Page 5 of Texting the Handyman

I chuckle, unable to help myself. Hailey would look edible even if she wore a damn trash bag. “You could wear anything and look incredible.”

She fiddles with her hair again but rolls her eyes at my comment. “I take pride in my outfits, I’ll have you know,” she sasses back. “I’m a fashion and lifestyle influencer. I make my own clothes. I can’t be caught dead looking anything but perfect for the event. This is a serious matter.”

There’s a smirk tugging at her lips even as she lectures me, one I can’t help but return. “Apologies,” I drawl. “I didn’t realize just how high the stakes were. Rest assured, I’ll keep you informed dutifully.”

She giggles but forces herself to act seriously as she says, “Good. As you should.”

I catch sight of the time on her colorful wall clock and curse under my breath. “I’ve got to get to the next job, but I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

She nods, standing to see me out. “I should get back to work, too,” she says, though she doesn’t look excited by the idea of answering emails.

“Once you do all your emails, you get to have fun planning your outfit, though,” I say, trying to cheer her up. She grins, nodding.

“True, I do love putting together the perfect pieces,” she says.

“No pressure on my end, then,” I mutter, mentally running through every outfit in my wardrobe.

She laughs. “I can plan your outfit, too, if you want,” she teases, and I roll my eyes playfully, but, to be honest, I like the mental vision of her picking out complimentary outfits for us both for date nights from a shared wardrobe. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I’ve never been so sure of anything as I am that this girl was meant to be mine.

She sees me to her door, but before I go, I grab her around the waist and tug her towards me. I need another taste of her to see me through until tomorrow, after all. I kiss her hungrily, leaving her flushed and dazed before I say goodbye.

“I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow,” I call out as I head down the path to my van, turning back before I climb in to catch sight of her waving at me before the door closes.

The only thing I can think of for the rest of the day is Hailey and how, one day, I’m going to make her my wife.

4

HAILEY

Turns out, curating the perfect date night outfit was far easier than I’d anticipated since I woke up this morning to a box from my favorite brand. Their dresses are always stunning, and this time, they sent me three to pick from and promote on my socials. I love collabs like this, where I genuinely love the items being sent to me. It makes it so easy to do my job well.

I filmed myself opening the box this morning, did a small unboxing video, and now I’m filming a ‘style it with me for date night’ piece as I pair accessories and makeup with the buttery yellow silk dress I chose. I decide on yellow gold earrings and a necklace I made by taking apart old thrift store jewelry and turning it into something new, adding my own touch to the outfit.

“I think I’m going to go with a messy up-do to finish the look off,” I comment, switching the camera view to the full-length mirror and holding my hair up with my other hand to give an idea of what I mean. A quick transition later, which looks like a second on film but in reality takes me about twenty minutes, I’vepinned my hair up in the perfect just-been-messed-up hairstyle. I love the playfulness of it, like Harvey’s already been running his hands through the strands. God, I hope he messes it up even more later.

I have to force myself to stop thinking about that in order to focus on finishing the video. I already know I’m going to get comments from people asking about the date and who the guy is, and I can’t help the way it makes excitement flutter through me. I know it’s early to even hint at dating someone on my socials, but there’s something so different about Harvey and how I feel for him. I haven’t even bothered going on a date since college, and I’ve certainly never felt this excited about the idea of a date. I just have this deep-rooted feeling that there’s something more between us than just a fling or a date. Like we’re meant to be or something.

“This is the finished look,” I say into the camera, giving a slow twirl to show off the dress. “Let me know what you think and how you’d style this stunning dress in the comments!”

I save the video to edit tomorrow, just as the last person I want to hear from texts me. I sigh, staring for a second at the notification from Lucas before I brave opening it. Ever since he got weirdly annoyed at me having a man in my house yesterday, I’ve been avoiding him as much as I can while still working.

I open the text reluctantly, seeing that he’s sent me yet another string of messages asking me to just call him and hear him out and reminding me that I should be focusing on work opportunities and not random men. There are a few actual work-related messages in between, but they’re far outweighed by his inappropriate overstepping. As my manager, there’s absolutely no need for him to be poking his nose into my personal life or asking about Harvey, and yet here we are.

Refusing to let him ruin my evening, I do something I haven’t done since I started influencing as a career. I turn my phone off, smiling as I do, and shove it into my clutch, feeling buoyed by the idea of not being bothered by him anymore for the rest of the night.

Harvey kept his word and texted me the link to the restaurant he’s taking me to tonight, so I know I’ve hit the right vibes with my outfit. The place is a new, modern restaurant downtown, the perfect mix of relaxed vibes and high-quality food. I couldn’t have picked better myself, and I have to admit I’m really damn excited after scrolling through their menu online.

I slip on my low, strappy heels and grab a light jacket just as a knock comes at my door. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as I rush to answer it, giddy like I'm a teenager again.

“Harvey,” I say as I open the door, his name falling off my tongue before my brain even realizes what I’m saying.

God, he looks good. Hell, he looked amazing yesterday in his roughed-up work gear, but cleaned up and in a shirt and suit pants? God save me, how am I supposed to get through dinner without jumping on him? The white shirt clings to his muscles, and I practically drool as I stare at him.

“Fucking hell, you look incredible,” Harvey says, and I blink, realizing he’s been staring at me just like I’ve been staring at him. My cheeks heat as I smile, shrugging a little like I didn’t spend ages making sure I felt amazing in my outfit.

“Thanks, I just got sent this dress and thought,what better way to try it out?” I say, grinning. “You look … well, so good my brain’s fried if I’m honest.”

Harvey chuckles, but I catch sight of a hint of red on his cheeks, which only makes me smile more. I grab my keys off the side table and slip outside, locking the door behind me before Harvey leads me to his car. It’s not the work truck he had yesterday. Instead, he’s driving a blue Range Rover that absolutely fits his personality. He opens the door for me and helps me climb inside.

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