Page 13 of Tangled with the Tight End

Babysitting, lawn work, dog walking?

Call Winona.

I’m not a green thumb, but I can trim bushes or pull weeds. I’ll take each job as it comes. If they come. Daisy seems to think I’ll be swamped with calls.

I turn around, a bubbly feeling in my chest. This just might work. And I’ll be able to help people—which I love.

When I turn, I smack right into a wall—of man. My head tips up, eyes roving from his sizable chest to his chin to his half smile and then those piercing hazel eyes framed by dark brows, as dark as his hair.

“Declan! Sorry! I didn’t see you.”

He chuckles softly. It’s a deep rumble, and the bubbly feeling turns into a low boil, warming my cheeks with the heat of embarrassment.

“No problem,” he says.

“I’ll just …” I step to the left to go around him just as he sidesteps to the left to make room for me to pass on the other side.

We laugh a nervous, slightly awkward laugh.

We? No. That’s just me.

Declan’s laugh is amused.

He steps to the right just as I move to pass through the space he had left there.

“Okay. Let’s try this again,” he says, placing his hands on my upper arms and guiding me around his left side while he steps to the right.

His hands are big, strong, and slightly calloused.

I slip past and turn, muttering, “Thanks.”

For what? I don’t know.

“You’re welcome?” The words come out like a question.

“Okay. See you around,” I say with a wave.

A wave? No. I’m wiggling my fingers like my hand fell asleep.

I turn and speed walk out of the deli.

Winona for Hire.

Oh, yeah. Hire me and my two left feet.

I sit in the driver’s seat of my car, staring into the deli, regaining my composure one breath at a time. My heart rate slowly resumes its normal cadence.

Winona for Hire. Yes. This is a good idea.

I just have to look where I’m going. That’s all.

Declan walks out carrying a paper bag. His eyes meet mine and he waves. Not with fingers. No. His wave is polished, confident, almost sexy. Not that I think he is sexy—he is, of course, but not for me. He’s generically sexy, in a public figure sort of way. Like a movie star or some other unattainable human being who is so gorgeous they surpass mere mortals.

Blowing out a breath, I turn the key and drive to the bakery to post my second Winona for Hire poster. And then I make it back to the bookshop without further incident.

And Daisy was right. The calls and texts start flowing in that evening. By the next day, I’ve got jobs lined up and I’ve even installed an online scheduler for people to book me.

By the time my friends and I are standing in the parking lot outside the actual Tennessee Thunder game-day stadium almost a week later, I’ve got enough odd jobs scheduled to last me the coming two weeks.