In what situation would he be given gum leaves? And where did he find the trees? Did he visit a zoo to sniff them? Because they didn’t really grow on this continent.
“So the artificial smell in cough drops does nothing for you?”
Now the color drained from his face, and I thought he was going to puke.
“Gross. That’s nothing like the real thing.”
We were learning interesting facts about one another, but other than that one kiss, we weren’t advancing toward my goal.
“Just to be clear about earlier when I put my shirt back on, yes, it was silly, but I really like you and I thought you were disappointed in me.”
“Okay.” He rubbed a hand over his stubble. “I like you too.”
The incident with the shirt taught me a useful lesson. “Be who I am and don’t give a damn about other people’s opinions.”
Remy asked if that was my tip of the day, but I told him it was a reminder and I’d pin it in my brain.
We’d been talking for a while and my lunch break was over. Sandy was here and probably wondering why I wasn’t in the workshop.
“I have to go, as much as I’d like to stay on the floor gathering fluff.” This carpet needed vacuuming more often.
“Me too. Work calls.”
I was hoping we’d see one another tonight, but Remy said he was going climbing with friends. Heights weren’t my thing, so I couldn’t pretend to be interested, but we arranged to have lunch on the weekend.
After putting on a clean shirt and deciding I may have ruined the first one by not soaking it immediately, I did a search for gum and eucalyptus leaves. As I suspected, the local zoo was the only place where gum trees grew. Unless Remy was such a fan that he’d planted one in his back yard.
I gave up because gum leaves would hardly have a place in our relationship.
12
REMY
Things were going ridiculously well with Hari. I couldn’t be happier, and there were days when I’d wake up wondering if it had all been a dream and had to pull out the napkin from under my pillow to prove to myself that it wasn’t.
Hari was the first person I texted in the morning and the last one at night. Throughout the day, we’d send each other messages as well. And it was not for anything important. We’d share what we were eating, something funny that happened at work, that kind of thing. If I had been in the office, Steven would have been laughing at me, telling me I was lovesick. Which was fair. I was. A thousand percent.
Today I was heading to the farmers’ market while my mate worked. The one thing about his job I didn’t love were his hours. Not that they could be helped. People needed furniture around their schedules, not mine.
Do you need anything?I shot him a quick text and grabbed my keys. It was the first Saturday and Food Truck Fun at the flea market. I planned to grab him some lunch on my way out, despite the fact that he was probably not going to be able to eatit hot. This was one of his busy days at work customer-wise. All his days were busy in their own way. He poured his soul into that place.
We were going to see each other later, but my koala was still grumpy about him needing to work. He wasn’t going to be happy until we were marked and living together. My beast needed to learn some patience. I did too, because this was something we both agreed on.
Hari replied right away. He didn’t need anything, but he told me he was looking forward to seeing me later. Those were exactly the words I needed to hear.
I hearted the message and drove the short distance to the market. I didn’t have a lot to get, but it was a nice way to kill time, and I always enjoyed myself here. At one time, you could only buy produce, eggs, milk, and that kind of thing. But over the past decade, they’d expanded to include handmade personal products and some limited crafts. You wouldn’t find jewelry vendors or cute little collectibles, but crocheted washcloths, detergents, and that kind of thing were pretty plentiful. And of course, on every first Saturday, there was yummy food.
My first stop was a local soap maker’s stall who used a natural eucalyptus scent. I had discovered them the last time I was there and had been skeptical about it, picking up only one bar, but now it was going to be my go-to forever. I bought all they had, which wasn’t a lot. They were a small dealer, but it made their jaw drop.
“You really like eucalyptus a lot. Maybe you were a koala in your last life,” she teased, not knowing just how close she was to the truth.
“Maybe,” I said, leaving off that I was one in this lifetime, too.
But they were human and didn’t need to know that. Heck, I hadn’t been strong enough to tell my mate who I was. There was no chance of me telling a stranger. Although with a stranger, I didn’t care if they rejected me or not. With my mate, it mattered more than my next breath.
I was walking down the rows, grabbing a loaf of homemade banana bread and a couple of ears of corn, the normal stuff, when I heard a familiar voice, one that usually came with a prewarning, his scent.
“Hey,” I said, as Kevin turned from the stall where he’d just picked up some jam.
