Page 87 of Make it Real
She let me go. “Now, I’d like to invite you to visit me in the store sometime this week.”
Next to me, Eliza shimmied, a wild grin on her face.
“Okay.” I’d been in her home goods shop loads of times to pick up items for my house, and wouldn’t mind another walk-through.
“I’d like to talk to you about your embroideries.”
“My—what?” I hadn’t thought she knew anything about them.
“June showed me a picture of the beautiful embroidery you made for Bee. And Eliza says you’ve made a lot of them?”
I nodded, trying to figure out where she was headed. Next to her, Eliza beamed at me like she might burst.
“I’d love to carry something like that in my store. Handmade, local, quirky—they’d fit right in.”
“You want to buy my embroideries?” It just seemed so out there, I needed her to confirm it in actual words.
“Absolutely, I do.” Her eyes might as well have twinkled, she looked so thrilled with the idea. “No pressure, of course, and this isn’t the right time to talk business. But think about it. Come to my store this week and we’ll chat, how does that sound?”
It sounded better than amazing, and I kind of already wanted to say yes. I loved making fun embroideries, but I’d given just about everyone I knew at least one—my latest sat wrapped in a box for June and Ty—and I’d pretty well maxed out my wall space with hoops. And let’s be real, extra money never hurt.
“It sounds too good to be true.” I matched Eliza’s shimmy, imagining my embroideries for sale in Fine & Dandy.
“Honey, I know what my customers like, and they would snap up your work. But it’s your choice. Think about it, and come down if you want to talk. Come down either way and just visit. Now, I’d better go find my husband so we can have a romantic dance.” She walked off again, joining the others in the small crowd.
“I told you,” Eliza said, bouncing around. “I knew you could sell them if you wanted to.”
“It was only a matter of time,” Harper said. “Marilyn loves helping out family.”
Family. That cozy word cuddled me up in a big hug, my heart both squeezing and exploding for joy. For once, I didn’t have words to say how much they meant to me, I just gloried in the moment. Friends and family and a man I couldn’t get enough of—I could hardly contain all my blessings.
Couples started swaying together in the middle of the floor, taking advantage of the slow song that filled the barn with the sound of a steel guitar. Sam and Dean split off from the crowd to collect their dates, ready to dance.
“Mind if we—?” Harper hitched a thumb toward the couples, already inching away with Sam.
“Of course not. Dance it up.”
They swirled into the crowd, and I backed up a few steps to give the growing dance floor more room. Still couldn’t see Jed anywhere. Maybe someone had needed his help and he’d gotten sidetracked. Seemed like a Jed thing to do.
Figuring I could at least make a circuit of the building to look for him, I turned and ran straight into a towering man built of beige muscle.
Jed grabbed my arms to steady me. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
“I was just going to look for you.”
“Yeah?” He smiled down at me, all sparkly teeth and laughing hazel eyes. “Were you missing me?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Want to dance?”
“Absolutely.”
We moved over to the makeshift dance floor, and his hands went to my waist, mine to his shoulders. Swaying in time, I tilted my head to look up at him, probably grinning like a dang fool. It’d been a perfect night, but I wouldn’t say no to a kiss to make it extra perfect.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked.
“So much. It was a gorgeous wedding, with good friends, and the best date.”
“I’m glad.”
