Page 78 of The Friendly Fall

“That makes no sense.” I laugh, glancing over to see her blushing. “Why so secretive? You know I won’t tell anyone.”

“I can’t … I don’t want everyone to get their hopes up that I’ll actually be successful with this,” she finally says. “I’m not exactly Jesus when it comes to carpentry, or you. I’m just doing the best I can.”

“Hey, new skills take time to learn.” I nudge her, her smile widening as I do. “I’m just glad to see you trying something new.”

She giggles. “Well, I had you as my inspiration, so I’m pretty stoked about it.”

“Ah, so does this mean you’ll show me when it’s done?”

Eliza purses her lips. “Well … Imight.It just depends on how big of a disaster it is, I guess. If it looks good, I’ll show you—if you want to see. You know what I mean.” I nod, trying to read the expression on her face.

Her eyes drop away from me, and something internally screams for me to tell her how I feel…

“So … are you going to the party this weekend for the twins?” I ask, my heart racing for some reason.

“Um yeah, I think so,” she replies, double-checking everything in the cart. “I just have a lot that I need to get done before then. Are you going?” She then shakes her head before I can answer. “Of course you’re going.”

“Yeah,” I say, giving her a smile. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Her eyes are peering over onto the list as she nods. “Yeah, same. Sort of. I really need to get back out there.”

Right. That’s the cue to stop talking and get moving.

I spend the next twenty minutes fulfilling her order, trying to conjure up what she might be building with all the stuff that she’s buying. Some of the items aren’t things that I would use myself, but I stay quiet, just happy to be in her presence for a while.

No matter how much space I was trying to put between us, the moment she walked through the door, I was happy she was there…

And I’m pretty sure that’s a sign that my feelings mayneverfade.

“Okay,” she says with a sigh. “I think we’ve got everything.” Eliza bends over, counting the stack of lumber on the cart again. “Yeah, that’s good.” She stands up straight, meeting my gaze. “Thank you, Nick. I really appreciate you helping me with this. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“What?” I question her. “What’s there to make up for? This is my job,” I add with a chuckle. “I help people with their lists almost every day.”

“Ah, yeah, touché.” She giggles as I roll it up to the register.

“I’ll give you my employee discount,” I tease, getting her to laugh again.

“Not on this one,” she says through the laughter, her voice growing serious. “Please don’t.”

“Why?”

“Just don’t,” she quips with a shrug. “I want to pay full price. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Okay…” I say, giving her the discount anyway. I have a good feeling she’ll never know.

“Um,” she says at the end, narrowing her eyes at the total. “Isaidno discount.”

My eyes widen.Dang, she really did her homework.I chuckle and take the discount away to which she nods with satisfaction.

“That’s much better. This is just something really special,” she adds, her words catching her attention. As much as I want to ask her about it, I stay quiet, wondering if it’s maybe something for Granny or her parents.

“Can I help you load it into the truck? I know the sidewalk might be a little slick.” I glance out the window at the light layer of snow on the ground.

“Um…” Eliza seems to mull it over for a moment. “Yeah, yeah I guess you could help me with that—but that’s it. No more help after.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say, walking around the counter and pushing the cart for her.

She stands quietly, her arms wrapped around herself as she follows me out into the cold. Her nose becomes rosy fairly quickly, and Ican’t deny the sight is adorable. However, again, I try to push away the thought.

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