Page 38 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

The girls wandered closer at my invitation.

“Aw, that one’s so cute,” one of them said. She plucked it out of the case and tried it on.

“That looks lush,” her friend said.

Leah beamed next to me.

I leaned forward like I was sharing secret information. “That actually used to be a spoon.”

“Wait, really?” the girl said.

“Yeah,” I said with a grin. “Vintage silver. And definitely a one-of-a-kind piece.”

Another girl reached out for a ring. “That’s cool.” She tried it on. “I like the designs on this one.”

“Ooh,” I gushed. “That looks great on you. You could totally double it up with this one here.”

The rest of the group crowded in, picking things up, trying them on, comparing. And now that there was a crowd, more people on the street noticed, drawn in but the girls’ squeals of delight.

I turned to Leah. “I think my work here is done.”

She wrapped me in a hug, squeezing hard. “You’re the best, honestly.”

I left her stall with my own silver ring in a tiny brown paper bag.

“That was incredible,” Alistair said, sounding impressed as we wandered down the street. “I’ve never seen anyone build rapport so quickly, and I’ve been pitched by the best.”

I lifted my shoulder, flushing at his words. “I couldn’t bear the look on her face as people kept walking past. I just knew if I got a few people looking at the display, more would come.”

“I’m just amazed that you sold those girls on spoons.”

“Hey, everyone likes a one-of-a-kind piece. And it’s kind of cool knowing you’re wearing a little piece of history instead of some mass-produced piece of dreck churned out from a factory, you know?”

“What about that stall over there?” Alistair asked. “See any pieces you fancy?”

I turned to find a dazzling display of Celtic knotwork, my eyes widening as I inspected every piece. The wire work was incredible. I knew how tedious and time-consuming some of these items had been to create.

It was truly a labor of love.

I brushed my hand over a beautifully beaded chain with a silver thistle pendant I immediately adored. I’d grown fond of the purple flowers during my road tripping—of course, that had been before winter set in.

“This one,” I said.

“May I?” Alistair asked the woman standing behind the display, gesturing to the thistle necklace. She nodded for him to go ahead. He picked it up, deftly undid the clasp, and held it out to me. “Turn around.”

I did, pulling my hair out of the way so he could clip the necklace at the back of my neck. I felt goosebumps in the wake of his fingertips and fought off a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.

I twisted around, touching the chain. It was longer than a lot of my current pieces, and I liked that. “What do you think?”

“Silver is your color,” the woman said.

Alistair nodded in agreement. “It goes perfectly with your eyes.”

Perfectly. The silence between us thickened the longer he looked at me, charged with an emotion I wasn’t sure how to name. What if I was reading things wrong? That was what I always did—I’d jump in too fast and assume the other person was right by my side…all the way until I crashed down to reality all alone. But despite the little voice in the back of my head telling me to be wary, heat stirred in my chest, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I couldn’t be the one to break the spell.

“What about a nice pair of earrings to match?” the woman suggested. “I saw you admiring the Celtic knots. I’ve got a small pair of earrings with that same design.”

Alistair finally glanced away, and I turned to see the earrings she was pointing out. “Oh, those are gorgeous,” I said. They were silver and dangly.