“Bells! Come here!” Lina waves me over, and I’m terrified I got caught staring.
“What’s up?” I try to say casually as I approach them.
I’m standing over Tilly, which makes me think about how good it felt to be sitting on her face that night—which is positively the last thing I should be thinking about. At least it’s still hot in here, so I can blame my flushed cheeks on that.
“Tilly and I were just talking about an idea we had.” Lina smiles.
“Oh yeah?” I’m happily surprised.
“It’s not a big deal.” Tilly shakes her head and continues working.
“It was something we thought of but never got around to talking to Benny about. We’d love to throw a masquerade ball on the orchard. Maybe make a themed night of it and throw a party in the gazebo outside?” Lina says happily.
“In the summer?” I’m a little confused—usually that’s more of a fall thing.
“No, like maybe in September? Or a Halloween one?” Lina adds.
“I like it. I’ll definitely put it on the list.”
There’s nothing wrong with the idea, but it’s not the time or place to let them know we may not even be open by then.
“It was mostly Lina’s idea,” Tilly says. “So don’t bash it on my account.”
“I’m not bashing it.” I shake my head. “It would just take a lot of planning, and my focus right now is bringing in sales for the summer. But it’s definitely not a no,” I reassure Lina, glaring at Tilly, who’s back to ignoring me.
Lina gives me a soft smile, and I head back to my laptop. I decide once I see the place is back to normal and Tilly is done, I’ll head home for the day. I have work for my real job to do, and I don’t need to get into it with Tilly about nothing.
I write down the masquerade ball idea in my notes and start packing my stuff up. Tilly finishes, and the air kicks back on, leaving Lina smiling in relief.
I’m placing my mug of cold coffee into the dish bucket when, at the same moment, Tilly stands up and flexes. Her back muscles look magnificent as she reaches for her toolbox, and I miss the bucket, causing the cup to fall and shatter. The loud crash turns every head, and suddenly I’m covered in coffee and ceramic pieces.
“Shit, I’m so sorry,” I tell no one in particular as I reach for the biggest shard. I don’t realize how sharp it is until it slices through the side of my hand. Blood starts pouring out, and I hold it away from me.
I’m terribly squeamish when it comes to blood—and I’ve been known to pass out before.
Lina and Tilly rush over, Lina grabbing a broom while Tilly takes my hand. She grabs some napkins and presses them tightly to the cut.
“Fuck, can’t you ever be careful?” she mutters under her breath.
“It was an accident.” I scoff.
“You’re literally the most clumsy person I know. You could take a page out of Bella Swan’s book.” She chuckles.
“Are you calling me Bella Swan? It was bad enough growing up with a similar name.” I groan. Twilight was immensely popular when I was younger, and my name being Arabella didn’t stop anyone from calling me Bella.
“I might have to call you that from now on—maybe Lamb for short.” She winks. I hate that I understand the reference exactly. Edward calls Bella a lamb when he says the infamous line,‘so the lion fell in love with the lamb’.
“Okay, I got the first aid kit, but no one’s ever needed this, so I don’t actually know what’s in it.” Lina rushes back.
“Hold her hand away from her so she doesn’t see the blood, and I’ll look through it,” Tilly instructs.
Lina takes over, her grip much looser than Tilly’s. Tilly digs through the first aid kit, pulling out alcohol wipes, bandages, and gauze.
Was the cut that deep? Probably just in an annoying spot. I definitely don’t want to look and check.
She cleans her hands with the sanitizer on the counter, then opens everything.
“Do me a favor and close your eyes, little lamb. I don’t want you passing out too,” Tilly teases.
