“Hmm,” he murmured. He’d always had one foot in two different worlds, but that had just changed. There was only this woman andthisworld. It was time to find her some sparkles.
Chapter12
When Serenity arrived at the hardware store, Verna had already swept up the glass, and Vance happily used his trusty drill to install a shiny new door. Bullet holes dotted the siding above it still. Serenity wiped snow off her hair and hustled inside with Rory right behind her. “Where did you guys find a door already?”
Vance looked over his shoulder and winked. “We ran over to Spokane to the glass and hardwood store after calling Bruno to open up hours early. He did so after hearing what happened here and had one in stock.”
Bruno was a good guy, and they often swapped items if needed. “Oh, Vance,” she said, squeezing his arm. “Thank you. That was nice of you.”
Verna chuckled. “We almost have the place back to rights.” She pointed at one row of shelves. “Except for those. I put all the bolts and the screws into one bucket. We’ll have to separate them.”
“I can do that,” Serenity agreed, her heart warming. Guilt ticked through her. She owned the store and her employees shouldn’t have to work so hard. “You’ve done enough.”
Rory emerged next to her. “Let me help you with that, Vance,” he said, easily clasping the glass door so it wouldn’t fall over.
“Thanks.” Vance looked from Rory back to Serenity. “It’s good to see you, Rory.” He lifted an eyebrow.
Serenity’s face flushed with heat, so she ignored Verna’s low chuckle and hustled toward her office. “I’ll be right back.” What had she been thinking, sleeping with Rory again?
She reached her office, which was pretty much decorated as it had been in 1920. A calendar on the west wall showed the shipping schedule, a wide window framed the snowy mountains, a comfortable green chair rolled around, and a heavy wooden desk took center stage. The surface was chipped and scarred, but it had been there since the hardware store opened. In order to get it out of the room, she’d have to use a chainsaw, which she would never do.
She loved the tradition of the piece.
A picture of her with Rory that had once graced the desk now rested in the bottom drawer. She fleetingly wondered if she should bring it back out, but they hadn’t really settled anything. She tossed her purse onto the desk near the computer, hung her coat on a hook by the door, and then scrambled out to take care of the screws and bolts before Verna could.
“You all really didn’t have to come in so early,” she said.
Vance’s drill whirred happily. Since it was Saturday, he wore jeans and a green T-shirt instead of his banker uniform, making him look younger than his forty years.
Verna also wore jeans, but hers were decorated with bright pink swirls up the side. “We couldn’t leave you to clean this place up by yourself.” She looked around. “Although, it really wasn’t much of a mess. They probably just wanted the knives, huh?”
“I think so,” Serenity said. “I take it Sheriff Franco interviewed you?”
“Yeah, he was here first thing, as well,” Vance supplied. “He was concerned about the wooden cover they created as a door last night and wanted to double-check it. We arrived with the new glass one in time.”
Serenity lived in the best small town in the entire world. “I really appreciate you two,” Her shoulders finally relaxed. “Make sure you give me your receipts.”
“I’ll get them for you. They’re in the till now.” Verna dusted off her jeans. “Are you going to the Elks ball tonight for New Year’s Eve?”
“Yes,” Rory said before Serenity could answer.
She paused. It probably wasn’t fair to hold her to that promise, considering she’d agreed in the throes of an orgasm, but apparently, Rory Albertini was done playing fair. “I don’t have a thing to wear.” She lifted her chin.
His eyes sparkled. “You do. It’s being dropped off at your house right now.”
What the heck did that mean?
“Don’tyou think you should wear a tux? Or at least a suit?” Hana mumbled from the sofa, where she paged through one of the many bridal magazines Serenity had brought down for her to read. The cat snored on her good foot.
Rory glanced over his shoulder at his partner. Frankly, he was surprised she was still in place. The woman didn’t sit still for long, so she must be in pain. “We’re in Silverville,” he said. “Clean jeans and a button-down shirtisa tux.”
“Let me get this straight.” She flipped a page and then folded over the corner. “This one’s pretty,” she said. “The ladies get all dressed up, and the dudes wear jeans?”
He shrugged. “Everybody can wear jeans, but some people like to get dressed up. There may be a tux or two. There might be some shorts. Who knows? It’s Silverville. Serenity wanted to get dressed up.”
“You didn’t give her a choice. You took all the dresses out of her closet except the one.”
He grinned. Yeah, he had. “She wants to wear the one,” he said. “For some reason, she won’t let herself wear anything flashy, and that ends today.”
