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Clearing her mind, she turned her music up and focused on the task at hand. One more tree topper for good measure. With three finished products, one of them had to be good enough to use as a forgery. She could pick them up in a couple of days and Nikki would be on schedule for making the swap.
That thought made her happy and she danced and swayed while she worked.
ChapterNine
Ezra knew this whole thing had been a mistake. Chatting with London, talking about his father, asking about her life, imagining getting her naked. He wasn’t oblivious to where she was going when she’d asked if he was seeing someone. Unlike her, he was in a position to have a real relationship. Was he actively seeking one? No. Did he need one right now? Also, no.
Maybe for a change, he should be a little impulsive and act on what he wanted instead of what he needed. They were stuck together for the night. It wasn’t safe for her to drive until the streets were clear. Maybe they could have a few drinks with the whiskey he kept in his office and see if they clicked.
He had little doubt they would click. However, his glass studio wasn’t exactly conducive to getting naked, and his office only had a folding chair since he rarely spent too much time there. After filling the window display with the items he had ready and leaving space for the ones that would be ready in a day or two, he went to check on London’s progress.
As she had been earlier, she was dancing to whatever music she’d piped through her earbuds. He watched her sway and wiggle. He imagined her having a similar rhythm while naked. He shook the thoughts off to focus. Going there wasn’t a good idea.
He waited until she paused and looked up, ready for his help. Her gaze met his, her eyes wide and friendly beneath lowered lashes. She was flirting with him, but he still had that nagging feeling about her. Or at least her project. Something felt off about it. He just couldn’t pinpoint it.
So, the faster he could get her out of his environment, the better off he’d be. He wasn’t sure how long he could ignore the constant pulse of attraction between them. It’d be one thing if it was one-sided, but her obvious flirting made it more difficult.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep.” She tapped her earbud again and waited for him to come around to her side of the table. They worked in tandem, slightly awkward, but smoother than earlier. When his hand closed over hers to guide the movements, she released a heavy breath.
Ignoring her sounds, he focused on the glass. For the first time, he studied the topper. A new niggling feeling tapped him. Something was vaguely familiar about this. Then he shook his head. He’d seen all of her earlier versions, so of course, this looked familiar. This one was better, though, in some way.
A customer probably wouldn’t notice it because it was more of a feeling he had, but this was the best one.
As she held out the mitts to catch the finished product, she stared at the topper in awe. “It’s damn near perfect. I can’t believe it.”
“That’s what happens when you slow down.”
“I get it. I do. But patience is hard.” Cradling the topper in her hands, she walked to the annealer.
He opened the door and she carefully set it down next to the others.
After he closed the door, she said, “Now what?”
“Do you plan to make another?”
She swung her arms wide and up over her head, looking a little silly with the huge mitts still on her hands. Then she shook her head. “I don’t think I have another one in me tonight.”
“Understandable. It’s tough when you’re not used to it.”
“Think the plows have come through yet?”
He lifted a shoulder. He hoped so because staying here with her when she had nothing to do wasn’t a wise choice.
She dropped the mitts on the table and made her way back to the front of the store. “Shit. It looks even worse.”
He followed her and looked out the window. It was bad—like whiteout bad. He pulled out his phone. “There’s still an alert telling people to stay at home. Plows are working, but it’s slow.”
“Damn. I’m really sorry about this.”
“You can control the weather? I had no idea.”
She smiled. “You know what I mean. You’re trapped here because of me.”
“I was already here and planned to be late to get the window done.” He sighed. “Bronte lives in the apartment upstairs. We can go up there to wait it out.”
“I don’t want to be an inconvenience. I can just wait here.”
