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I smirk and his jaw clenches as he puckers his lips, playfully defiant. A picture of composure to anyone else who might be looking,but I see you, Callum Landmark.
I glance nonchalantly over my shoulder.
“Oh, I haven’t seen that area yet.” I point to the wall of classics in pretty covers.
And I turn and walk away from him, letting my hips sway a little more than usual.
I hear another growl and barely hold back my smile as I walk to the pretty books.
A few minutes later, I’ve found a chair to sit in as I order more merchandise to fill the orders from my website. I have some stored in one of the closets in the RV, but not enough. I arrange for it to be shipped to Callum’s, hesitating onlybriefly to wonder if that’s a good idea. We haven’t really talked about how long I’ll stay with him and the timing could be off if I get the chance to go to Utah before the shipments arrive.
It’ll work out, I tell myself.Everything else seems to be going smoothly…this will too.
I flip through one of my favorite decorating magazines. That was always my splurge, along with books—decorating magazines. I spent so much time poring over them and dreaming of what I wanted to do next. I miss working on Jolene. I need to figure out what to work on next.
While it’s on my mind, I do a quick post on my social media sites, some footage of Dolly, some of Thanksgiving, and I thank all the new followers who have found me. I used to post every day, sometimes multiple times, but being busy at the ranch and with Callum has made it glaringly obvious how alone I really was. There’s no question that I was also busy there, working nonstop on the businesses, but since I was by myself, I could throw in two or three posts up just showing my life. Callum’s been cool about the exposure he’s gotten over it, but I’m not sure how he’d feel if that was constant.
Just then I hear a girl’s voice.
“Oh my God, are you…are you that guy? Lumberjack guy?”
I grit my teeth and wait for Callum’s answer, looking around to see if I can spot him.
I hear him say something but can’t make it out.
“You look just like him,” the girl says.
Within seconds, Callum rounds the bookshelves and walks toward me. I stand up, gathering the books I want to buy.
“Have you been spotted?” I whisper.
He nods and we hurry to the checkout counter. He keeps his head down and we hustle out of there.
“I’m so sorry about this,” I tell him.
He takes my hand and is quiet for a minute as we walk down the street.
“You don’t need to be sorry. At all. I just…the thing is...” He makes a face and looks at me sheepishly.
“What?” I’m suddenly terrified of what he’s going to say.
He exhales. “I don’t want them to think I’m available.” He holds up our joined hands and kisses my fingers.
I melt. “That’s…understandable. But why do you look guilty when you say that?”
“Because it’s childish. It’s not like I’m going to be tempted by anyone throwing themselves at me.” He shrugs and then frowns at me when I giggle. “I can handle myself.”
“I have no doubt.”
He frowns again. “It’s not just that I’m not available. It’s thatyouare the one holding my heart in your hands.”
I must gasp because his eyes flicker to mine to assess how I’m taking this. I squeeze his hand.
“I want to shout it to the world that we’re together, which is crazy because—you may have noticed—I don’t shout anything.”
I laugh and my heart feels like it’s about to burst wide open.
“But with you, I want to shout it out at the top of my lungs, just how much I love you,” he says. “I worry you might think it’s too soon. But for me, there are no doubts. I didn’t know I could ever feel this way about someone. You blew into my life and I never want you to leave. It might seem quick to everyone looking in, but to me, I think I knew the day I met you, that you are it for me. And I don’t expectyou to…do anything, that’s not what I—” He curses under his breath and stops on the sidewalk, lifting his head to the sky like he’s looking for help.
