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She moved into the kitchen, piling the dishes in the sink and leaving them. It wasn’t like her to leave chores for later, but I didn’t complain. In the short time she’d been with us, she already did more around the house than I had since we moved in. She was beyond helpful, but seeing her ignore dirty dishes made me watch her closer. As she moved around the kitchen, my eyes followed her.
With a frown, I leaned against the table while she opened the fridge to grab a water bottle. Her behavior this morning was strange. She was usually chipper in the mornings, always eager to get the kids in a good mood from the start. Today, she didn’t seem to care about that. She didn’t seem to care about anything.
I sat back in my chair and shook my head. It didn’t matter how Emily acted. As long as she did her job well, that was what mattered. I told myself it was a good thing that she was ignoring me as I got up from the table. Without a word, I disappeared into my room to get dressed.
When I went back out to the living room, Emily and the kids were playing a game. Emily’s face was alive with emotion for the first time this morning. Her eyes were open wide, and she was laughing, tickling Sarah and motioning for Tommy to take his turn.
“What are you guys playing?” I asked, sitting i
n the chair beside the coffee table.
“Sorry,” Sarah said. “Emily brought it over. It’s so fun!”
“Do you want to play?” Tommy asked.
My eyes fell on Emily’s face, and all the joy I’d seen just seconds before was gone. She didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, she stared at the game board. Her eyebrows were pulled together, and her lips were tight. I cleared my throat and she looked up.
When our eyes finally met, she softened slightly. She searched my face for something, though I wasn’t sure what. Her soft gaze made me harden. I felt my face tighten as I turned away.
“Maybe later,” I told Tommy. “I have to go into town right now.”
“Can we come?” Sarah asked, already getting to her feet.
“Don’t you want to finish your game?” I asked.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want Sarah with me. I just knew my mood was only going to get worse.
“I want to come with you,” Sarah said.
“Not this time,” I said. “Stay here and play with Emily.”
“We can bake cookies after the game,” Emily said. “What do you think?”
“Yeah!” Sarah pumped her fist in the air with excitement. I smiled at her.
I looked at Emily one last time before I got up to leave. It was hard to read the emotion on her face. I left the house and climbed behind the wheel of my car. With a sigh, I cranked the engine and drove the five minutes into town. Emily’s face was still burned in my brain, and I was determined to get rid of it. She’d only been back a few days, and already, I was cranky and frustrated. Not for the first time, I wondered if I made the right decision in hiring her back.
I parked in a random parking spot and got out. I didn’t really have any errands, but I couldn’t be in that house for another second. With Emily staring at me with hidden expectations, it was too much. I still didn’t know what our kiss meant, and I wasn’t in a hurry to find out. From the way Emily was acting, though, she definitely was.
As I walked, I stumbled across an old bookstore. It looked closed, but when I stepped closer, I saw the lights on inside. I pushed open the door and was immediately hit with the smell of old books. I inhaled deeply, a smile spreading across my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I spent any time in a bookstore.
“Can I help you find anything?” someone asked from behind me.
I was halfway inside the store and I whirled around to see an old man looking up at me.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I’m just looking around.”
“I don’t know you,” the man said.
“No, you don’t.”
“I know everyone in town,” he said. “I’m Harry.”
“Sean,” I said simply. “I just moved here.”
“Well, Sean,” Harry said. “Welcome to my store. It’s nothing special, but we have some good things if you dig a bit.”
“I’ll do that,” I promised.
