith a shrug.