Sofia let out a breath and threw her arms up in defeat. “Because I didn’t want you to see me.” It came out as a whisper.
Isaiah tried to suppress a grin. “What was that?”
“Because I didn’t want you to see me!” Sofia said much louder that time, a jewelry piece flying off her lap again.
“Shhh!” someone called from the adjacent room.
Their eyes met, and they both burst into laughter.
“I haven’t been shushed in a library since high school,” Sofia said, gathering her jewelry supplies and placing them carefully in her organizer.
“Me either. Not that I can remember, anyway.”
Sofia burst into laughter again and had to put a hand over her mouth to quiet herself. He watched as a stubborn curl fell over her face and her cheeks lit with color. When she wasn’t trying to exasperate him, she was the most attractive woman he’d ever seen.No, even when she is.
A strange sensation was brewing in Isaiah’s stomach. Even though he didn’t have any memories of his time before Emerald Hollow, somehow, he knew that Sofia was special. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t remember anything. He knew, deep down, that he’d never met anyone like her.
Sofia finally got all her jewelry loaded and looked up to see him watching her. “Aren’t you going to offer to help?” she asked in that icy voice that he knew was just a front.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
Sofia huffed and stood. The humor from their laughing session was still in her eyes. “Touché. So, did you have any luck today?”
He was confused for a moment then remembered why they were there in the first place. “Nope. Same old, same old. Leaving empty-handed.”
“So either your family and friends think you’re on some kind of extended vacation, or you are a complete hermit out there in the real world.”
She had taken to calling his life before he’d lost his memories “the real world,” which gave him the feeling that she didn’t consider his time in Emerald Hollow real somehow. His stomach sank every time he heard the words, but he didn’t let on.
“I’m going with option one. I’m probably a billionaire who was taking my yacht out on a private charter for a year.”
“And somehow got lost on a hike in Oregon on the way to your yacht?” Sofia quirked an eyebrow at him as they left through the hobbit hole and returned to the sitting room. She carefully spread her jewelry supplies out on the window table, the sunlight making the caramel-colored highlights in her hair look like tinsel.
Isaiah laughed. “You got me there.”
“Well, I have a little lunch break left. You want to lend me a hand?”
“Emerald Hollow Artisanal is going to trust an amnesiac with their designs?”
“Oooh no, you’re not designing.” Sofia pulled out a folder of small bags and labels. “You get to package.”
“Oh, lucky me,” Isaiah said, trying to match her constant sarcasm as he reached for the roll of stickers.
Sofia rolled her eyes, but Isaiah noticed she was trying to suppress a grin, and something inside his chest boiled like warm honey.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
SOFIA
On February fourteenth, Sofia woke up and said a quick prayer that was more like a plea. It hadn’t dropped below fifty degrees in the last two weeks. It was Valentine’s Day, and if Emerald Hollow didn’t get a freezing spell at some point that day, she would have to sing at karaoke.
Maybe a cold front came in last night,she thought, heading straight for her front curtains.
Her jaw dropped again.
Not only was there no hint of frost, but all her tulips had burst into full bloom overnight. Her front planters were brilliant swaths of reds, pinks, and yellows.
For a few moments, Sofia forgot all about karaoke, and her heart soared. One of her favorite moments all year was the time when her tulips were in full bloom, greeting her every time she walked by.
