Page 25 of Rose's One Night to Forever
Rose pushed aside the project she’d been working on so he could spread out the food. “What’d you buy at Fallen Books?”
“It’s not mine. I stopped in to see your father, and he said your special order had come in. I offered to deliver it.”
She paused in the middle of undoing the tape. “You were visiting my dad?”
“I was,” Chance said agreeably. “You want the ham and cheese or turkey with cranberry sauce?”
Rose hesitated again. “You didn’t get those at Buns and Roses. Tansy never makes turkey sandwiches during the summer.”
“So I’ve heard. But you said they’re your favourite, so I made them myself.” He unfolded the paper and placed the sandwich on her plate then handed it over. He laughed when she sat without moving, laying a hand over hers and squeezing. “Rose? Are you away, love? Drifting with the fairies?”
Love. A shiver ran up her spine.
It was only an expression, though, so she pulled herself together. There were a lot of interesting things to unwrap just from this visit, and she didn’t mean the package. “Did you need to order some books? Is that why you went to the shop?”
“I wanted to look around again. Your parents run a quality independent store. It’s impressive.” He picked up his sandwich. “Your father and I chatted. Books, art, community events. I might have volunteered to run an art night for men. Photography, painting. My areas of expertise to go with his attempt to encourage a books-and-beer outing.”
“Art night for the guys?” Rose considered, picturing her friends’ husbands and boyfriends sitting down to such an event. “That’s fresh and new for this area.”
“It is.” Chance grinned. “We’ll have pizza and beer as well, so I assume we’ll get some blokes coming out for that alone.”
“Tansy just got the freestanding pizza oven she ordered. She was thinking about running a pop-up once a month in different spots around town. You might be able to sweet-talk her into cooking for the guys’ night out.”
He held his sandwich with one hand so he could slip the other around her waist and hold her close. “I’d prefer to sweet-talk you and have you do the convincing. If you’d consider it.”
Cuddling under his arm simply added to the coziness of their intimate moment. “I could be convinced.”
“Ah, the woman wants to be persuaded to work her magic. Any ideas what kind of encouragement this would take?” His words stole over her like a caress.
Another thing about him that she was already addicted to. He tangled her brain into mush with zero effort and made her senses sing with a single touch.
She lifted her sandwich slightly. “You made my favourite lunch. I’m already feeling positively motivated on your behalf.”
Deals were made, plans arranged.
Between the usual hours needed to run Buns and Roses and the time she spent with family over the next week, Rose found herself juggling more and more to be able to sneak in time with friends and find moments to spend with Chance. Being with him seemed as natural and as necessary as breathing.
The first Monday in August, Tansy was supposed to take off for the trail ride with Cody and Fern. Only, that morning, Rose found her sister curled up on the couch with a box of tissues beside her.
Tansy lifted watery eyes to meet her gaze. “I feel terrible.”
Shoot. “Summer colds are the worst,” Rose said with sympathy. “Want me to call Cody and cancel?”
Tansy waved a hand. “Fern’s been looking forward to it so much, canceling would break her heart. Tell her and Cody to go ahead without me.”
“Okay. Can I get you anything?”
“Tea, and then I’m going back to bed.” She sneezed violently four times in a row. “Groan. My head is going to explode.”
Rose made the calls for Tansy, brewed some tea, and then, after tucking her sister into bed, headed downstairs to track down Chance.
One month. It had only been one month since he’d arrived in Heart Falls for the second time, and yet crossing the short distance between their shops had become a habit.
She knocked on the back door of the gallery. When he answered a few seconds later, he was once again covered in paint.
“You’re dressed for the office,” Rose teased. “Thankfully, paint splatters look good on you.”
He pulled her into the shop, careful to keep his body leaning away even as he tilted his head closer. “I do seem to have a uniform, don’t I?”
