Zach sat. “Yes, ma’am.”
“First rule is to make sure you keep your fingers out from under the needle.”
He gave her an odd look, then shrugged. “Good rule.”
“Second rule is to double-check everything before you cut or sew. It’ll save you a lot of time.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed.
“Third rule is, go slow.”
His lips twitched. “Slow as Christmas morning’s arrival.”
Unable to resist, she asked, “Did you anxiously await Christmas morning each year?”
“Maybe,” he admitted. “It was a long time ago.”
“Meaning you don’t look forward to Christmas morning now?” she pressed, eyeing him as he examined the machine, probably figuring out every knob and button before she gave the first explanation of what each one did. Then again, Sarah had probably already explained all that.
“Meaning Christmas morning has been just another day on the calendar for more than a decade. The holidays aren’t a big deal.”
“Did you never get leave to spend the holidays with your family?”
His face pinched. “Once.”
“It wasn’t pleasant?”
“Nope.”
Don’t ask, Isabelle. It doesn’t pertain to you. Leave it alone. Don’t do it.
“Did something happen?”
“Something always happens when I go there.” He leaned back in the cushy black chair and flexed his neck from one side to the other, making a popping sound as he did so. “My brother and I don’t mesh the way you and your sister do.”
Hurt hung in the air and darned if she didn’t want to hug him. No, she did not want to hug him. She wanted to give his sewing lesson and be done before the pizza arrived so they could eat and he could leave.
Only, she placed her hand on his shoulder. The warmth of his skin radiated through his cotton shirt and her heart raced. “I’m sorry, Zach.”
“Don’t be. It’s not a big deal.”
But it was. Her heart felt for him. She knew what it was like to have family issues better off not discussed. Sensing his discomfort and knowing she’d had no right to pry to begin with, or to touch him, Isabelle pointed to the instructions. “That’s good. Now, read the kit’s instructions. What do they say to do first?”
*
“Did she purposelyjust bump against him?” Ruby and the other Butterflies gathered at Lou’s Diner huddled around Sophie’s phone.
Maybelle tapped her manicured nail against the tabletop. “Her hand definitely lingered on his as she was guiding the material.”
“Do you see how he is looking at her?” Aunt Claudia sighed happily.
Rosie puckered her lips, then made a smacking noise. “That lipstick is fabulous. Why hasn’t he kissed her yet?”
Cole shook his head at Sophie and the Butterflies. “We only stopped by Lou’s to pick up dinner and should already be at the farm. Isabelle would not want you watching her lesson with Zach.”
“A lesson in romance.” Rosie snickered. “How is he resisting herRosiered lips?”
“It’s not as if she didn’t watch us when you’d come into the shop,” Sophie reminded Cole, her cheeks pinkening.
