“No,” I nearly whined. “I don’t want that, I promise.”
“But—”
“Please don’t decide for me what I need.” My voice cracked, and I had to take a second to collect myself. “Don’t treat me differently because I messed up today.”
Theo’s eyes went wide. “I’m not trying to. I’m sorry. I’m not in a good headspace today.”
“Me either,” I said with a sigh. “And I have no idea what to do about it.”
He considered me for a long moment. “Just take a second. We both need to regroup. I’ll mop and we can talk.”
“Can I sweep and mop?” I offered. “Please?”
“Why the hell would you want to clean my floors?”
“I clean to distract myself. I’m good at it, I promise.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You haven’t even cleaned the espresso machine.” My bottom lip poked out. “Please, Theo? It’ll help me think.”
“Oh, don’t do that.”
I pouted harder, making my eyes as big as I could. “Do what?”
“Be so fucking cute.” He said the words like it pained him.
I paused. Did Theo Murf really just call me cute?
Holyshit. It was working.
I was definitely pouting harder. Putting my hands together, I stepped closer and fluttered my lashes. “Pleeaaassseeee? I’ll be good, I promise.”
He took a step back and bumped into a table. “Jesus Christ, Piper. Yes, you can.”
He ran a hand over his face, which was practically beet red. Normally, I’d feel bad, but I’d gotten what I wanted.
And that felt like a win.
“This feels wrong. I hope you know that.”
“Then why does it feel so good?” I laughed and turned the corner.
I didn’t get to hear his response, but I had a feeling he was grumbling just like he always did.
The broom was easy to find, and I went to the back corner to start. As I swept every inch of the shop, I tried not to fall back into despair. Bantering with Theo helped.
But the second I thought about earlier, it was back, and it hit hard.
I knew this would be a process. Conquering my aversion to touch wouldn’t happen overnight, but I hated that I jumped. I hated that I didn’t know it was him and still reacted this way.
“All done,” I said.
“You’re good at this,” Theo said as he wiped the counter.
“You won’t let this become a regular thing, will you?”
“Absolutely not. You’re still my customer.”
