Page 16 of Pining for Pierce
By the end of the day, I was tired and in desperate need of some TLC, but without my parents, or Ben, or even Pierce to turn to, I ran myself a bath and luxuriated for an hour or more, resolving that I needed to make friends… do something… get out more… live a little.
“This looks nice,” Doctor Dodds says, coming out of his office and looking around.
“Thanks.”
“Were you bored?” He perches on the edge of my desk, giving me a smile.
“Something like that. It’s been really quiet today.”
He nods his head. “Does that mean you won’t mind if I ask you to pick up my lunch again?” he says, raising his eyebrows.
“Not at all. I was just thinking about going out myself,” I say, getting to my feet and grabbing my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk. “What do you feel like?”
“I’ve had an indulgent weekend, so I’m gonna be good and have a chicken salad on wholewheat, please.”
“Okay.” I’m not sure what I feel like, but I doubt it’ll be ‘good’, and I head out the door, making my way to the deli, my mind drifting between a BLT, and a grilled cheese with bacon, the thought of which is making my mouth water.
“Hey… Harley!”
I stop and turn at the sound of my name and see Kaiden Bowman coming straight toward me, a smile on his face.
“Hello,” I say as he steps up onto the sidewalk.
“I haven’t seen you around for ages.”
“No.” That’s perfectly true, although he and I have never been particular friends. He was in the same year at high school as Ben and Pierce, but even then, he kept his distance.
“How are you?” he asks.
“I’m fine, thanks.” I shield my eyes from the sun, surprised to find he’s gazing down at me, his blue eyes boring into mine. Now I can see him properly, I notice his dark blond hair looks like he just got out of bed, but that contrasts with his smart pants and open-necked shirt. Of course, he works at his father’s art gallery in Concord, which makes sense of his attire… but not of his presence here in Hart’s Creek at this time of day.
“Would you like to have a drink with me later?” he asks, shocking me to the extent that my arm falls to my side, and I’m forced to squint up at him.
“Me?” I say, making him smile.
“Yeah. You.”
I’m not sure what to say, and out of habit, I glance to my left, toward the antiques store, where I know Pierce will be working. Although he won’t just be working, will he? He’ll probably be thinking about Monica and their date on Saturday night. I don’t know how it went, but it’s possible he could have spent yesterday with her as well. He might even have stayed the night, and with that in mind, I turn back to Kaiden, knowing that, even if my head, my heart and all the rest of me will always belong to Pierce, there really is no hope.
I’ve vowed to start living…
And so, I nod my head.
Chapter Four
Pierce
“That’s better.” I step back, checking the picture is straight, and then turn and let out a sigh, wandering over to the bookcase on the far side of the store.
For a Monday, it’s been fairly busy. That makes sense, really. It’s getting close to summer, and I’m honestly not complaining. I prefer it to be busy, rather than slow. If there’s nothing to do, I just sit around, thinking about all the things I could be doing… like painting.
No… the only problem with it being busy is that, when people come in to look around – or even to buy something – they have a habit of not putting things back where they found them. The bookcase is just one such example, and Bridget is a real stickler for the books being stacked how she likes them. As a result, I spend at least half my time just reorganizing the stock.
Still, I don’t mind. It gives me something to do, and I smile to myself as I replace the copy ofThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer, noting the cracking to the spine, and the slight wearing at the corners of the cover. It’s an 1888 reprint, but because of its similarity to the first edition, it always attracts attention, which means I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve put this book back on the shelf.
Everything looks tidy now, and I make my way to the back of the store, checking the time. It’s not long until I can close up for the day and, to be honest, I’m not sorry about that.
My weekend went nowhere, so I’m feeling a little jaded.
