Page 31 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“I semi-retired after having Matty.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Right, yeah.”

We both stood staring at one another, neither of us saying a word. It felt so strange that Nadia, who used to know more about me than anyone else, was unaware of any part of my life. She’dbeen my best friend. When I looked at her, she still felt like she was that and, yet, a stranger at the same time. But none of that mattered because I was here to do a job.

I lifted my clipboard once again. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, right. Yes, sure.”

As I walked past her and smelled the fresh citrus and vanilla scent that was uniquely her, my pants grew uncomfortably snug. I knew what that scent tasted like. I knew that the citrus was from her shampoo and the vanilla was from her lotion. I knew how soft her skin felt and how silky her hair was.

No, I told myself. None of that mattered. I was here to do a job. That was it. Just a job.

11

NADIA

“And that’s it.”I’d finished listing all the repairs I needed completed on the house and took the first breath I’d been able to take since Callum arrived.

“How old is the house?” His head tilted back as he looked up and around.

“I think it was built a hundred and twenty years ago.”

“Have you had any issues with plumbing or?—”

“I already updated plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. I’m doing everything in phases. Those were phase one.”

His gaze returned to mine, and when our eyes met, the air between us crackled with tension. Neither of us said a word. The silence was somehow deafening and thick with emotion. There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn’t find the right words; I wasn’t even sure there were any.

I’d never been at a loss for words with Callum. From the first night we met on the pier, we had an instant connection. An immediate bond. We recognized each other; there was never any awkwardness.

After what felt like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, Callum cleared his throat and looked down at hisclipboard. “Okay, for the interior I have refinish hardwood floors throughout, paint, in the kitchen you want to save the cabinets but paint them and replace the doors, hardware, faucet, and countertops. Replace treads on stairs. The primary en suite bathroom shower retiled and new vanity and fixtures in both the en suite and downstairs half bath. Exterior, fresh paint, roof and gutter repair, the front porch replaced, and the back deck repaired.”

He lifted his head and his eyes locked with mine. I felt the impact of his stare like a physical blow. Our eye contact was that powerful. I wasn’t sure if my head was spinning or the room was spinning; all I knew was that I was dizzy.

My mind was having a difficult time processing Callum Knight being in my house. Not just in my house; we werealonein my house. I couldn’t believe that was happening.

“Does it need to be patched?”

“What?” I lowered my gaze to his lips to try and focus on the task at hand, which was concentrating on the words coming out of his mouth.

“The back deck, does it just need to be patched or does the entire thing need to be replaced?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know.”

“Can I see it?”

So far, we’d remained in the entryway. I was scared to allow him to go any further. I didn’t want memories of him in this place. It was bad enough that everywhere I went in town held a memory of him. That was one of the reasons I chose to teach first grade; it was because I had no memories of Callum in the elementary school and couldn’t subject myself to going into a building every day and being faced with the reminders of my past. He’d only been to my grandpa’s once before when we were around thirteen when my grandpa had to have a kneereplacement. We came out to help him with the chickens and goats.

If I let him walk through my house, it would forever be tainted by his presence. But if he was going to be the one doing the repairs, it was sort of a moot point.

“Sure.” I motioned down the hallway.

He turned and started walking down the hallway to the back of the house but stopped after two steps. I looked down and saw there was a traffic jam. Butter and Jelly were in the middle of the hall.

“That’s so weird. They usually hide from people.”

Callum bent down, and he put his hand out. Butter rubbed the side of her face against the back of Callum’s hand at the same time as Jelly nuzzled her head into his palm. Both were purring louder than I think they ever had before. Peanut was also vying for attention. He was on his hind legs with his front paws on Callum’s arm, trying to give him kisses.

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