Chapter Six
“Look at this one! Isn’t it gorgeous?” Leah ran her fingers along the rim of the oblong serving platter with its intricately carved pedestal. She’d been hesitant to touch any of the pieces they’d come across, but the store’s proprietor assured her it was okay. “The craftsmanship is extraordinary. Do you know how much patience it takes to create something like this?”
When Caleb didn’t answer, Leah looked over to find his eyes practically glazing over.
“Caleb?”
He blinked several times. “I’m sorry. What?”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said with a laugh. “I’m boring you to death.”
“I’m not bored.”
“Oh, of course you’re not.” She rolled her eyes. “Now I see why you’ve never played a game of poker in your life. You have a terrible poker face.” She smiled to let him know she was only teasing. “I’ll admit pottery isn’t the most fascinating subject in the world, but it has done wonders for me.”
His brow dipped with his frown as he drew up next to her. “How so?”
“It’s the perfect stress reliever. My life can get pretty chaotic, especially at work.”
And when she was with her family. And especially when she was with Derrick.
It had not escaped Leah that she’d felt a lot less tense these past two days. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. But the type of tension she’d felt around Caleb was different. It was the kind that made her heart beat faster in anticipation, not anxiety.
“So, instead of knocking back a couple of drinks after work, you make pottery?” Caleb asked.
“Healthier choice, wouldn’t you say?” She hunched one shoulder. “I know it sounds strange, but there’s something therapeutic about sliding my fingers through the wet clay.”
“It doesn’t sound strange at all,” Caleb said. “If it works for you, go for it.”
Leah stared at him for several moments, thunderstruck by the contrast in attitude. “That’s a refreshing take,” she said. “And very different from what I’m used to hearing whenever I talk about my love for pottery.”
“Let me guess, Mr. Lexus wasn’t a fan?”
“Uh, no. Definitely not. I couldn’t get Derrick to come to a single class with me. He said it was too messy. Whenever I talked about going to my favorite studio, he would come up with something else for us to do. I haven’t sat down at a pottery wheel in months.”
Caleb huffed out a disgusted grunt. “I know you were engaged to him, so I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but that guy’s an asshole.”
She chuckled as they continued on to the rear of the antiques store.
“I’m sure I can come up with at least a dozen other things that make Derrick an asshole, but I’m not sure dodging a pottery class counts as one.”
“Bullshit,” Caleb said. “Of course it counts. Because it’s not just saying no to a pottery class. It’s saying no to going to a pottery class withyou. The guy didn’t know how good he had it.”
“Are you saying you would come to the pottery studio with me?”
“Hell yes,” he said. “Do you remember the scene in that movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore where they’re working with the clay? I’d give anything to recreate that with you.”
Leah’s heart stuttered in her chest. She sucked in a swift breath as she stared at Caleb with confused disbelief.
“I just don’t get it,” she murmured. “Were you just that good at hiding how you’ve felt all this time, or am I just clueless?”
One brow arched as he backed himself into a cubby between two display shelves and leaned against the knotted-pine paneling. “You do recall what I do for a living, don’t you?”
He worked undercover. Of course he was good at hiding his feelings.
“I didn’t want it to seem as if I was coming on too strong, too soon,” he explained. “Tell me you wouldn’t have freaked out if I’d asked you out a week after moving in next door.”
“Yes, I would have,” Leah said. “But that’s another thing I don’t understand. You said you’ve been attracted to me since the first day you met me, but you didn’t even know me then. So was it just your basic, run-of-the-mill lust?”
