AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes narrowed into two annoyed slits. “I hate you sometimes.” The glint in her blue eyes told him she was kidding.
They got out of the car and headed into the store. She moved slower than usual, and he remembered the glass she’d stepped on last night. His mind had been occupied with thoughts of her mouth and the feel of her body beneath him that he’d forgotten what led them there to begin with.
“Foot still bothering you?” he asked.
“Just when I first start walking on it. I took an anti-inflammatory; it helped. I had to change the Band-Aid this morning. I bled right through it, but it’s stopped.”
“I should have wrapped it better.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You did more than enough. Besides, I was the one who broke the glass in the first place. My grandma used to always say that one day my clumsiness would take me out.”
“Nah, it’ll take a lot more than that to knock you down.”
“Says the man who wanted to wear protective gear just to get in the car with me.”
“Valid point.”
They walked through the store and grabbed what they needed. Isla had no idea what she was looking at, which made Nolan laugh. She’d be a fish out of water if he wasn’t here with her. She paid for the supplies, and they got in the truck and headed home.
He helped her carry the stuff inside, and she pointed to a corner. “You can just leave it there for now.” She looked at her phone. “I really need to get down to the shop. I thought I’d have more time.”
“Go, and if you want, I can get started.”
“I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“I have nothing better to do.”
“Sure, you do. It’s summer in Morgan’s Bay. You can go to the beach. Go have a drink with Connor down at McConnell’s. Anything but this.” She motioned to the hole in the wall.
He wanted to have a good old-fashioned summer. The kind he used to have before work became his life, but he didn’t mind staying in and getting his hands dirty. It gave him purpose and something to accomplish. The beach wasn’t going anywhere, and for the time being neither was he. “I want to.”
“I should argue with you.”
“But you won’t because you want it done. I know it’s driving you crazy.”
She sighed. “It really is.”
“Let me do this for you.”
“I’m going to owe you more than a couple slices of pizza.”
“I like pizza… especially New York pizza.”
“You sure you’re okay with this? You’re not going to resent me in twenty years for wasting your time when you could’ve been at the beach, enjoying life instead of being stuck fixing up an old house?”
“Where do you even get these thoughts?”
She pointed to her head. “It’s a constant movie reel up there. Most people would probably be exhausted if they got a peek inside.”
“I assure you I won’t resent you in twenty years. Now go, so I can get to work.”
She kissed his cheek and ran out the door, leaving him to wonder if this is what his life could’ve been if he didn’t leave.
If so… he’d made the wrong choice.
Chapter 17
It had only been a week since Isla had been in the flower shop, but she’d missed it. Some people might’ve thought she was stuck, working for her parents at the shop, but the truth was, she loved it. Grandma and her parents had given her an appreciation for flowers, and that love grew into a passion in designing one-of-a-kind centerpieces for special events.
