Page 66 of The One You Want

Chapter 16

Late the next afternoon, I hurried across town square, the green crowded with the first stages of set-up, worried I was going to be late to meetGrant.

I wasn’t very proud of my behavior that day. I woke up sick with nerves, spent the next eight hours second-guessing the entire thing, and, in the end, almost chickened out entirely. I even went so far as to type out a dozen text messages to Grant, explaining my absence, before deleting every singleone.

Eventually, about an hour ago, right in the middle of texting out my latest soon-to-be-deleted excuse, Grant textedme, surprising me so much I almost dropped myphone.

Grant:You know I can see the little dots bouncing every time you type & delete atext.

I should have been embarrassed at being caught out—instead, I felt laughter bubbling up in mychest.

Me:Does that mean you’ve been staring at our open messagethread?

Grant:You caughtme.

There was a pause and this time, I watched the text dotsbouncing.

Grant:Stop stressing yourself out. Come help me move some boxes 2 the square, & when I’m done working I’ll buy you something fried from a vendor & we can drink Cora’s mulled cider for the rest of the night. Nothing 2 be scaredabout.

I swallowed a thick lump in my throat. He knew me so well and something about that filled me with warmth—warmth and confidence. Enough confidence that I finally set my phone aside and went into the bathroom to do my hair and apply a touch ofmakeup.

I arrived at Grant’s shop with a minute to spare and spent that time watching him through the front window. There was a line inside and he was busy wrapping flowers while Kia handled the register. He said something to the customer at the front of the line, making her laugh as he handed off herflowers.

He was so good at his job. Whether talking softly to his flowers or interacting with customers, it was fun to watch. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he looked insanely handsome justthen.

When did I start to find flannel shirts so damnsexy?

He looked up and saw me standing there and I swear to God, his entire face lit up. My insides lit up right along with it. How was it that a guy like him could look so excited about seeing a girl likeme?

He waved me inside so I pushed open the glass door, hearing the familiar sound of the wind chimes ringing as I entered the shop. As always, the place smelled amazing. I was getting better at picking out the different flower scents—jasmine and liliestoday.

I didn’t think I would ever be able to smell flowers and not think aboutGrant.

“I’m just helping to get the line thinned out,” he called over to me. “Then we can headover.”

“Want me to get started with aload?”

His response was immediate and firm. “Wait forme.”

Well, okay then. I couldn’t quite suppress the smile his words drew up as I wandered the store, looking at his display cases. Grant wasn’t just good at growing flowers—he was incredibly talented when it came to arrangements and that creativity was evident in the lush displays covering every possible surface in thestore.

“Ready?” he asked, appearing at my side. Was I imagining it or was he standing closer to me than usual? I smiled, trying to banish the nerves that were suddenly blooming in my belly, and gave him anod.

We loaded up two flower carts in companionable silence. Every so often, I’d look over and catch his eye and we’d both grin like silly teenagers. I couldn’t help but feel there was something growing between us, that same cord I’d imagined the other night, growing more taut with every minute that passed in each other’s presence. I wondered what would happen when the cord finallysnapped.

By the time we made it to the square with the first load of flowers, set-up was in full swing. A few yards away, Cora and Owen hauled big vats of her cider onto a table. Libby was a few yards farther down, arranging wine bottles and trays of crackers for the cheese I was sure she’d be bringing out soon. To go along with the harvest theme, the Powell twins were setting up hay bales around the square and David and Iris tied dried cornstalks to all lightposts.

Fran was there too, arranging fudge under a clear glass display case—she went rigid when she saw me, probably terrified of what I might do to her precious product, so I gave her a sheepish wave and a wide berth while Grant snickered next tome.

It took a few trips back and forth to get the booth set up and by the time we were finished, tourists and residents were beginning to fill the square. String lights flickered overhead as the sky turned steadily darker. There was a bonfire set up in the center of the green, close to Grant’s table, and I could hear the crackling sound of fire mixing with the happy buzz of conversation. Down at the gazebo, a bluegrass band was setting up. They’d be performing later but for now, the soft strains of jazz music drifted from speakers around thegreen.

“This is nice,” Grant said, gaze sweeping thearea.

To my eyes, the square looked pretty much exactly how it had looked at countless festivals, if a little more autumn themed. The Harvest Fest was literally the tenth festival we’d had this yearalone.

But it was also the first festival I’d enjoyed at Grant’s side, and that made it feel different from the others. “It’s very nice,” I agreedsoftly.

“One of the last festivals of the year,” he pointed out. Then he looked at me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “We should make the most ofit.”