When things had imploded with Kenzie, it wasn’t Kenzie’s heart Pearl lost sleep over. She was on her youngest son’s side in the breakup, one-hundred percent.
But here, the emotion felt split. Maybe not fifty-fifty, but it was clear Pearl cared about Nora in this, cared enough to warn her son that he was crossing into delicate territory. J.P. knew it too. And that’s what scared him more than anything.
They had both had their hearts broken before. He wouldn’t be the man to break Nora’s a second time. And if that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take, was it wise to start something that might never become anything?
Chapter Twenty-One
Water streamed out of the hose in clear, thick rivulets. No matter how many times she rubbed her palms under the chilling spray, a deep blue tinge remained. Even her nails were unintentionally manicured a faint violet shade.
“I guess this will just have to wear off,” she said, swiping once more for good measure.
J.P. twisted the knob on the hose bib, shutting the water off before coiling the hose back up into a snake-like pile at his feet. “Here.” He moved his fingers over her skin to rub at the stain. “This help at all?”
“Not really.” She laughed. “But thanks for trying.”
“I think the lesson we learned today is that gloves are a necessity when it comes to blueberry picking.”
“You mean blueberry tickling.”
“Same difference.”
The way his mouth lifted on just one side in a look of pure flirtation made her knees turn to mush. Without meaning to, she grabbed the low fence to steady herself.
“So.” He scratched along the side of his neck. “I realize we just consumed close to a pound of berries each, but any chance you’re still hungry?”
“I could eat.” She was hungry, but not necessarily for a four course meal. No, she was hungry to spend more time with the man standing before her. She wanted to soak up all she could. They had reached some precipice, and she wanted to tumble to the other side. Wanted to leap and fall and explore where this might go. Wanted to see where these feelings could transport them.
Wanted to fall forhim.
“I’d like to take you out, Nora.” The hopeful expression that manipulated his features made her heart go as soft as those wobbly knees. “On a date.”
She had no control over the way her mouth slipped into anO.
“Unless you don’t want—”
“I would love that, J.P.,” she said before he could double back on his emotional transparency. She didn’t want him to doubt these feelings. Not for one second. “But I would also love to go home and get cleaned up first, if that’s okay.”
“Absolutely. I can drive you back to your place. Happy to.”
“But you live close to the garden, don’t you?”
Her grandmother’s farmhouse was on the outskirts of town, as near to the Ridge as one could get without beginning to meander up the mountainous range.
“I live on Harmony Ridge Row,” he confirmed.
She frowned. “It doesn’t make much sense for you to drive me all the way home, then drive back to the Row, and then back out to my place to pick me up for our date.”
She assumed their dinner would be in the downtown Harmony Ridge area—if you could even call it a downtown. Other than the Campfire Café and an over-the-top, pretentious fine dining establishment named Interlude, there weren’t many other restaurants in the area.
Squinted eyes hinted he was working out those very details behind the surface. “I don’t mind, honestly. It’s no trouble.”
“How about this?” she started to say, feeling the need to come up with a solution that wouldn’t put him out. “What if we swing by your place, you get cleaned up real quick, and then we head out to the farmhouse? While you’re getting ready, I can place a to-go order at the Café. Then we can just eat on my porch.”
She knew it wasn’t the date he likely envisioned when he’d asked her out, but it was the most practical solution.
“Or,”—he looked at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read—“I could take you home, I could leave you to do whatever you need to do to get ready, and then I could come back and pick you up. Like arealdate.”
She almost regretted suggesting anything different. It was obvious he wanted to take the lead here. She should let him.
