For an event in a town this small, it was packed. I was thrilled, but the swirling in my stomach over what was going on with Benji hadn’t settled.
Which was ridiculous. If I were this worried about a workplace issue, how would I handle him going to college?
Then again, he had called me. He was a smart kid, so if he was that worried, then there must be more than what he told me.
I reminded myself that Wyatt was there. Wyatt with his smart-ass mouth, and his helpful nature. Wyatt, who asked to help rather than having to be asked. Who understood why I hesitated when he offered.
I did my best to engage with potential customers. They were very complimentary of the design and the look of it. There were lots of laughs when I explained what it was designed for.
An hour into the event, I got my first order.
I shook the woman’s hand, then put the order form in the box, staring down at it for a weirdly long time.
I might actually pull this off.
I took a deep breath, and when I glanced up, Wyatt was walking towards me with his usual casual gait.
My eye caught his across the space, and a slow smile spread across his lips. My stomach gave a little flutter. The look on his face told me that my son was fine, but it was more than that.
I was happy to see him in a way that went beyond my worries for Benji, and that was a feeling I hadn’t had — in a romantic sense anyway — in a long ass time.
“Hey Nightstand Whisperer, how are sales going?”
I laughed at the silly nickname. “Tell me about Benji first.”
“I’m glad he called, but Brody got there not long after me. He did the right thing by refusing unsafe work.”
He was diminishing his own role in things, I was sure of it. His eyes were glued to my face with his smile still in place, and I tucked my hair behind my ear, feeling flushed under his stare. “Good, thank you. Really.”
He shrugged. “So, tell me, sales?”
I reached down and grabbed my one sales form, and held it up. “I got my first sale.”
That grin widened. “Congrats, that’s amazing.”
I tucked my precious form away. “It’s a good start.”
“An excellent start! We should celebrate.” He licked his lips. “Can I take you out? To dinner, I mean, tomorrow night? I heard there’s a new Italian place in Springwood that is fantastic. We can buy the wood for all the sales you’re going to get today at the same time.”
My cheeks heated. “Are you asking because you want to go to the hardware store, or is this a date?”
He leaned against the table, his scarred, rough hand contrasting with the smooth plastic top. “Two things can be true at once, but if we skipped the store and just went to dinner, I’d be okay with that.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “I have a morning shift at the diner tomorrow, but I’m free in the afternoon.” I realized I was fiddling with my fingers and dropped my arms to my side.
“Good, great, okay. I’ll text you. Good luck with the rest of the trade show. I should get back to my table.”
I watched him go, worrying about tomorrow while being excited for it at the same time.
I ended the day with seventeen orders.
SEVENTEEN.
I all but floated out of the community center; actually, floating would have been nice since my feet were aching. I had a lot of work to do to deliver the orders I’d taken, but I was feeling optimistic about my plan.
Not only that, but I had a date with Wyatt tomorrow night.
Benji texted that Brody had dropped him off, so I went straight home. “Hey, how did the day go?” I asked him as I put my things on the counter.
