“Lead the way.”
I offer her a smile before steering us towards the elevators, neither of us talking. I’m too nervous in case I mess this up. Idon’t realise I’m holding my breath until the doors slide open and we step inside.
Hayleigh nudges my arm with her shoulder, her brow creasing. “Why are you so quiet?”
I take a good, long look at her. I know there’s no way she’d ever make fun of me, so I quietly admit. “I have something planned, and I’m worried you’re going to either hate it or find me a complete cheeseball because of it.”
The lift doors open to her floor, and we step out, walking silently down the hall until we reach her room. She opens it, then steps aside to let me in. I head straight for the kitchen area, setting the bag I brought with me aside.
Hayleigh walks over to the bag and peeks inside, her brows creasing. “What’s this for?”
Here goes nothing.
I take a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of Kintsugi?”
She shakes her head.
“Well, it’s the art of repairing something that’s broken and turning it into something more beautiful than it was before…” I trail off, unsure if I’m explaining this right.
I reach into the bag and dig out the bowl, the glue, and the golden, glittery paint. My options in Vegas were limited, so I don’t have the right things, but the principle is the same.
She eyes the objects, raising her brow. “Now what?”
I shrug. “Now, you break it.”
She laughs at me, but soon stops when she sees I’m serious.
“Nate, I can’t go around breaking bowls.”
I put down the bowl and walk closer to her, grabbing both her hands in mine, and I rub small circles on them. “Humour me, please?” Then I stick out my bottom lip and flutter my eyelashes at her.
She barks out a laugh and snorts, and it’s the most fucking adorable thing I’ve ever seen. Letting go of her hands, I pick upthe bowl and hand it to her. She holds it out in front of her and drops it, pieces flying in all directions as it impacts the floor.
Placing her hands on her hips, she stares at me. “Okay, what now?”
I bend down and start picking up the pieces before carrying them to the dining table. I nod toward the counter where the other items lie. “Grab those first and bring them over here, then I’ll tell you.” She grabs the items and places them down before taking a seat next to me.
“That’s everything, now please tell me why you have me smashing bowls?” She sasses.
I can’t look her in the eye for this part, just in case she tells me I’m being stupid. “Well, the first thing we need to do is put this bowl back together.”
“After we just broke it?” She speaks slowly.
I chuckle. “Yes, but I promise it will be worth it in the end.”
We spend the next ten minutes putting the bowl back together. I grab the pieces while she glues them together, and when we’re done, we have a bowl full of cracks and a few small holes here and there.
Maybe I should have only broken off a smaller section because this is going to take ages to dry, then an idea hits me. “Do you have a hairdryer with you?”
She clicks her fingers. “I wasjustthinking this would be the perfect time to dry my hair.” She delivers it with a perfect deadpan expression.
I roll my eyes. “Har, har. I was referring to the bowl, smart arse.”
Her cheeks redden slightly. “Oh, that makes sense. One minute.” She heads towards her room and, a few seconds later, is back out with a hairdryer in hand.
While she plugs it in and starts drying the glue, I mix together some of the leftover glue and gold glitter paint, and whenHayleigh’s finished drying the bowl, I hand her the mixture with a brush.
She takes it from me, looking at me hesitantly. “What do I do now?”
