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“You did the restoration?” Dark brown eyes gaze at me as though seeing me through a new light. People often misjudge or underestimate me, but that’s not how it is with Miri. Instead, it’s like she’s slowly learning about me, really seeing me.
“Yeah, that’s what Archer and I do. We fix up old buildings, make them inhabitable again.”
Miri takes a step closer to me, although I’m not even sure she realizes that she’s moved. I sure as hell do, though. It’s like I’m locked in on all of her movements, all her subtle gestures. Before I know what I’m doing, I tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. We both freeze, her eyes wide as she gazes up at me. My pulse hammers in my ears, and I want to grab her and crush her to my body.
Fighting against all my instincts, I take a step back. Miri smiles at me and surveys the space with a new appreciation. I swear I’ve got a damn boner from how starry eyed she is over the place.
A little bell over the door jingles and we both swing our heads around just in time to see Archer saunter in. He’s in one of his fancy-ass suits, looking all GQ.
“What are you doing here?” The question has more bite than I intend, but Archer just grins at me, like he knows secrets I don’t.
“My other showing fell through. It was fate that it freed me up to help my favorite client ever.”
Miri laughs. “Mm, I’m sure you say that to everyone you deal with.”
Archer leans in close like he’s going to tell her a secret, and I nearly pull the handle off the door to the storage room.
“You wound me.” Archer clutches his heart as if he’s hurt. Miri rolls her eyes and shoves Archer away.
“I’ll show you the back.” I nod toward a door that leads to the storage and employee only area, holding it open as she practically skips over to me. She’s obviously interested in the space.
“There’s not currently a place for you to make your product here, but if you decide you want to rent long term, I should be able to build up a kitchen area.” Christ, I’m already planning for her to be here for years, even though I know she needs to leave.
Miri’s eyes widen, like I’ve just told her there’s treasure buried here. “You could really do that? That would be amazing. Not that it’s that far from the house but it would be fantastic to keep everything in the store, rather than having to transport batches of stuff.”
Her eyes are wide and hopeful, her excitement palpable. It sparks in the air and soaks into me.
“Probably.” I don’t want to promise anything, even though I’m the asshole who offered it up.
“You mind if I ask a question?” Archer leans against the wall as we both watch Miri move around the room.
The backroom isn’t anything special. There’s a bathroom, shelving for storage and a sad table with two chairs that the previous renters left behind. The walls are exposed brick back here as well, but the hardwood floor is rougher, scraped up from things being moved back and forth over the top of it. It’s about half the size of the space up front, but there’s plenty of room for a kitchen and work area. I’m already laying it out in my head because I can tell Miri wants it, bad.
She cocks her head, trailing her fingertips over parts of the wall, over the top of the chair, almost learning the room through her touch. “Depends on the question.”
Archer’s eyes skate from Miri to me, a sly grin on his face. “How do you and Davis know each other? You’ve never been to the island before, right? And Davis rarely crawls out of his cave except to escape on his boat for a few days.”
I glare at the asshole. He could have just asked me. Even if I would have told him to mind his damn business. Would I have told him if it hadn’t been necessary to keep it a secret all these years? I don’t know. It’s almost as if I’ve wanted to keep that memory of Miri to myself. I didn’t want anyone to know about that trip because I didn’t want anyone to know about her. That way, she only belonged to me, in some jacked up way that doesn’t actually make a lick of sense.
Miri’s posture stiffens and her eyes dart to me.
“You really do like to gossip.” She laughs when Archer makes a face. “There’s not much to tell. We met once, a long time ago. My mom and his mom were friends, I guess.” A dark sadness passes over her eyes, and I want to punch Archer for pushing her.
“Is it dumb of me to declare that I want the place? Should I play hard to get or something?” Miri forces a laugh, changing the subject away from whatever painful path Archer’s question took her down.
“Considering the rent isn’t really negotiable it’s not like you’re giving up an ace up your sleeve,” I say.
“That’s true, but should I check out some other places?” She cups her hands around her mouth, mock whispering as if she doesn’t want the building to hear her next words, “What if there’s a better space.”
“To be honest, I think this will be perfect for your shop. I spent the last few days checking out any available commercial space for rent and nothing even compared. We can show you a few other buildings, but really, this one is in a prime spot. You don’t need to keep looking,” Archer adds, in a much more pleasant voice.
“You’re a sweet talker. Davis is probably going to tell me to find a spot somewhere else, like in another town.” Miri smirks, looking at me like she’s waiting for my argument.
What can I say though, this place fits her. She reaches out to touch the walls again like she just can’t help herself. Everyone startles when a shrill grinding sound cracks through the room, like brick scraping brick. Miri hurries back a few steps, her jaw dropping open. Her back bumps against my chest and I grab her shoulders, partially to remind her I’m here, but also because I can’t seem to keep from touching her. I’ve managed the entire time she’s been glowing about the store, but I’m only so fucking strong.
“What the hell?” Archer and I say at the same time.
“This isn’t part of the tour?” Miri gapes at the wall.
