Page 17 of Shaded Amethysts
Although I wanted to set up a specific time for my kitten visit, I wasn’t sure yet when I would have any free time. The custody case was my top priority right now. It had to be my only focus, despite how much I wanted to be with Gage.
Not ready to leave him just yet, I asked, “Are you settled into your new place?”
Gage hadn’t confirmed with me that he’d gotten an apartment, yet he didn’t question how I knew he had one. Evidently, he had already figured out that aspect of how small towns work.
He nodded in answer to my question before he said, “Yes, it’s fine. I just wish people weren’t so wary of me.”
I was surprised by his open vulnerability. Most men would hide their insecurities. It was incredibly endearing that he didn’t try to act masculine and invincible in front of me.
“Give it some more time,” I suggested. “You’re not from Maine, so it will take a while for people to trust you, but they’ll come around.”
“That’s easy for you to say… Everyone loves you.”
His kind words made me smile before I revealed, “I’ve been on the wrong side of this town’s opinions when my brother was suspected of a terrible crime. I know how awful it feels to have people whispering behind your back. But these are good, solid people, and they take care of their own. It won’t be long until you’re accepted into their folds.”
The confidence in my tone must have helped convince him because he finally said, “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Just as I said those matrimonial words, a man I didn’t recognize bent down on one knee in front of a surprised woman a few feet away from us. The woman covered her mouth with her hand as he pulled a single red rose and a ring box from inside his coat and presented them to her.
Gage leaned close to whisper just loudly enough for me to hear, “He should have been more original and gone with bell-shaped lilies of the valley, paired with Gypsophila, or baby’s breath. It would have signified everlasting love and happiness.”
I turned my head toward the charming, surprising man standing just behind me. “How do you know so much about flowers?”
Gage looked down at the ground as he answered, “There was an audiobook at the prison library about floriography, the language and meaning of flowers. It was one of the few interesting audiobooks available to us, so I listened to it probably a thousand times.”
Out of the corner of my vision, I saw the tourist man stand, pick up the woman, and twirl her around. I offered them a quick smile of congratulations before turning my full attention back to Gage.
I was surprised by his open honesty about his time in prison and didn’t want to risk doing anything that might make him feel judged or insecure about sharing pieces of his story with me. After deciding it was best to try to talk about it just as naturally as he had, I asked, “Did you work in the library while you were there?”
“No, but that would have been great. I was stuck working in the laundry room, and I despise doing laundry. I send all of my clothes out to be washed at the staffed laundromat now and probably always will. It’s so worth the added expense not to have to do it myself.”
I allowed the surprised chuckle to emerge just before I said, “That’s exactly how I feel about dishes. That was my assigned chore while growing up and, now that I’ve tucked tail and moved back in with my parents, they’ve made me take it back over. If I never have to wash another greasy, dirty dish, it will be too soon.”
He suggested, “We could cut a deal… I’ll wash your family’s dishes, if you’ll take care of my laundry.”
My gaze involuntarily flicked down to his crotch as I contemplated laundering his skivvies. Thinking of the intimacy in washing, drying, and folding the clothing that covered his naked body made me swallow audibly. I was so focused on the sexy-as-sin man by my side that I barely took note when the happy, newly-engaged couple jogged away hand-in-hand.
Suddenly, I realized that the longer I remained silent, the more awkward this situation became, so I said in a croaky voice, “Sure, we can probably figure out a mutually-agreeable arrangement.”
“You sound like a lawyer already,” he teased me.
A lobster boat being towed into the harbor caught our attention. I shook my head and said, “That lobsterman’s having a bad day.”
“Yes,” Gage agreed before adding, “It’s probably a good thing my dream of becoming a lobsterman was foiled before it really had a chance to take off. It looks like a tough way to make a living.”
I didn’t bother to hide the surprise in my tone when I asked, “You wanted to be a lobsterman?”
“Briefly,” he answered before leaning down to whisper, “But I get seasick.”
The idea of this burly, masculine man leaning over the side of a boat was nearly impossible to imagine. I grinned up and said in my best flirty tone, “You are absolutely full of surprises.”
“You have no idea,” he flirted right back with me, seeming to enjoy our lighthearted banter.
I angled my head up, in case he decided to kiss me, so I saw the moment the darkness overtook his expression just before he said, “And some of those surprises aren’t the good kind. It’s probably best if you don’t spend any more time alone with me. You deserve a smart, decent, and solid man, like Noah.”
Before I had a chance to object, Gage turned and abruptly left. I stared up at the turning beacon light and murmured into the wind, “But what if my stupid heart would rather be with you?”
