“But he’d be willing to help out Cassie.”
He frowns. “I don’t see why he would.”
Ada shushes him like we’re back in her second grade classroom. She fixes a much gentler gaze on Cassie. “Don’t listen to him. You get yourself on over to Bridger Hardware and ask for Luke. He’ll take care of everything you need. I’m sure of it.”
Looks like Cassie just lost whatever hope she had of flying under their radar.
“Okay, these turned out surprisingly good.” Cassie’s gazing over our completed glass panes an hour later. Despite conversation veering off to attempts at matchmaking and nosing into various aspects of our personal lives, we managed to finish painting on time.
“Next month, we’re doing book folding.” Pamela’s gathering the used supplies into a bin as the room starts to clear out. “Everything’s provided, just bring yourself. Invite a friend.” Her gaze lands meaningfully on Reed.
I bet they’d love to add more strapping young guys to their drop-in rotation.
“It was wonderful to meet you, Cassie.” Rosetta carefully holds her completed glass pane in front of her. The paint won’t be fully dry for twenty-four hours, so we’re all being extra cautious with our projects. I can just imagine tripping and getting paint-splattered glass everywhere.
“We hope to see you around more.” Ada gingerly picks up her pane. “Stop and talk now that you know us.”
“Don’t forget our advice,” Isabel tells her. “About going to see to Luke Bridger.”
Cassie laughs under her breath. “I won’t.”
It would be impossible to forget after all their enthusiastic reminders. Reed spent half the evening grumbling over his paint as they spun poetic descriptions of his oldest brother.
Once the three women head for the door, Cassie turns to me. “Do you want to exchange numbers? Maybe you can give me more tips about places to visit around Sunshine. Or we can have a Hallmark movie marathon some night.”
“I’d love that.” We put our numbers in each other’s phones and say goodbye.
I stand, and Reed does, too. “I’ll walk you out.”
Outside, the warm night air caresses us as we slowly make our way through the parking lot. One thing I love about centralOregon in the summertime is that the day’s heat goes down as soon as the sun fully does. Nights like this make me wish I had a fire pit in my back yard to snuggle up in front of.
“What do you think about Ada and Isabel’s plans for Luke and Cassie?” I ask. They weren’t subtle about it, so I don’t feel I need to be, either. “Think that’s a good match?”
“I’m staying out of it.” He sounds like he’s refusing to enter a rat-infested room. “They’re even worse at digging into people’s lives than Lucy is.”
“I keep meaning to ask about that. Luke and Lucy?” You’d expect them to be twins, but he’s got to be seven or eight years older than she is.
His mouth tips up the tiniest amount. “My parents let us older kids help name the youngest ones. Luke thought his name was the best, and he was the loudest. So when she was born, Lucy it was.”
“That’s pretty cute. What did you want to name her?”
“Ladybug. I petitioned hard for it, too.”
My heart squeezes with affection for five-year-old Reed.
We reach my car, and I tuck my mountain scene safely in the front seat. I turn back to where he’s standing, dutifully holding his stained glass rooster so the paint doesn’t smudge.
“I bet if you could name me, you’d call me Gnat.” My mouth tips up in a little smirk. “Because I’m always flying around harassing you, and you can’t get rid of me.”
I laugh softly, but he doesn’t join in.
“I’d call you firefly,” he says. “Because you shine with everything you have.”
I suck in a breath, staring at him in the fading twilight. Warmth flows through my limbs like melted caramel. That might be the sweetest thing a man’s ever said to me. That’s what he’s been all night. Sweet. Showing up and painting a silly craft, enduring Ada and Isabel’s constant hints and innuendos. All…for me? Because I invited him?
Before I can overthink it, I rest one hand on his chest andstretch on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek just above his beard. His skin is soft but heated, his chest firm beneath my touch. The fresh scent of his soap surrounds us, and I pause half a second to breathe it in at its source.
When I drop back down to my heels, Reed’s gaze has turned molten. Firefly might be right because in this moment, my whole body must be aflame. I wait, hoping he’ll move in for a real kiss, but he stays perfectly still.
