Page 28 of The Birchwood House

Audrey glanced over her shoulder when she heard his footsteps, and she froze when she realized who he was.

“Oh. Hi.” Her tone was hesitant, but polite, and she offered him a small smile.

“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “How have you been?”

“Um, good. How about you?”

“Fine, fine.”

For a few moments, they stood there blinking at each other. Neither of them really seemed to know what to say. Evan felt an impulse rise in him, growing stronger and stronger. He fought it off until he saw her tuck her hair behind her ear, and the charm of the gesture caused his resistance to melt away.

“I have a question for you,” he said, taking a half-step toward her. “Since you declined my offer of having dinner with me, I was wondering if you might consider doing something else together. There’s a special evening flea market at The Seagull’s Nest Antiques tonight. Would you be interested in going with me?”

Audrey’s lips parted and then she closed them again. “Well, I?—”

Evan could feel himself turning pink. “If you’d rather not, that’s quite all right. I just thought I’d extend the invitation.”

“It’s not that.” She bit her lip. “It’s just—well, you were asking me out of pity, weren’t you? I told you my sob story and you felt bad for me.”

Evan’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t—I mean, it’s a far cry from feeling sorry to—” He cleared his throat, feeling hot all over and uncomfortably certain that he was blushing. “I do feel badly that you’ve been going through what you’re going through. But I definitely didn’t ask you out of pity.”

“Oh.” Audrey’s lips slowly curved upward into a smile.

“But I do feel that we got off on the wrong foot,” Evan continued, feeling his jitters subside a little. “And I was wondering if, since we’ll need to work together a substantial amount in order to turn Elaine’s home into a historical site, we could start fresh.”

Audrey’s eyes flickered over his face, and her expression was both curious and uncertain. After a few moments, during which Evan’s heart continued to pound, she smiled.

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand to him for a handshake. “I’m Audrey. Nice to meet you.”

He laughed, charming by her literal interpretation of “starting fresh.”

“I’m Evan McBride, very nice to meet you. I like what you’ve done with your hair.”

“Really? How come? It’s not like we’ve ever met before, you don’t have any idea what it used to look like.” She arched a brow.

He laughed. “Very true. How foolish of me.”

“And to answer your question,” she said, pausing and taking a quick breath. “Yes. I would like that.”

“Well. Great. Very good.” Evan found that he was smiling widely. “I’ll see you later this evening, then.”

“Yes.” She smiled almost shyly at him and turned back to the bakery counter to make an order. After she’d paid for the doughnuts she was buying, she waved at Evan a little before slipping out of the bakery.

He watched her go, his mind buzzing with half-formed thoughts. It was several moments before the woman standing behind the counter gently cleared her throat.

“Ah, yes.” He stepped forward. “I’ll take a hand pie, please.”

It wasn’t until he was back outside in the fresh air that he realized that his heart felt lighter than it had in years.

* * *

Audrey hurried along the sidewalk toward the Seagull’s Nest Antiques, her blood rushing along at lightning speed in her veins. She smoothed down her hair, which looked particularly lush and curly because she’d spent almost an hour getting it that way. She glanced down at her flats, noting that because they were a touch glossy they still looked elegant. She hadn’t wanted to wear high heels to a flea market since she knew she’d be doing a lot of standing and strolling, and she also hadn’t wanted to appear too fancy. After all, she didn’t know just how romantic of a date it was.

I can’t believe I agreed to this,she thought, letting out a breathless laugh as she neared the door of the antique store.Last I checked in with myself, I was determined not to carewhat Evan McBride thought of me, and the next thing I know I’m jumping at the opportunity to go out on a date with him.

Butterflies fluttered in her chest, and an unconscious smile spread across her face. Even though Evan had been grumpy and rude to her, and even though she still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d decided to ask her out, she’d experienced a peaceful feeling after he’d asked her. She was drawn to him in ways she couldn’t quite explain, and she was realizing that the more he blushed and the more he smiled, the more attracted she was becoming to him.

She tugged open the door of the antique shop, feeling excited about getting a chance to talk to Evan outside of bickering about property permits, but at the same time feeling as though she had no idea what to expect from the evening. Who was Evan McBride away from his office and his stacks of paperwork? She had a funny feeling that even he didn’t know the answer to that.