“And vice versa.”
She warmed with a smile. “Is this a truce, J.P.? Is that what this is?” Her hand passed back and forth in the space between them.
“What do you want it to be?”
Her breath hitched, then came out slowly through parted lips. “I think…”
The dog from across the way yelped again, and this time, Waylon jumped to his paws, erect and alert. It cut off Nora’s sentence, leaving her thought unfinished, suspended between them.
“What are you thinking, Nora?” J.P. prodded. He leaned forward, closer to her.
“Nothing.” A hand pressed against her forehead. “I don’t know what I’m thinking right now. Maybe it’s the wine.” She gave a little laugh, but they both knew that wasn’t it.
He wanted to tell her what he was thinking. That, in that very moment, he wanted nothing more than to draw her to him, to hold her against him. To tell her he wasn’t a perfect man, but he wanted to strive to be a better one. Forher. That he’d known hurt just like she had, and that his heart wasn’t whole either. But maybe together they could fill in each other’s missing pieces.
He wanted to say all of that.
But he didn’t, and instead they let the night settle around them, peaceful, still, and brimming with an unfamiliar, unspoken hope that felt a lot like possibility.
Chapter Nineteen
Nora brought reinforcements.
She wouldn’t need them when it came to removing the bees. But she might need them to maintain her focus around J.P.
She didn’t trust herself.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him. Couldn’t keep from replaying their porch conversation from the night before. She’d been aware of his prompts. How he kept asking her what was on her mind, like he’d wanted to crawl into her brain and study her emotions. Learn from them. She wasn’t ready for that, wasn’t in a place where she could be completely truthful with even herself.
“I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.” Tillie made dramatic stomping motions, arms out at her sides. “Or that thing from Ghostbusters.”
“You look great,” April countered. She zipped the hood to the beekeeping suit around her neck. “We all do.”
Nora knew they were a sight, all three women donning white jumpsuits with protective netting covering their faces. She could only imagine what J.P. must’ve thought as they approached the property, supplies in hand, uniforms in place, determination in their expressions.
They were on a mission, and Nora’s was twofold: to safely extract the bees and to keep her heart in check. It had all but tossed itself to J.P. last night on her porch.Here! Take me! I’m available!She had wanted to give it to him. Not all at once, but a part of it, just to see if he could be gentle with it.
But the other, smarter part of Nora thought better of it.
J.P. was a huge question mark.
And the look on his face as they trekked up to the ranch house served as one too.
“I didn’t realize…” Disappointment hooked his mouth into a frown before he quickly righted it into a forced smile. “I didn’t know you all were coming.”
He had flowers.
A whole sunny bouquet of them, and suddenly he appeared as though he didn’t realize they were even in his hands. Or that he had hands. He kind of shook them about wildly, and several petals flittered to the ground.
“These are for you, Nora.” He propelled them toward her. “As a thank you for helping with the bee issue. But now I see I’m two bouquets short.”
April waved flippantly. “They would be wasted on Tillie, anyway. She re-gifts the ones Travis gives her. No flower is safe around her.”
“Because I don’t like himthat way,” Tillie emphasized.
Nora took the bouquet, side-eyeing her friends. “Thank you, J.P. That was very kind of you. These are beautiful.”
She didn’t know where to put them while they got to work, so she just held them out in front of her until J.P. yanked them back and said something about putting them in water. He disappeared instantly. They found their way to the bee room.
