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My mom giggles. “Quick. I said quick introduction, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“And here I am, telling a story.” She stoops over Zoey again and ruffles the sides of her body as I’ve done many times. Then, she bows down further and scoops up the pair of gardening gloves she discarded earlier.
“I’m sure you’ve picked up on the fact that Gwen doesn’t like to be the center of attention, Brock,” she says as she fits them in her back pocket.
“I have noticed that. She’d much rather have the focus on another.”
Great. Now my mom and my boss are trading notes about me.
“Mom… did you say you have something to do? Somewhere to go?” I ask, bugging my eyes out at her in hopes she’ll get the message.
She giggles again and offers her hand to Brock a second time. “Really. Honestly. Very nice to meet you, Brock.”
“And you as well, Allegra.”
She nods and fishes in the pocket of her faded jeans. “I’ll get out of here so you two can enjoy your evening.”
When she circles around her car, she catches my eye and winks. “Have fun!” she sings before settling in behind the wheel.
It’s a relief when she backs out of the driveway, waves, and then drives away.
But the feeling of relief doesn’t last—because now, the situation is even more tense. I am now standing in my driveway with my boss, and I have no idea how to handle the fact that he is here, on my property, with two adorable dogs… about to help me put in kitchen floors.
I thought that handing a person a cup of coffee spoke of love.
Turns out, that’s nothing but a peep. A whisper.
This—Brock, showing up with exactly the tool I need and offering to get down on his hands and knees to help me…? This feels like he’s shouting his feelings for me from the rooftops.
“So, you want to show me around the place? Give me the tour?” he asks.
I nod, mute. This means so much to me. More than he knows. And yet, I don’t want to tell him that because it might freak him out.
“Yeah, for sure,” I say. “Come on in.”
Chapter 16
Brock
I sit back on my heels and look out across the floor.
The blue and white linoleum is cheap. I’m not a pro. And yet…
It looks good.
Really good.
Much better than when I got here a couple hours ago.
When I flick my eyes to my watch, I’m shocked. Six hours have passed since I arrived at Gwen’s house. Somehow, it felt like two.
When she steps in through the back door with the dogs, a gust of cool, refreshing night air enters with them.
It’s good to feel the burst of cold air against my skin. I worked up a sweat, smoothing these things down. Manual labor’s satisfying. So is the feeling of completing a job.
It is also incredibly satisfying when the dogs trot right up to me. Both of them.
