AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Collin?” I called out when I walked inside the storefront. It was way too quiet for anyone to actually be here.
Thanks to the recent deliveries of drywall and lumber, it was like a dangerous maze inside. I ducked between a few pallets of supplies and continued further into the building then up the stairs. When I reached the landing, I froze.
Instead of the usual mess of drywall dust and supplies, it had been cleaned completely. The floors were still rough and unfinished but it had been swept clean.
Someone had set up a table and chairs, covered it in a white linen and two place settings, along with a tall candle that was already lit.
“Collin?” I called again, stunned at how sweet this was. After our talk and Micah’s not so nice pep talk, he had finally started to move past friendly to flirty.
“Welcome, my lady,” Collin’s voice was low and sultry and I turned around to see him standing in a full suit. His dark brown hair was brushed back and he’d gone all out with a bouquet of roses in his hand.
“This is the first time anyone has ever gotten me flowers,” I said with a soft smile on my face. “You did all this for me?”
“You’re worth it,” he said with such conviction tears burned behind my eyes. He moved forward, cupping my face in his free hand and leaning in. He moved slow enough I could pull away if I wanted to but there was no chance of that. Instead, I leaned up and met his lips.
The kiss was soft and sweet at first until he deepened it, his tongue teasing along the seam of my lips until I parted for him. Collin’s tongue danced with mine, tasting me as if he couldn’t get enough. I’d never been kissed until breathless before and I wanted more.
My body arched into his and my fingers clenched into the lapels of his suit, pulling him closer and demanding more.
Of course, that’s when he backed away. He chuckled lightly at my groan of protest.
“We don’t want our food to get cold.”
He walked over the table and pulled one chair out for me. I sat dutifully, letting him help push it in before he walked away.
There was a table in the back set up and he snagged two salads and a basket of breadsticks, delivering it before grabbing two huge plates of spaghetti and meatballs.
“You cooked this? It looks amazing.”
“A little bird told me it was your favorite. I did my research.” He gave me a wink as he laid his napkin over his lap.
It was like Collin was in his element. He was confident and proud of what he had done for me, but also like he was fully giving in. He’d finally given himself permission to move forward and was embracing it wholeheartedly. It made him lighter, like he’d shrugged the burden off of his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, I even put a stack of mints over there in case we need it after this,” he joked. On the table sat a bowl of mints and a pack of gum.
“Always a must for a date that includes garlic,” I chuckled as I dug into the food. I was starving and it smelled incredible.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“Well, good news, we had the plumber and electrician come in. They gave us the quotes and it was way under what we expected,” he continued on, giving me a rundown of the day’s work. “I’ve honestly never had a flip go this smooth.”
“You better knock on some wood right now,” I told him with a playful glare. “It’s like one of those unspoken things. You never say how good things are going.”
“Nah, I believe in manifesting for myself,” he said. I stared at him and knocked on the table for him. His laughter that followed had my own following easily. It was like I was seeing a new side of Collin, one who wasn’t overthinking.
“Thank you for doing this. It was already a really good day and this is taking it over the top,” I said.
“What happened earlier to make it good?” he questioned as he twirled his spaghetti onto his fork.
I launched into a detailed recounting of everything Walter had done. Clearly, it wasn’t just me stunned by the gesture. Collin’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when I got to the part about splitting revenue and contracts.
“That’s amazing, Ellie. Who knows, maybe it’ll take off and you can be the one to buy this store,” he gestured around at the building.
“I wish,” I joked as I pointed a breadstick at him.
“You know, we’re mates,” Collin said thoughtfully. “But I know barely anything about you other than what I heard from Micah. What led you to leave for the city?”
“If you’ve talked to Micah then you know my parents,” I said with a shrug. “It was my escape. I thought I’d have more luck in the city but I’m realizing pretty easily, now that I’m in Lockwood, that it wasn’t the city that I needed, just escaping them. I’ve only been here a few weeks and I already have friends, people I care about, and I feel like I actually fit in somewhere.”
