Page 12 of Sweet Summertide

“I should go. You know where to find me if you need help with anything.”

“I thought we were working against each other to win that fifty-k?”

“Who say’s we’re not?” Holly knew she was teasing him and patted the steel head of a shiny new hammer hanging from her hip. Her intention to distract him had dramatically backfired. She would be thinking about him the rest of the day, not the other way around.

CHAPTER 6

Theodor hadn’t seenany more of Blake Holly Hollis following her unannounced coffee delivery yesterday, though he’d peered across the street more times than he wanted to admit in the hope of glimpsing her bouncy walk or flippy ponytail. As innocent as she seemed, he had a feeling that he was in for more than just a friendly, yet distracting, visit. He hungered to experience more of their playful, back and forth interactions.

Currently, his stomach growled from smelling the warm bread and spiced meats from the stack of sandwiches he was carrying in his arms. “Definitely the sandwiches,” he said to himself as he made his way inside his shop. “Alright boys. Break time. I got lun …” The space was empty. Not a soul was in sight. He had been gone for only a half hour while running over to the Foundry and collecting the food order from Alfonso.

Various tools lay on the floor or were situated on a temporary folding table. One of the workers had left their phone on the windowsill, still blasting music into the echoey space. The eerie scene caused him to wonder if the rapture had happened and he alone was stuck on this side of Armageddon.

Just to make sure he wasn’t losing his mind, Theodor checked the small yard at the rear of the building, thinking perhaps his workers had gone out back for a break. The long overlooked and unkempt outdoor space was begging to be used again, and he hoped that he would have funds left over to spruce it up. Better yet, he could win the money. Wishful thinking for the future aside, the yard was deserted, just like the rest of the shop.

While in the quiet spot, a low chuckle emanated from somewhere nearby and definitely outdoors. Theodor jogged back through the front and searched the streetside for the culprit. When he heard the sound again, he ran across the road—dodging a car that honestly was going too fast for a downtown street—stumbled up the curb, and through the creamery front door. He walked right into the center of a circle of men. His men. His workers sat on folding chairs arranged in a large arc, laughing and eating.

“Hey boss,” one of the men said while gnashing a piece of pizza in his half open mouth. “We’re on break.”

“I see that.” Theodor looked around for Holly, likely prancing around in one of her cute outfits. “What are you doing over here? You guys know I brought you fresh lunch.” He took a slice from a man’s hand and tossed it back in the open box on the floor. “Better than this crap.”

“This crap is the best pizza in the county,” Holly’s voice rang out from behind him.

He turned on his heel. She stood in the doorway. Her blonde hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders, not in her typical ponytail, and her yellow dress floated in the breeze moving up the street and through the open doors. She was a breath of fresh air, and she took his away.

He choked on his first word and began again. “Best pizza? Says who?” As he spoke, he moved to assist her with the fourtwo-liter bottles of pop spilling out from her arms. Why was he helping her when he should be cross with her for luring his workers away? He didn’t know, but he knew aiding her was the right thing to do. “Here, let me get those.”

“A gentleman.” She smirked and handed over three of the bottles. “Now …” She took a slice of pizza in her free hand and held it up to Theodor’s face. “Try it before you say something else ridiculous.”

He was left with no choice. He took a bite and cut the strings of cheese with a fast yank of his neck. The yeasty crust, not too thin and not too thick, complimented the sweet and tangy tomato sauce, and the creamy cheese and blend of herbs mellowed all the flavors together. He licked his lips. “Fine, it’s good.”

He hated to confess, but it was no wonder his workers had found their way over to her shop if this was the bait. She pushed the pizza between his open lips, forcing him to take ownership of the whole slice. Growing up in Manhattan, arguably the pizza capital of the world, he had tried his share of pies, but this one was exceptional, just like she had proclaimed it to be.

He followed her like a little puppy dog past the circle of men to an ornate, brass table with a piece of plywood placed on top where a glass slab likely once laid. He arranged the pop and unpacked the sleeves of red disposable cups.

Holly lifted a small cooler to the table and flipped open the lid. “I figured we can help each other.”

“I appreciate the thought, I do, but I already bought sandwiches for my guys. You could have coordinated with me.”

She placed a hand on his forearm, a soft delicate hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to cause problems for you. I’ll pay you back for the sandwiches, or we can have them for an afternoon snack.” She scooped a cup into the ice. “Can I get you a drink?”

His mouth was watering for the ice alone. She had sprung for the delicious little nugget ice, and he thought he felt himself falling in love with her right then. As she poured the soda, he looked around at her mess. Almost no demo had been completed. A dozen paint cans lined the base of a wall littered with paint swatches. Unopened boxes of chandeliers were stacked in a corner beside an arched doorway. In another area, she had piles of bags overflowing with flowers and greenery.

Beneath the mess, he really did like the overall charm of the space, and he was still sad his bid had been too low.

“Scoping out the competition?” Holly said and stole his attention back by positioning her face in the foreground of his vision. “I’m just messing with you. This place is a total wreck right now.”

Her giggle was the sweetest tune to ever tickle his ears. But was she really just innocently messing with him or were her actions working to undermine his ability to win the grant? She handed him a filled cup, and he brought the cool fizzing liquid to his lips. “Poison?” he said, only half kidding.

Holly cocked her head to one side and smirked, but a fire behind her brown eyes was a warning. She was playful, sure, but he sensed a devious streak in her too. “You got me all figured out,” she admitted. “Here you are scoping out the competition, and here I am trying to off mine.” She motioned a cutthroat at him, and he knew he was in for a fun contest to win that money.

Before he could retort, she took a tray, loaded up with ice cold drinks and walked towards the workers—his workers—and handed the cups out. A sly side eye and a grin like the Grinch was all it took to make him go from wanting to be her friend, to knowing that, for the time being, they were rivals. Everything she was doing was to throw him off, distract him, get under his skin, and win.

So be it. Once the grant was awarded in a few weeks, he could work to uncoil all the layers of Blake Holly Hollis. Her desire to win meant that she was playing against him whether he participated or not. It was time for him to put up more of a fight.

He pointed at her smug face. “You are slick. You know that? Here I thought we were helping each other, but you’re playing a little dirty,” he growled out and helped his workers to their feet. He piled pizza boxes in the hands of one dumbfounded man and retrieved the tray of drinks from Holly. “Time to go. Come on, you lot. We’ve had just enough hospitality for the day.”

“You’ve never seen dirty. I told you I was motivated.” Holly pantomimed fist-fighting with him.

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