Page 82 of Not Part of the Plan
Niko shrugged. “I thought I’d shoot a little if the mood strikes me.”
“Well, well, well,” Emma said smugly.
“Don’t act like you’re going to take credit for my newfound enthusiasm for work.” Even though he was pretty sure that’s exactly where credit was due.
“I’m not saying a word,” she said innocently. “I’m just glad your talent didn’t wither up and die inside your black hole of creativity.”
He captured her hand and squeezed hard until she yelped.
“Oh, gee, I’m sorry.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.
“You’re mean.” She wiggled her fingers in his grip. “Mean and strong.”
“What’s Carter buying us for dinner tonight?” Niko asked, letting her lead him through the throngs of people. It looked to Niko that the entire town had turned out for the market.
He’d been here before, shooting the Pierces for a magazine piece Summer had worked on before she made the move here permanent.
It had been colorful chaos then and hadn’t changed an iota since. Stands under awnings in every color of the rainbow flanked the park’s wide brick sidewalk. Generations of people representing varying degrees of hippie culture wandered around eating, laughing, talking. Even the transplants like Emma eventually showed signs of assimilation, he thought, eyeing the silver peace sign anklet she’d donned for the day.
The vibe here is a good one, Niko thought as he tucked his lens cap in the back pocket of his jeans and raised the camera to catch earwax candle lady lean out of her stand to follow the path of a butterfly.
Summer and Phoebe waved from the Pierce Acres stand, and Niko and Emma began to work their way over. It was slow going, though, with Emma pausing to talk to neighbors and complete strangers greeting Niko welcoming him to town.
“Nikolai!” Willa waved frantically. “Over here!”
Not seeing an easy or polite way to ignore her, Niko left Emma with a Mrs. Nordemann and her book recommendations and headed into Willa’s tent.
“Hey, Willa. How’s it going?”
“Oh, fine, fine. How about with you? It looks like you nursed Emma back to health.”
“I couldn’t have done it without your help,” he told her.And your ninety dollars of organic remedies,he added silently.
“I’ve been hoping you’d stop by the store.” She let the words hang there in the air, candy coated with guilt. “But since you didn’t, I thought I might see you here today. I have a pair of boots I think would be just perfect for you.”
Niko eyed the contents of her stand. The fabric walls were lined with cowboy boots with purple stitching, t-strap sandals in colors never before seen in nature, and dozens of patterned socks.
“I don’t know if this is really my style…” he began diplomatically.
Willa waved away his concern. “Don’t be silly. I know a perfect match when I see one. And I saw the one for you. Let me just dig them out—”
She disappeared under a table and box lids and recycled tissue paper exploded into the air as she rifled through her inventory. “Aha!”
She reappeared with a price tag stuck in her hair and a box in her hand. “Voila!”
Willa pried the lid off the box.
Niko was relieved when he didn’t have to fake his interest. They were motorcycle boots in sleek, black leather. He weighed one in his hand, solid construction, beefy soles, thick laces. “Wow, Willa. These are nice. Really nice.”
“Vegan leather, waterproof, hand-stitched.” She reeled off the qualities. “And a very special friend of Blue Moon discount for you.”
“I don’t know if they’ll fit,” he said, already looking for a place to sit.
Willa cleared a space on a short wooden bench. “They’re your size,” she promised. “I can always tell the size of a man even from a distance.”
Niko bit back the half a dozen penis jokes that surfaced in his brain at her comment and instead slipped on the boot and laced it up. Sure enough, the fit was perfect.
Niko looked up just as Emma walked past deep in conversation with Evan and Aurora who were entertaining her with a story. The sunlight hit her just perfectly that her hair was a sensual spark of flame. Her eyes danced as she listened to her niece and nephew. And when she laughed, that husky sound went straight to his gut.
