I blinked at him in confusion. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “You seemed uncomfortable when you were speaking to her.”
I couldn’t deny it, so I shrugged and looked down at the toes of my dirty sneakers. “There was something unsettling about her, that’s all. But thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We stood in my front yard in silence for a long moment. “Your garden truly is beautiful,” he said. After he spoke, a light breeze picked up and made the wooden and metal wind chimes hanging from the oak tree sing. “It’s almost as if it belongs in a different world.”
“Thank you. That’s exactly what I want it to be.”
Once again neither of us said anything else for a few seconds. Just when I was about to excuse myself and hide inside, he focused his eyes on me. The color startled me for a moment. They were brilliantly blue and piercing, as though he could see into my soul. Which he technically could, I realized.
“Would you go somewhere with me this afternoon?” he asked.
Unable to resist, I teased, “Do you need help buying a refrigerator or a laptop?”
Rhys smiled. “No, I discovered a beautiful place and I think you would enjoy it.”
Seeing the dimples in his cheeks, I couldn’t say no, even though I was still a little upset I hadn’t heard from him in a week.
“Let me go change.”
