Will stops next to me, our shoulders almost touching. Two ducks land on the water, sending ripples toward the shore. A smile crosses my lips.
When I turn, Will’s watching me. He lifts a corner of his mouth, and my cheeks warm. I’m not quite sure why.
Squaring my shoulders, I wave him on. “Come on, Jameson. We’ve got an archway to assemble.”
I can play nice with Will. For Ava’s sake, of course.
He crosses his arms and rocks back on his heels. “Did you just last-name me? Only my baseball coach does that.”
I reach into the box and pull out two pieces of the golden contraption. “Sure did. And what does Will stand for? Wilbur?” I raise a brow. “Wilma?”
He smirks, letting his arms fall. “It’s William, if you must know. And what about Morgan? What’s that from? Maybe…the morgue?”
I make a face. “You need to work on your jokes.”
He laughs, kneeling on the box’s other side. “Yeah, not my best work.”
“And, no.” I pick up another bit of archway. “But that’s where you’ll end up if you don’t help me with this.”
His head snaps up, and he releases a low whistle. “Speaking of bad jokes…and death threats.”
I laugh this time. “You’re right. Enough with the subpar humor. Let’s get to work.” I place the two pieces on the floor. “Maybe we lay everything out and see if we can tell where they fit together?”
“Sounds good.”
We spend the next forty-five minutes unloading the box, spreading the golden metal pieces in an arc shape, and then fitting them together.
As we work, we talk about our families—he has two sisters who will arrive with his parents for the wedding tomorrow, and I’m an only child. Our favorite sports—his is baseball, and mine is volleyball. Our future plans—he’s headed to OU to study engineering, and I have no idea. Our church youth groups—mine, big, his, small. And more. I’ve almost forgotten Leo’s unanswered text in my pocket. Almost.
I try not to, but I find myself watching Will when he’s not looking. I’m distracted and entertained by the determined tilt to his brow and the satisfied smile that crosses his lips each time he finds a place for one of the shining pieces. He almost cheers when we stand the archway upright and, with the intricate golden vines woven together, it doesn’t fall over.
He’s cute when he’s focused. Yikes! Where’dthatunwanted thought come from?
He catches my grin, then frowns at the metal piece in his hand. “What?”
“You’re enjoying this.”
“Maybe.” He holds up a hand and pinches two fingers together. “A little.”
When he affixes the piece onto the archway and lets out an exaggerated whoop, I can’t help but chuckle. “Only a little?”
“It’s like we’re playing an intense game of high-stakes wedding Tetris. No instructions. No rules. No option to fail.” He lifts both palms. “What’s not to love?”
I shake my head. “Whatever you say.”
The golden archway comes together, but just when I think we’re done, I find an odd piece still nestled in the box. I pick it up and rotate it in my hands.
“Uh, Will?” I say, holding up the mysterious piece. “Any ideas?”
He squints at it. “No. What’d we do wrong?” He takes it from me and walks around the archway. “Maybe here? No, that’s not it.”
We spend several intense minutes trying to figure out where it’s intended to fit. The crease between his brow deepens.
I bite my lips to keep from smiling at his obvious frustration.
“What?” he says again.
“This is driving you crazy.”
