“Yes, thanks. It looks like textiles are in that far row.”
Cole dutifully followed her as she explored. Siena wound up with a few table runners but then found a booth with unique knitted throw blankets.
“I need these.” She blurted it out but then realized she didn’t know what she needed them for. She was supposed to be finding pieces to decorate the space. They didn’t need blankets. Unless…
After another two hours of shopping and careful rearranging, Siena wound up with two chairs that she planned to paint and a chest of drawers to redo. She’d put the blankets on the chairs, and the chest of drawers could hold Vivian Blackwood camisoles and other basics. The blankets, well, there was no reason to have a dozen. But Siena bought the entire lot on display.
She also found an artist that had lovely botanical watercolors for sale.
“These would be perfect against the brick walls with those gold frames we saw over there.”
Cole and Siena made trip after trip.
Finally, Cole had reached the limit. Rather, his truck did. They couldn’t fit a single added item in the back.
“If you need more, we may have to drop off this stuff and come back,” Cole said. He climbed down from the truck after assuring her everything was a secure as it could be.
“I think we’re good. Oh, wait, can we go to that last booth over there? I just want to look at the prints they’re selling.”
Cole looked at Siena and narrowed his eyes, then he perused the state of the pickup. “Okay, I mean, if they’re narrow, we could slide them right here.”
“Yes!”
Cole laughed at her enthusiasm, but he was game to help. Maybe she’d help expunge any bad flea market memories with this trip.
Cole and Siena made one more trek across the barn.
“You’re confident.”
“What?”
“You seem to know exactly what pieces you want, and boom, you decide.”
“Well, I have a vision for what the store could look like. I want shoppers to come and feel peaceful, welcomed, but also envious!”
“What?”
“They need to want the vibe we create for their own lives. That’s the key.”
“I get it. I mean, I don’t get it, but I get it. And believe me, it’s nice to see the decisiveness. I had no idea all this went into selling women’s outfits.”
It probably didn’t, but this was the first time she’d set up a boutique. She could only go by her instincts.
“I take it your date was not decisive the last time you were here.”
“No, nice enough, girl, but honestly, we stood in each booth forever. She’d load up stuff, and put it back, and load it and put it back. I apologized to vendor after vendor for the amount of time she took and didn’t buy. That part was rude, in my estimation.”
“Ah, well, that’s not my issue. I know what I know and like what I like.”
“Me too,” Cole said.
All of a sudden, Siena realized they might not be talking about shopping. She blushed but decided to soldier on. She liked Cole, and he was the first dateable male she had spent any time with in almost a year. She took a risk. “Well, good, because I think we’re going to go on a date.”
Cole smiled.
Man, he had a nice smile.
“I like your thinking,” he replied, “but can it be other than a flea market?”
