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She laughs, then turns and locks up her shop.
“Done for the day?”
“I have to go pick up Bailey,” she says, hiking a purse up her shoulder. “I get so few walk-ins anyway, and most of my clients know to book in advance.” Her smile is a bit brittle. “Although, with my new rent increase, I might have to figure out some way to stay open for longer hours to try to drum up some more business.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. That’s life, isn’t it?” She gives me a wry smile. “I signed up for that Blind Date app. So far, nothing, but maybe I’ll meet a man who can take care of all my money troubles while somehow still respecting my independence.”
“A girl can dream,” I answer, laughing.
We head over to pick up the kids. Mia’s daughter is with a group of older kids who look exhausted from sunshine and physical activity. Nate and Alec are little bundles of energy, thrusting drawings into my hands and telling me all about their new friends. I drove my sister’s car here, so I load the kids up in their car seats and take them home. Mia waves at me, smiling tentatively, and I wonder if she’s been as lonely as I have. We all need more friendships in our lives.
The next few hours are busy, with little boy-shaped tornadoes pulling everything apart. My sister arrives looking flushed and happy and tells me all about the decisions she made for the gallery. We have an early dinner, watch the sunset from my back patio, then head to bed.
For the first time since I talked to Sebastian at the dog park, I feel like I might actually get a good night’s sleep. When I’m lying back, replaying the events of the day in my head, my phone buzzes.
Sebastian:Good night, Sweet Peach ??
Georgia:What will it cost me to have you stop calling me that?
Sebastian:You don’t want to know.
I fall asleep with a smile on my face.
19
SEBASTIAN
Renovatingthe gallery is a fairly straightforward project, but I still feel nervous about it. This is important. I want to see Georgia’s eyes light up when she walks in, feel her arms around my neck when she hugs me in appreciation.
It’s a couple of days after I met up with Georgia here, and Grant has handed over the project to me. I work with a nineteen-year-old laborer named Layne who’s saving up for college. Electricians and plumbers have started today, and there’s a hum in the air. I direct workers to various tasks and field phone calls from subcontractors for the first half of the day.
It’s nice to be useful. The energy in here is different from what I feel when I’m creating a sculpture, but it’s still inspiring. Classic rock blasts through a Bluetooth speaker in the corner while we work, the buzz in the air infectious. We’re all here, working toward a shared goal. The men laugh and joke with each other, and we do our best to get things done.
Until Georgia walks in.
As soon as she steps through the open door, every single head turns to watch. A dark, caveman urge rises inside me at the sight of all those men salivating over her, needing to stake my claim, to protect the woman who’s given herself to me.
She raises a big white box to show it off. “I bought pastries from Four Cups. Anyone hungry?”
“Hell yeah!” Layne answers, loping toward her. “Thanks.”
She puts the box down on a collapsible worktable and flips it open, smiling at the men who come inspect the goodies.
I hate how close they are to her. I hate that one of the electricians says something to make her laugh. I want to beat my chest like a silverback gorilla and tell them to back off and keep their eyes to themselves. If one of them touches her, I might end up tearing his arms off.
Resisting the urge to make a fool of myself, I straighten from where I’d been replacing a piece of subfloor and see Georgia’s expression soften into a genuine smile—because she’s looking at me.
And just like that, everything’s okay in the world. Those smiles are mine—she doesn’t give them to anyone else. That softness in her eyes belongs only to me.
Her legs are clad in loose-fitting jeans, and her slouchy T-shirt does nothing to hide the gorgeous body beneath. I meet her halfway across the room.
“Hey,” I grunt, tongue too thick to say much more. She’s so beautiful it hurts.
Her eyes sparkle. “Hey, yourself. How are things going this morning?”
“All on track,” I report. “Busy today with all the subbies, but we should make pretty quick progress. The electricians will finish the rough-in by the end of next week, so they’ll need detailed plans for the lighting ASAP.”
