“My roommate likes it. Don’t worry, it’ll get eaten one way or another, and appreciated in the way it deserves.” Reassuring me with a nod, she adds a pep to her step, forcing us to keep moving before I can get the chance to question her words.
When we return, River’s already working fast, trying to make up for the limited time he has. Seeing Melanie, he takes one of the crates and gives her a rushed wave of appreciation.
When he looks my way and acknowledges that I’m here, too, he works on freeing my hands more quickly.
“Thank you.” Two simple words are all it takes for my stomach to break out in the flutter of butterflies.
Nodding, I offer more help, but he insists that he and Melanie can knock the rest out easily. Drifting over to my side and settling in the seat on the opposite side of the table, it takes effort not to watch them dance around each other smoothly.
Soon, Melanie’s drifting off to the side over to her booth before River’s settling only a couple of feet away. Has to be less than ten. So close, I can smell the mix of sweat and fruit radiating off of him. Unlike Melanie, I don’t get sick of the sweet smell. Rather, I purposely breathe in deep to fill my lungs with it.
“Everything okay? Missed you earlier.” Trying to act casual about it, I notice people beginning to trickle in. Soon, I won’t have much time to chat with him. Not if I’m busy trying to get rid of some of this honey and wax.
He grunts, sighing softly under his breath as he sinks down in his chair, the metal groaning beneath his bulk. “Must’ve hit something sharp yesterday. Woke up to a flat. Almost missed my chance of coming.”
He’s frowning like the memory of it is still sour for him.
“I’m glad you made it.” Speaking the words without thinking, heat creeps up my neck when he jerks his head to the side to look my way. “It would’ve felt weird without you here. You had me worried there for a little bit.”
Caught off guard by my words, that frown of his loses its edge. Soon, he nods. “I’ll have to try to avoid letting that happen again. Wouldn’t want to worry you.”
Sounding more genuine than sarcastic, I’m left with more tingles in my stomach that I don’t have time to digest before a group of three older women approaches my table with curiosity, coming with enough questions to keep me distracted.
Knowing how popular River is, I’m hardly surprised when he gets pulled into conversation, too. Making it hard to share a conversation, a realization hits me hard in the chest.
Despite finally getting close to him, it’s still not enough. To get him all to myself, I need to approach him outside of the market. Even if it’s for a little bit, maybe I can break our pattern. Today’s been chaotic enough. Why stop here?
So, when we get a break in between the waves of people, I use the excuse to stretch my legs by approaching the front of his table. Unlike me, he remains stationed, but his eyes follow my movement as I steal a pretzel. Instead of caving and trying his jam now, I play the long game.
“What are you doing after this?” I crunch down before giving my voice the chance to start wobbling. Now that I’ve asked, I can’t back down.
River stares at me, his brows pushing together like he doesn’t understand.
“A lot of these guys grab lunch together after the market closes shop.” Rolling my shoulders nonchalantly, I look to the side once I feel heat clawing up my throat. “If you weren’t busy, Ithought we could do the same. Grab lunch and celebrate a good turnout.”
Half of my inventory is gone, and he’s on his way of selling out by the looks of it. It’s the perfect excuse for a perfect plan of getting some alone time.
“Just us two?” His voice is going all raspy again, just the way I like. Strained in a way that makes my toes curl.
Nodding, I feel the heat on my cheeks now. “Yeah, River, just us.”
I won’t invite his sister if that’s what he’s thinking. All I want is him. He’s all I’ve ever wanted. And if he accepts, I plan to enjoy the situation as best I possibly can. But if he turns me down, then I’ll take it as a sign to finally give up on this one-sided crush.
Even if it feels impossible, I’ll move on. I’ll have to, unless I want to risk feeling heartache every time I see him.
Before I can let myself think more about that terrible future, his chair is creaking as he shifts to sit straighter.
“Okay. Lunch. Sure.” As his words come out choppy, he jerks to nod. “We can do that. It’s just a meal.”
Nodding with him, I can’t contain the smile that breaks out on my face as I crunch down on the last bite of the pretzel. Unfortunately, throwing a little celebration for this miniature win isn’t on the table as a family of three is set on eating some pretzels, too.
On the way back to my seat, I feel his eyes burning in my direction. Wishing I could take a look in his mind to know what he’s thinking, I save my curiosity for later.
Right now, all I can think about is how things will unfold between us once there are no interruptions—and just how close I might get if he allows it.
4
River
