This is enough. His friendship. His support.
I promised myself not to involve our feelings in this arrangement. Because mine are so much bigger than his could possibly be. I have no doubt now that he’s attracted to me. That’s as far as this thing between us goes.
We’ll have our secret, no strings attached fun, then we’ll walk away once the snow melts.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yes. Thanks for keeping my head on straight.”
He captures my gaze, his green irises swimming with something that makes my pulse flutter. My attention falls to his mouth. Am I moving in or is he doing that?
The alarm on my phone goes off, making me gasp. My pulse speeds up as I silence it.
It’s time.
I sit cross-legged on the pavement, pulling up the draft of my online store. Jittery butterflies fill me. Moment of truth.
“What’s that for?” He drops to the ground beside me, drawing a knee up to drape his arm across.
“A reminder for my launch. Today’s the day my shop goes live.”
“Yeah? Cool.”
His charismatic smile makes my heart skip a beat. He runs his fingers through his thick dark hair, then hands over my water thermos.
“Here, have some water. I’ve barely seen you drink any while we’ve been working.”
After glugging half of it to make up for my lack of hydration, I play with the straw and admit, “I’m pretty nervous.”
“Who wouldn’t be? It’s nerve-racking to put yourself out there.” He nudges his shoulder against mine. “Don’t worry. You’ve got this.”
I trap my lip with my teeth, keeping my gaze on him while I press the button to publish my listings. My eyes widen and a little scream leaves me.
“That’s it. I did it. My store’s live.”
His grin stretches slowly, eyes bouncing between mine. “Congratulations.”
I open the public link and dance at seeing everything I’ve been working on out in the world. It’s surreal.
When I look up, he’s studying me with something soft and unreadable swirling in his eyes again. It gives me goosebumps.
I hold up my phone. “Hey, can you see if this works for you?”
“Sure. Anything you need.”
“I’m texting you the link.”
He pulls out his phone and shows me my store open in his browser. Excitement buzzes through me.
“That’s so weird to see it launched. Still feels like I’m staying up too late in Photoshop to mock-up what I wanted it to look like.”
He climbs to his feet and grazes his fingers over one of my braids. “I’m proud of you for going after what makes you happy, Evie.”
My throat tightens with a swell of emotions. I blink back tears, feeling silly.
A notification on my phone distracts me from succumbing to my sappiness. I pop to my feet, grabbing his arm.
“Cole! Oh my god! I got my first sale already! I haven’t even posted that the launch is live yet!” I’m barely able to hold my screen straight, bouncing with joy.
