Page 12 of Always Be Mine
She reached for his hand, and then pulled back suddenly and pulled her mitten off. “Sorry, I’m kind of new to mittens.”
Craig laughed. “New to mittens? Don’t tell me you’re from?—”
“Vancouver.”
He laughed even harder. “I was going to say California. But yes, Vancouver makes sense. I guess you don’t have much of a reason to wear mittens there.”
“Not at the end of April.” She joined in his laughter. “And even then, not really very much, to be honest.”
“Hopefully you won’t need them much longer.” Craig bent to pick up her bags. “This won’t last.”
“That’s what I hear.” She reached for her bags. “I can take those. Thank you.”
He hesitated. “I’m happy to take them up for you. I don’t want you to fall again.”
“Unless there’s ice inside, I won’t be slipping again.”
He released the bags to her, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “It was nice to meet you, Lucy. I’m sure I’ll see you around. I’m actually your landlord, for lack of a better word.”
She glanced toward the bright-blue door that led to her rental apartment and back at him. “You are? You didn’t mention that earlier.”
“I didn’t get the chance.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Right.” Lucy gritted her teeth and nodded. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t…I mean, it didn’t mean anything. I don’t know why I did that.”
He waved away her protests. “I’d already forgotten about it.”
If she could tell he was lying, she didn’t say so.
“Well, I’m still sorry.”
Her smile was genuine, and he couldn’t help but be drawn to it. Something about the woman pulled him in and made him want to spend even more time with her. Which was ridiculous. Now, more than ever, he didn’t have time to even entertain the idea of a woman in his life. Not in any capacity.
What he needed to be doing was figuring out what the hell he was going to do about his father’s request. No. His father’sdemand.
“If there’s anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He took a step back. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Trickle Creek.”
He was about to turn away when she asked, “Craig? Actually, there is one thing. Do you know anywhere close by where I can use a printer? I have a résumé I need to print out.”
“A résumé? Absolutely.” He pointed to the opposite end of the plaza. “Just past the end there, down Rotary Drive, you’ll find the post office, town hall, and the library. The library has some community-use computers and printers you can use.”
“Great. Thanks. I want to apply for the job at the ice cream shop here, but I didn’t even think of?—”
“The ice cream shop?”
She nodded.
“Do you have any experience?”
“With ice cream?” She shrugged. “Not particularly. And to be honest, I’m a little overqualified. But if I plan on sticking around for a while, I should probably?—”
“When can you start?”
Lucy found the library without a problem, printed a few copies of her résumé and was headed back into the heart of the plaza, watching her step on the ice this time, when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Got a minute?
For you?
