He shook his head. “I don’t have an eye for stuff like this.”
I grabbed his arm and tugged him around the store, pointing to various pieces.
“We’re going for eclectic. Random even. The whole point is to not think too hard about it.”
“A neon sign would be cool,” he finally said. “We had an ancient one hanging in there for years before it crapped out.”
“I love that,” I squealed with excitement, tugging on his sleeve.
He raised his eyebrows and stared down at me. “Did you hit the caffeine a little too hard today?”
I waved off his comment. “Do you know where we could get a neon sign?”
“Johnny can make us one. He did one for their basement a while back.”
“That’s perfect. A neon sign always draws the social media crowd.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know. People see a picture of a cute neon sign and want to go to that place so they can take the same picture. It’s a thing, trust me.”
“I changed my mind. I don’t want one anymore,” he deadpanned.
I ignored him. “What should it say? Maybe a cute phrase or a pun or something.” I put my hand over my face, trying to think of the perfect words.
“Don’t worry, I got it,” he insisted.
After we paid, we gathered everything—aside from the massive table they would deliver later on—and piled it into Giles’s truck.
“This is so exciting. You have to help me get everything together.”
Giles started driving back to the hardware store to collect the paint. “Have you always been such a peppy person?” he asked dryly.
“Have you always been such a prickly person?” I teased.
A grin tugged at his lips, and his clear brown eyes glanced from the road to me. “Answer my question, or you owe me a drink.”
“I didn’t realize that game would be forever ongoing.” I laughed. “But to answer your question—I think so? I’ve just always felt like everything is going to work out. And even if it doesn’t work out the way I want it to, everything will still fall into place like it’s meant to...” My voice trailed off at my last words. The pain I had been suppressing from my recent betrayal was bubbling to the surface, and I fought to push it down.
Giles seemed to sense my change in demeanor because his next words were soft. “It’s okay to be upset sometimes, y’know? It doesn’t mean you’re not still a positive person.”
“I know that.” I fiddled with my hands, not caring that my words didn’t sound convincing even to my own ears.
We pulled into the hardware store. He sighed, turning toward me. “For the record, anyone that hurts you is an asshole. You don’t have to put on a front and pretend it’s okay when it’s not.”
He knew exactly where my mind had wandered to.
“They’re not worth it,” I said.
“But you are.” He leaned toward me. “If you don’t let yourself feel the pain, you’ll never get over it.”
His intensity had me speechless. I couldn’t help but feel like he was talking to himself when he spoke those words.
“I’m going to run in by myself and grab the paint. I really don’t think I can handle Earl talking to you again.”
With that, he slammed the door and was gone, leaving me swimming in my thoughts.
ChapterEighteen
