Page 36 of Falling for the Grumpy Stranger

He was shaking his head before I finished. “No, I assure you that is the farthest thing from the truth. It’s just—witheverything I’ve got going on in my life, the divorce, this wreck of a house—” He looked at me, apologetically. My throat tightened, and at the same time I rolled my fingers into fists. But I wasn’t mad at Rhett. I was mad at myself for walking into this mistake so readily, with wide open eyes and arms and heart, apparently, because the tightness in my throat was traveling to my chest.

“I’m sorry, Ella. I didn’t want for any of this to happen, and this sounds selfish, but if you could wait—at least until I get my life straightened out.”

“Yeah, itispretty selfish,” I said. I hadn’t meant to sound harsh, but I was feeling hurt and disappointed. “But I understand. Enjoy the cookies.” I headed back to the entryway. His footsteps landed behind me.

“Ella, really. I don’t want this to be the end.”

I turned and peered up at him. “Kind of sounds like it is. At least we didn’t let it go too far. Guess we have your ex-wife to thank for that.”

“What about your assignment? What about looking through the old documents and books?”

“Well, Wallace’s sinking with theTitanicbrought the house’s history all the way up to 1912. I think I can use more traditional sources now, like the internet and the library, to find out the information I need.” He looked distressed. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one feeling it. “Take care, Rhett, and I hope you get your life sorted out. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” As I said it, I realized how true that would be. We lived in the same small town. It would be impossible to avoid each other completely, and the hurt was still raw enough that I dreaded those moments, an awkward smile in the café or a brief wave across the street. At least I wouldn’t be breaking my terrible track record with men. This one barely lasted one date, and even then, it was a stretch to call it a date.

I spun around and opened the door.

“Ella,” he said before I got far. He didn’t say another word as I dashed down the porch steps and skittered off.

“No tears, Ella Lovely. Don’t you dare.” I blinked hard to make sure the tears stayed where they were, behind my aching eyelids. I hurried my pace and headed straight toward town. A light drizzle had moved in, so I pulled up my hood, ducked my face behind my scarf and forged ahead. I had no idea where I was heading. That answer came quickly when I spotted Isla unlocking the door of her future bakery.

“Isla,” I called not wanting to startle her by showing up behind her.

Her white smile flashed between her scarf and knit beanie. “El. Ava said you’d gone up to the manor.” Her smile faded by the time I reached her. “Uh oh. I heard a story about wineglasses and smeared lipstick, but I take it things didn’t work out?”

“You could say that.” I pushed my hands in my pockets for warmth. “Let’s go inside. This rain is cold.”

“Right. Of course.” Isla opened the door. It wasn’t much warmer in the empty building. “The new heater comes tomorrow, and I can’t wait. It’s hard to get anything done in here when it’s so cold I can see my breath.” Isla flipped a switch, and three lightbulbs came on. They were hanging from wires jutting down from holes in the ceiling. “I bought some pretty chandeliers for out here in the front customer area of the shop and a more utilitarian light for behind the counter. Those pieces of tape show where the counter will be.”

“I can’t wait for the shop to be done, Isla. It’s going to be dreamy.”

We both looked around at the empty room with patchy drywall, a plywood subfloor and cardboard covered windows. “It’s a little hard to imagine right now,” Isla admitted. “But I think you’re right. It’s going to be dreamy. I do have a coffeepot and a space heater in the back. Want a cup?”

“Yes, please.” I followed Isla to what would eventually be the kitchen area. There were many pieces of tape on the subfloor to mark where appliances would be installed.

The space heater glowed red, and Isla turned the knob on top to make it even redder. She filled the coffeepot, and we both sat down on the two stools that were sitting tall and alone in the middle of the empty space. “What happened?” Isla asked.

I shook my head and felt silly for showing up at her door looking so distressed. “It’s nothing really. For the briefest moment of time, I thought there might be something happening between Rhett and me, but I misread the whole thing. He’s got a lot of baggage. Just like Luke mentioned.”

“Luke did say that he thought everything in Rhett’s personal life came crashing down, and that’s why he decided to sell the company.”

“Can’t blame him.” I took a deep breath. “Doesn’t matter now anyway. It’s done, and it was only a few kisses, so nothing I can’t handle. You know me and men. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live with ‘em.”

Isla laughed on her way to the coffeepot. “I’m not sure that’s the way the saying goes.”

“It’s my ‘Ella and her lousy track record’ version.”

Isla returned with two cups of coffee. I immediately used mine to warm my hands. The red glow from the space heater seemed to be more for special effects than actual warmth. “What about your assignment on the curse? How is that going, by the way?”

“Pretty good. My editor wrote this morning that she’d be sending back the first piece with edits. She added that there were only a few changes and that she was impressed with the piece.”

Isla lifted her cup for a gentle toast. “Here’s to success in your new career. I guess the big question is next.”

“I won’t be working at Grimstone anymore,” I said.

“That’s a shame. You were really enjoying all those old discoveries. But that wasn’t my question because I’d already figured that part out. No, the big question is are you seeing evidence of this infamous curse we’ve heard about all our lives?”

“I wasn’t so sure at first, but—” I nodded. “I think there might be something to it.”

“Cool. Can’t wait to read your article. We all subscribed to the publication.”

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