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She was all he’d been able to think about since that first night in her coffee shop when he’d tried to sneak away without being seen. He should have known better. But another part of him wanted this success so badly. He’d worked so hard, for so long, and now all his work was paying off. Could he just throw all that away?
Could he give up on it now that he was so close to being a success?
He went up into his studio and started packing up all his canvases. He stopped in front of the canvas of Spooky and lifted the sheet. Roni’s Christmas present. He took a moment to add the finishing touches, just in case he didn’t make it back by Christmas. He’d make sure to have his mother deliver it.
But he really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
He wanted to give it to her himself. To see her face when she opened it.
Luckily, he didn’t have to make any decisions right now. All he’d agreed to was returning to Denver for this one event. Once he got back to his apartment and away from Pineville, away from Roni and all the bittersweet memories, he’d make up his mind then.
One thing was certain, there would be no turning back this time.
His mom was right. He had to be certain of what he wanted and where he wanted to be.
Before he broke anyone’s heart, including his own.
CHAPTER18
Although she tried not to, Roni couldn’t stop thinking about Jimmy all week. Especially after that kiss. Every night she lay in bed thinking, was it for real? Did he feel the same as she did? Joyous? Scared? Nervous? Thrilled!
Why hadn’t he called?
All she’d heard from him was a quick text.
She looked at it again, as if the words could give her the answers to her questions if she kept staring at them hard enough.
“Working on my paintings. Won’t see you for a couple days, but I’ll be thinking about you.”
Roni kept reading the text over and over. She had to stop.
She wouldn’t call. Wouldn’t email or message. It had to be him. He had the decision to make. But it was a hard week. So instead of dwelling on Jimmy, she focused on getting everything ready for the festival.
The morning of the big day, she woke with a smile on her face. She would see Jimmy today. Brianna and Owen arrived to help her transport her pop-up canopy, her tables, and decorations to set up her booth.
“Have you heard from Jimmy?” she asked Owen as soon as she saw him.
“No. Should I have?”
Roni sighed. “I just haven’t seen him all week and have been wondering what’s going on.”
“I’m sure he’s just busy getting all his art ready for the festival,” Owen said and picked up a table to carry it outside.
“Is he still going to set up a booth?” Brianna asked.
Roni shrugged. “I’m not sure. I thought he was.”
“Call him.” Brianna picked up a box.
“I want to, but I don’t want to be pushy or clingy,” Roni admitted. “I don’t want him to know I can’t stop thinking about him, and I don’t want to fall back into communicating that way. He needs to be the one to call.”
“Okay, well, he said he would be here, so he’ll be here. Let’s focus on getting your booth set up and if we still haven’t heard from him by this afternoon, I’ll call him to ask if I should save him a spot.” Brianna carried her box out the door.
“Perfect.” Roni grinned and followed her with all her decorations. “I can’t wait for you to see what I’ve done this year. My whole booth is going to be an explosion of peppermint.”
They spent the next several hours setting up her booth, Jimmy’s, Jenni’s, and Candy’s booths all next to each other to get ready for the big event.
“Now he has to come,” Brianna said, admiring their handiwork.
