She blinked up at me. “What?”
I let out a long groan, ruffling my hand through my hair that desperately needed to be styled after spending an hour on the windswept beach. “I need you to come and bid on me so I don’t have to spend tomorrow with a stranger. You’ll use my credit card, of course, not your own money,” I quickly clarified.
“You want to buy yourself at an auction just to avoid spending time with someone you don’t know?” Her tone was teasing.
“Yes.”
She moved my arm from side to side as she inspected her handiwork. “ButI’ma stranger.”
“Yes, but if you bid on me, I can drive back after the event and move on with my life like this nightmare never happened.”
Her eyebrows shot up and she burst out laughing. “Wow, you really know how to woo a girl.”
“I’ll pay you for your time.”
She shook her head, a smile still playing on her lips. “You don’t have to pay me. But I actually do have some errands to run in Boston…”
I waited with bated breath as she placed another pin in the jacket. When she didn’t say anything, I added, “Caroline already booked a hotel room for me, but I was planning on driving back tonight. You could stay in the room and run your errands tomorrow.”
She chewed her lip. “Are you sure? I won’t be taking the room from you?”
I shook my head. “I have a commercial real estate sale I need to wrap up before I go back home.”
“You’re not here permanently?”
For the briefest moment, I was tempted to tell Lucy everything—how I wasn’t sure what I even wanted out of life anymore. How deeply unfulfilling my work was, but how I didn’t know what I would do without it. “No. I live in New York.”
“Oh, that’s a bummer. We have some fun festivals coming up—the Easter Eggstravaganza and my friend Summer is opening her bakery. You should come to the grand opening if you’re still here.”
I had only been in town for a few weeks, and I was pretty surethere had been a festival every other day, all of which I’d successfully avoided. Although…the image of walking around town with Lucy, my arm wrapped around her, feeding her cake at the bakery opening, flashed unbidden in my mind.
I bent my knees to make it easier for her to slide the jacket off my shoulders.Do not think about her undressing you.
I turned around to face her. “So, what do you say?”
She grinned and my heart skipped a beat. “Hmm.” She dragged out the sound like she was intentionally torturing me. “It does sound like a fun adventure, and my horoscope did tell me to say yes to new opportunities…”
Horoscope?
“So yes, I’ll go with you.”
“Great. That’s great. Thanks.” I let out a slow breath. “Are you sure you want to drive separately?” For some reason, the thought of this omega driving to Boston alone made my skin crawl.
“Oh, I don’t have a car. Could I ride down with you? And then I’ll take the train back tomorrow.”
A fucking train? Nope. Not happening.
“I’ll arrange a ride back for you.” I was sure Caroline could find a reputable car service.
Her scent intensified and she fidgeted with the edge of her skirt, her cheeks bright pink. “If you insist. Go take the pants off, and I’ll hem everything and be ready in a few hours.”
A gust of air hit my face when I left her shop twenty minutes later, but it did nothing to cool my overheated skin. As I made the short walk back to my rental, I was struck by the sensation that my attempt to make tonight’s event simpler and more straightforward may have backfired spectacularly.
16
Lucy
Lucy
