“All set,” Wesley said, and when I looked down, the bandage was wrapped around my hand, covering my palm. Turns out his advice worked. I just had to focus on…him.
“Thanks, Wesley,” I said breathlessly.
His shoulders tensed at the sound of his name. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip, and my eyes followed the motion. He slowly tore his gaze away from my hand and looked up at me. Our eyes met, and it was the first time I realized how close we were. The scent of mint and mahogany overwhelmed my senses. Being so close to him was too much.
“Just Wes is fine.”
The corner of my lip quirked up into a half-smile. If he intended on calling me by my full name, I’d do the same. “I’ll stick with Wesley for now.” His name rolled off my tongue with ease, and I wanted to say it again.
Silence filled the small room as we stared at each other. I kept my eyes on him, but I so badly wanted to look away, let mygaze drop to his lips, his throat, his hands. He was so manly and rugged, but I was starting to see he was also gentle and caring—when he wanted to be.
As we stared at each other, I couldn’t tell if that was heat or distain in his eyes. Did it even matter?
I swallowed and looked down at my hand, still in his grasp with his calloused thumb rubbing small circles along my wrist. All it took was that brief flicker to break whatever was happening between us. As I started to pull my wrist away, he beat me to it and quickly dropped his hold. He stood and backed away so suddenly he nearly stumbled.
My skin burned where his touch had been.
“I’m going to find a broom to clean up the mess you made,” he grunted, creating distance between us and reminding me he didn’t want me in his town.
“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t need your help?” I asked stubbornly, getting up from the chair and standing toe to toe with him, needing to tilt my head back to look up at him. I didn’t know what he thought of me, or why, but I sure as hell wanted to prove him wrong.
“Really, you’re telling me a city girl like you would’ve been able to clean and bandage your wound?” He raised a skeptical brow, crossing his arms over his chest, which created distance between us. This man was as stubborn as I was—if not more.
“What I’m telling you—” I gritted between my teeth but stopped at the sound of Hal’s voice. I wasn’t sure when he’d gotten here, but I welcomed the interruption.
“Now, now, Wes. Don’t you go scaring my customers away, even if I know this one can hold her own.” Hal’s voice was stern as he came up behind Wesley and elbowed him in the side before turning to me. “Don’t worry about that, Miss Jules. I’ll clean it up.”
“Hal, I really—” I started to say before Hal cut me off again, this time with a sharp shake of his head.
He gestured for me to follow him to the register at the front of the store. “Let’s get you checked out up front and get your order in for some paint.”
Reluctantly, I followed Hal. I must’ve left my purse in the aisle with the ceramic pots, because he had it at the register already. “Will you at least let me pay for the flower pot I broke?” I offered as I dug through my purse for my credit card.
“Nope,” he responded, popping the P. “But I will order you a new one and get it delivered to where you’re staying.”
Hal rung up the cost for the paint I picked out for Lily’s, along with two flower pots I was going to go back and grab.
“Thanks, Hal. Sorry again about the mess.” I tapped the card against the reader, able to pay without a problem sinceWesleyhad fixed it.
“Don’t sweat it. Accidents happen. I already forgot about it.” He gave me a friendly wink before rapping his knuckles against the counter. “Have a good rest of your day, Miss Jules, and take it easy.” He nodded toward my hand. “Hope to see you around soon.”
“You, too, Hal. See you around.”
Even though Hal had said not to worry about it, I intended to see what I could do to help with the mess on my way out. But in the short time it’d taken for me to check out, everything was cleaned up, and Wesley was gone, leaving me even more confused about what happened between us.
12
JULIETTE
Once I stopped replayingwhat happened at Hal’s, the rest of the week went by quickly.
Word had gotten around that I was working with Lily…and also that I’d been onParadise Love. Luckily, the latter didn’t seem to be as much of a problem as I thought it’d be.
People had questions about the show and what happened, but they were more interested in getting to knowme. A few of the other locals even asked if I’d be able to work with them on some design tips. Mainly focusing on how they can optimize their space and attract customers, especially those passing through in the summer. They were looking for a balance of old and new—keeping the historic downtown feel while also catering to the modern upgrades tourists were looking for. I loved the challenge.
I knew the attention was thanks to Lily vouching for me, and it meant a lot to me she trusted me so quickly. It was hard to believe I’d only known her for a few weeks.
Things felt different in Golden Falls. Like they were slowly turning around.
