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Chapter Eighteen
We got distractedby each other the next morning and both ended up running late. We were doing that more often than not, and I had to get my shit together.
I needed to have at least half of my brain available for my job.
I wasn’t paying attention when someone walked in the front door, but she got my attention.
“I’m sorry, I’m looking for Natalie?” she said.
“I’m Natalie,” I said automatically.
“Oh, good.” The woman was dressed in clothes that had definitely come from a designer store. She reeked of someone from away.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
She smiled, showing the most perfect teeth I’d ever seen. She was like an ad for dentistry. “Yes, I saw some of your shell art at the gift shop and I absolutely love it. I own a boutique in Boston, and I would love to stock some of your pieces. Do you have a minute to chat?”
I was puzzled and didn’t respond.
“I got your name from the owner of the gift shop, and she said you worked here.” Oh, that made sense.
“Yeah, sure,” I said.
“Great,” she said with a smile. “So, is that something you’d be interested in?”
I was completely shocked. What was even happening? I told the woman that I might be, and she left me her card with instructions to contact her ASAP.
Weird, but hey. I had lot more shells now. Maybe this could be something.
Everyone in the office wanted to know what had happened, so I had to tell them about the woman from Boston who had come to find me and wanted to stock my stuff. They were all very encouraging and I couldn’t wait to escape the praise and die from embarrassment. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy people appreciating my stuff, it just made me feel…like I was under a microscope. Vulnerable, in some way. I never knew what to say other than “thank you” and that never seemed like enough.
Natalie came in with Preston, so I got to tell her about it in person.
“Hey, that’s great! Looks like we might have to make some more shell trips, huh, Preston?” She picked him up and he waved at me. I waved back and he grinned, showing a row of tiny baby teeth. So cute.
He started getting fussy, so she said she was going to take him to look at the seagulls in the parking lot that pecked at the trash and bits of food people dropped by their cars.
“He’s obsessed. We put a birdwatching channel on for him and he’s mesmerized. It’s the cutest thing,” Natalie said, hefting Preston on her hip.
“I’ll see you later?” she asked, and then looked around.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking to see if anyone is watching,” she said, before leaning over and giving me a quick peck on the lips.
I blushed and wanted to hide under my desk.
“See you later, Em,” she said with a wink as she walked out.
I waited before I looked around, but no one was staring at me or rushing to my desk to ask about the kiss, so I hoped we were in the clear. It was bold of her to kiss me in public like that.
I really did need to tell my parents officially if Natalie was going to kiss me in the office where my dad and uncle and brother worked.
* * *
Just before Iwas ready to leave, Wyatt breezed in. He technically worked here but had created his job in “client relations” to mean he went out for boozy lunches and golfing outings ninety percent of the time. Anything he did outside of the office was considered “networking” and somehow he got away with it.
He had a tired smirk on his face as he leaned on my desk.
