Page 17 of Almost Love

He didn’t mean the innuendo, don’t get distracted.

Instead, she handed him the tray and pointed in the direction everyone else had gone. Once she was alone, Clementine allowed herself a few minutes to catch her breath. She’d gone through all of the emotions that evening—frustration, irritation, disappointment, desperation and attraction—and now that he was there, she wasn’t sure if she was going to survive.

They stayed for first, second and third service. By which time, the infuriatingly handsome man had made friends with every single person that walked past him. Jim and Toby had adopted him as one of their own, Eloise kept shooting herlooksand their regulars wanted to know if he was single because they knew the perfect girl for him. Oakley blushed through most of the attention, and it was still so endearing.

When the next set of volunteers came through, Eloise relieved them from duty and then invited Oakley to visit again.

As everyone crowded around him to shake hands, she tossed their aprons into the bin in the back and pulled on her coat. It was no surprise to her that people had taken to Oakley so easily—he had come across that way from the moment they met. She was the only one holding him at a distance because she was afraid of what would happen if he got too close. She untied her hair and dragged her fingers through the thick strands as he said bye to everyone and started putting everything back on. Despite telling herself not to stare, it was impossible to look away. She’d been distracted by the plain white T-shirt he’d worn under the apron, the way it hugged his torso and flaunted his strong arms. Not to mention the cap he’d turned backwards and glasses he’d worn all through service.

He fit her type to a T—lean, but well-built, tall and charming, then add in glasses and tattoos and she was a goner.

“That was definitely not how I expected to be spending my evening,” he said, adjusting his glasses. He was smiling so wide it was a miracle his face hadn’t split in two yet. “What’s next?”

She tilted her head. “How are you always in such a good mood?”

“Life’s too short to be in any other mood than happy.”

She rolled her eyes and heard him chuckle as they walked out to her truck. He said bye to a few more people before hopping in.

“How long have you been doing this?”

His intoxicating scent wrapped around her again, but she concentrated on the road. “Started volunteering when I was in college. When I opened Pretty Baked, I figured out a way to give more than just my time.”

He whistled. “You’re quite something, Clementine.”

“Clem,” she corrected. She liked the way her name sounded in his deep and soothing voice, but it was also very unsettling how much she liked it.

“Happy to call you Clem, but why don’t you like your full name?”

“It prompts people to break out into song every now and then,” she responded quickly and by the confused look on his face, she snorted. “You’ve heard of “Oh My Darling, Clementine” by Bing Crosby, right?”

“You have a song, seriously?”

“My father insists that I wasn’t named after the song, but I don’t quite believe that.”

He chuckled and when she glanced over, found him scrolling through his phone. All of a sudden, her truck was filled with the sounds of Bing Crosby singing the wretched song. She’d loved it when she was a kid, because it was so soft and sweet, plus, her dad would dance with her every time he put it on. As an adult, she wanted the song to never exist in the world again.

“There’s a Neil Young version too,” he said, switching to the rock version that she’d heard as well. She regretted telling him about it, because she knew that he wouldn’t have found it on his own.

“Okay, we don’t have to go through every version of the song.”

“There aremore?”

“Oakley,” she whined, surprising herself with the way she said his name, but she wasn’t going take it back. However, it worked, because the music stopped and she could finally hear herself think. “Thank you.”

“Don’t want to upset my place as your friend this early on.”

A snort escaped her as she pulled into the first empty spot she could find. She hadn’t intended for her day to get this long and could feel the exhaustion set in, but she would see this evening with Oakley through. It was the least she could do.

“Um…did you bring me here to end my life and dispose of my body?” he asked as they hopped out of the truck.

“It’s my second favorite place in Wildes. This is where I come to hide out.”

As he came up beside her, she noticed that he’d taken his cap off. His blond hair was a mess, but it still looked so good. To someone new, the area did look a little dangerous. Everything was closed and lights were off, but she knew where to go. With a wave of her hand, she walked to the doorway built into the wall in such a way that you could only see it at a certain angle. She heard him gasp in response as he followed, his warm body way closer than she was prepared for. Pushing a large door open, she stepped into The Hive and felt the first real smile of the day tease at her lips.

The scent of freshly baked bread floated over and she almost moaned, but held herself back. The large mismatched chairs, the bookshelves crowded with paperbacks and the vintage lights hanging everywhere were exactly what her soul needed. The only person she’d brought there was Mack and he’d felt like the space was closing in on him, so he never came back. She didn’t usually have company when she visited The Hive, so bringing Oakley there was a very big deal.

“My darling Clementine!” a voice called out and she grunted unhappily and shrugged out of her coat. Oakley chuckled behind her as Grover repeated the greeting and came around the corner. “I was beginning to think you’d gotten tired of my little hovel.”

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