Page 80 of Winter at Wishington Bay
* * *
Ten minutes before I was due to re-open the shop for the evening’s fayre, the door rattled as someone tried to enter. I looked up to call that we weren’t open and saw Nate raise a hand in greeting through the glass of the door. Hurrying over, I pulled the bolt and stood back to let him in.
‘Hi,’ he said.
Suddenly there seemed a lot less air in the room, which was only due in part to the tightness of my corset. I stole another look at Nate. And I’d thought Richard Armitage looked hot… All I could think of right now was where I might be able to obtain some smelling salts.
‘You OK?’ he asked.
‘Hmm? Yes. Definitely. Just a bit nervous, you know. I’ve never run the shop on my own before and I’m just a bit, well, you know. Want to get it right and everything. You look nice.’ The words rushed out in a torrent and I sucked in a breath at the end. Well, as much breath as this damn corset would let me. I knew I shouldn’t have let Flora help me with it.
‘You’ve already got a gorgeous figure, but we may as well go for broke, eh?’ she’d giggled as she had given the laces on it another good yank. ‘If not tonight, then when?’
That was a fair question as now, between only having half my lung capacity and Nate looking hotter than any man had a right to in a stiff Victorian collar, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to make it through the evening.
‘Thanks,’ he said, giving the lapels on his coat a bit of a nervous tug and consequently making it lopsided.
I faced him, gently batting his hands out of the way before straightening the coat back up. ‘There.’
‘I’m not really used to anything like this.’ His hands began to travel nervously back up and I caught them.
‘Stop fiddling. You look great.’
‘Sure?’ he asked.
Looking up I saw the genuine disbelief on his face.
‘I’m positive. In fact, I might just have you stand at the door and wait for the female stampede.’
‘Oh, ha ha.’ He gave me a half smile, the merest hint of blush tinting his cheek.
I turned away and began to walk back to the cash desk. Probably safer that way. ‘The funniest thing is you think I’m joking.’ I glanced back over my shoulder. Yep, he looked just as good from a distance. Damn. Still, it was only for a few hours. I could do that, and like I’d told Flora, I wasn’t in the market for a quick fling.
‘What can I do?’ Nate asked, following me across the shop.
I looked up at him. ‘Relax, for starters. This is supposed to be fun.’
‘It’s a little out of my comfort zone.’
‘Maybe that’s a good thing.’
He gave a little head wobble. ‘Maybe yes, maybe no.’
Ugh. The layer of vulnerability added to the already undisputable package of gorgeousness wasn’t exactly helpful.
‘Let’s go for yes,’ I grinned up at him and he returned it more fully. Oh crikey. Where the hell were those smelling salts?
* * *
An hour and a half later, and the shop was humming with activity. It was always busy but I hadn’t missed the stolen glances sent Nate’s way, some far more obvious than others. He, in contrast, missed them all entirely but did seem to be enjoying himself and after a little while had got into the swing of it. His shoulders were no longer rammed up by his ears and he was chatting and laughing with the customers far more easily. The large glasses of mulled cider the grocer had popped over with earlier may have helped a little with this, but most of it was Nate just being who he was. Perhaps because he was finally being allowed to be himself, or at least rediscover that man?
‘Hello, Nate.’ I glanced over from where I was rearranging some goods to fill the spaces where we’d sold out and saw Nate look up from where he was leaning on the counter and come face to chest with Corinne’s cleavage. Rather than the more demure look many of us villagers had gone for, Corinne had chosen to head down the busty serving wench road. And frankly, she looked like a knockout.
‘Oh… umm, hi Corinne.’ Nate stood straight.
‘I just wanted to pop in and say that I hope we can still be friends.’ She moved to the side of the counter and wrapped her hands round his arm, pressing herself against him and gazing up. His eyes flicked down then back up again. Even the most determined of men would be hard pushed to avoid what Corinne was clearly on a mission to flaunt.
‘Sure. Of course. No hard feelings.’ He smiled briefly and looked over towards me, an unmistakeable plea in his eyes. I took the hint.
