Page 37 of Outside the Lines
Oh man, Ian blushed nicely at that. “Well . . . yes.” His smile was coy. “Figured it’s easier to carry their coffee this way.”
“As if I’d let you pay . . .” Lydia slapped down a twenty on the counter.
Ian and Lydia jostled and laughed over the bill, but Ian gave up gracefully to Lydia in the end. My heart melted in my chest. I— This. This was what I’d always wanted.
It had been less than a week.Slow down, Si. Don’t get too attached. This kind of relationship, with all its complexity, could always fall apart. But my soul tied itself up in knots at the potential for so much more and I clung to that hope.
Coffees in hand, we drove the extra couple of blocks to the shop, parked in our spot in the alley, and clambered into the back rooms of End o’ Earth. After Ian headed into the main part of the shop to check on the set, Lydia bumped me with her shoulder. “You okay?” Concern there, and love. Always love.
I nodded. “Trying not to get ahead of myself.” I studied the path Ian had taken. “But he’s— Well, you said it yourself.”
A joy. Utterly. That was the problem.
“You’re worried it’s too good to be true.”
“Pretty much.” I knew myself, how fast I fell and how hard it hurt when the seemingly inevitable happened.
She kissed me and tasted of cinnamon and java. “I love you, Si. Go spend the day with that lovely man.”
Now, that was an order I could follow. I headed out into the store. Dexy would be in soon and Lydia would do some restocking. Everything was in hand, except for my heart, which I could never corral. Maybe I’d get burned. But Ian seemed happy too, so maybe I wouldn’t.
Only one way to find out. I stepped out into the store and found him by the set, which he’d already uncovered.
A breathtaking smile greeted me. “Let’s get to work.”
“I’m all yours,” I said, and meant every single word.
According to Ian, we got a shitload of work done that Sunday, despite answering questions fromWolf’s Landingfans. It’d been pleasant, actually. I fielded a few inquiries about painting, model building, and miniatures. Some folks said they’d seen me working before, but never had the courage to come up and ask about model construction or miniature painting.
We must have been getting people coming over from Howling Moon, because I kept spying some Wolf’s Landing T-shirts I hadn’t seen before. It was about the time of year they put out new ones. I’d have to look at the newer designs sometime.
During one of the lulls, Lydia wandered back with some bottles of water, and I set down my brush. “Do you think maybe I should teach a workshop on miniature and model painting?”
“Yes,” Lydia and Ian answered in the same tone, one that hadduhrather than a period at the end of the sentence.
Huh. Okay. I put that on my mental to-do list.
“I should give you one of my sculptures to paint.” Ian shoved some strands of hair out of his face with the back of his wrist. “I bet it’d be stunning.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Luckily, Lydia spoke. “Wait, you sculpt?”
And they were off, Ian filling in Lydia on his sculptures and her offering shop space. My heart did a dance in my chest, seeing them animatedly discussing his art.
Please. A silent prayer. I wanted this to work.
By the time that night rolled around, we were all exhausted. Once the shop was locked up, and Dexy had waved her goodbyes, Ian took a breath. “I think I need to go home tonight.” There was trepidation in his words. He met my gaze. “As much as I love this, I’m so worn out.” As if to punctuate the statement, he yawned, then looked completely sheepish. “Sorry.”
I held back a yawn of my own. Barely. “No, totally understand.” Mostly because I was also beat-ass tired. I pulled him close and stole a kiss. “Besides, having energy is good for other things.”
Lydia nearly held back a snicker and that turned into a yawn. She’d been burning the candle too much lately also.
Ian drew me back in and his lips and tongue took my breath away. As did the feel of his body against mine. “Just you wait.” Then he broke the kiss and smiled. “I’ll see you guys bright and early tomorrow.”
Still, there was a pang in my chest when he sauntered down the alley to the walkway that took him back to Main.
“Hey, come on,” Lydia said. “Let’s go home.”
I climbed into the SUV. Lydia was kind enough to leave me to my thoughts during the ride home, and as we went through the evening. She knew me well, especially after all this time. When we settled into bed for the night, I pulled her to me. “I love you so much.” Her hair was soft against my lips and her skin warm.
