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“Now get to work. You have a lot to do.”
I nod, sniffling as she backs out of the room. The tears continue to fall to the point that I have to go into the en suite to grab some tissue paper to blow my nose and wash my face.
I take a deep fortifying breath as I step back into the room. As excited as I am, I’m also overwhelmed. My project list is long, and yet I can tell by looking around the room that it’s very possible I don’t have everything I need to fulfill a single order. I sure as hell can’t do anything until this room is orderly.
I leave the boxes with the furniture in them alone, my breath growing a little uneven as I think about the interaction with Emmett last night in the hallway. I have a ton of things I could lose sleep over, but last night, my mind stayed hyper focused on that man. My head ran through scenarios of what could happen if he snuck up to my room in the middle of the night. My cheeks flare with heat at the memories of how those thoughts made me feel.
I take another deep breath, needing to get that out of my head if I have any hope of focusing on my tasks rather than fighting the urge to go corner him and demand he kiss me again.
I find a planner sitting on the corner of the desk, and more tears threaten to leak out when I see the handwritten note tucked inside the first page.
You were always meant to do great things. I rub my finger over Em’s signature, wondering what I did in life to find such a welcoming, caring bunch of people.
I fight the urge to sit down and pull up the notes app on my phone to get the orders I’ve taken into the planner. I know I can work on that later this evening when my feet are screaming at me to take a break.
Like a kid on Christmas, I rush to open all the boxes so I can inventory what I have and what I might be missing. I want to kiss whoever thought of cube shelving that has versatile assembly options. They’re positively genius. After getting them together and on one wall of the room, I’m able to sort out the items needed for different orders so I can keep everything together.
I try my best not to pet and rub the supplies like I would a puppy in need of attention, but there are times I find myself letting fabric run through my fingers as I think of exactly how to use it to its highest potential. It’s hard to fight the urge to start on a few projects while there’s still so much disarray in the room.
I’m elbows deep in a box of thread when a throat clears at the doorway.
I smile instantly as I turn to look in that direction.
“That is a hit to my ego,” Oracle says as he steps inside. “I don’t think I’ve seen someone stop smiling so fast in my life.”
“Sorry,” I say.
“Either you’re wishing I wasn’t here, or you’re wishing I was someone else.”
I turn my attention back to my task of picking between the two, but he’s right. I’m a little disappointed he isn’t Emmett. At least that’s who immediately came to mind when he approached.
“I can handle it,” he says. “At least I think I can. Do you need some help?”
I do, but Em said that Emmett was going to work on the furniture.
“I think I need to do it so I know where everything ends up,” I explain, not wanting to shoo him out of here, but the thought of misplacing something causes me more stress. I don’t have an unlimited budget, and if I have to replace something, it cuts into my profit. Since I’m working off favors, that’s still sitting at zero until the football order is complete.
“I won’t touch your supplies,” he says, pulling one of the furniture boxes away from the wall so he can get a better look at the finished product on the front.
He’s not pushy with his presence, and I have to consider he’s almost as new here as I am. Maybe he’s just wanting a familiar face among all the new ones like I did when I wanted to be around Emmett. Who am I kidding, familiarity is one of the things I was less interested in when my thoughts drifted to that man.
“I can work on this,” he offers.
I want to refuse, but hell, he’s here and Emmett isn’t. If he puts the sewing desk together, I’m one step closer to getting my machine out of the bedroom and in here so I can actually start on one of my orders.
