“Great. I’ll come tomorrow.” I stepped closer to the schedule and to Glory, not ready to leave yet. “What class do you have today?”
“Paint Your Own Fairy Garden,” Glory responded. She glanced at me, the playfulness back in her eyes. “That one is very popular and fills up fast. If you want to come, you might have to fight a little girl for a seat.”
I smiled and stepped closer. I couldn’t help it. Her expression was drawing me in. “I think I’ll pass this time,” I said. “Although, something like that would certainly make agood conversation piece whenever people came over to my apartment.”
To my delight, Glory stepped closer to me and my heart started racing. “You wouldn’t believe how many amazing conversations I’ve had that were sparked by fairy art,” she joked, her voice soft and inviting.
We stood there for several seconds, just letting energy and emotion pass between us. I knew that I should have felt awkward, but instead I felt absolutely content.
Suddenly a blender sounded and we instinctively stepped apart. I looked over at the counter and saw a tall, brightly dressed woman serving two teenage girls.
I turned back to Glory. “Okay, I guess I’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”
“Great,” she responded. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“You are?” I asked, unable to keep myself from smiling.
“Yeah. I want to see how bad you are at drawing.”
“I promise you that my severe lack of artistic skill will astound you.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, laughing.
“It was nice to meet you, Glory.”
“It was nice to meet you too...” she replied, looking at me expectantly.
At that moment, I had a choice to make, and I made a bad one. “Clayton. My name is Clayton,” I lied.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Clayton,” Glory said, giving me a smile that made me want to kiss her on the spot. I still didn’t really want to leave, but lingering would have been weird, and the woman at the counter was calling Glory over to help with the growing line of customers.
“See you tomorrow,” I said. I headed to the door and turned to get one more look at her before I left.
I got back in my rental car and sat there, trying to gather my thoughts. Why had I lied about who I was? I had to admit that a part of me was scared about how she would react. But I also wanted some questions answered. There was a reason our correspondence had ended all those years ago. I felt like I needed to test the waters for a bit before I told her who I really was.
I sighed. Maybe this would all end in disaster, but I was beyond excited that I had found Glory Parker, and I couldn’t wait to see her again.
Chapter Nineteen: Glory
I had just helped Yvonne serve the last customer of the lunch rush and was wiping down the counter when she turned and peered at me intently.
“Who was that guy?”
I kept wiping the counter. “Just some loser named Clayton,” I replied, but the corners of my mouth twitched upwards as I said it, betraying my nonchalant attitude.
“Oh no, no no no,” Yvonne insisted, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to look at her. “A loser is a greasy guy who lives with his mother and sits in the corner so he can view your backside while you’re washing the paintbrushes. No,thatwas the most gorgeous man I have ever laid eyes on, and more importantly, you were actually having a conversation with him, which I have never seen you do.”
“Yeah, well, he was...” I struggled to find the words to describe him.
“Hot? Sexy?” Yvonne offered. “A Harry Potter supermodel?”
I made a face. “You think he looked like Harry Potter?”
“Yeah, with that dark hair and those green eyes and that strong jaw and those broad shoulders, and that indescribable quality that makes you want to stay up all night reading his story...”
Yvonne drifted off, apparently lost in some fantasy. The Harry Potter reference stirred a memory, but I pushed it out of my mind. I started to sneak back toward the kitchen, but suddenly Yvonne snapped back to reality.
“Hold on! I’m not done with you!” She exclaimed, pointing her finger at me. “How long have you known him? Are you two dating?”
