Page 17 of Screwed

I knew he wouldn’t mind heading over there. I have a feeling that I won’t see him for a little bit. He won’t be able to resist stopping in to see Madelyn and stealing a few moments with her.

I smile as I head into the back room. This is the room that they broke into, but aside from the broken window, not much else looks disturbed.

I get to work cleaning up the broken glass from the window and double-checking that everything is as it should be before I head back up front.

Arlo is just walking in the front door and I freeze as our eyes lock.

“Hey,” he says, breaking the silence first and I blink, trying to get it together.

“Hey.”

“Did you guys already finish up?” He asks as he walks farther into the store.

“Just about. We just need to take care of the broken cases and I need to do another inventory check before I take the list down to the police.”

“Was there a lot stolen?”

“No, just the four things in the case up front by the register. The rest was either damaged or broken.”

My heart sinks in my chest as I think about all of the forgotten memories and items that were ruined today. It hurts more because the things that I cherished the most have been stolen. It feels like my store, my safe space, has been violated and I don’t know how to fix that.

“Were those the most valuable?” He asks as he walks closer to the case that held my grandparents’ things.

“No, not at all. The things in there were my grandparents’. Mostly my grandma’s. She was the only one who supported me opening this store. She’s actually who I got my love of antiques from,” I tell him and he closes his eyes.

It almost looked like he was wincing but that can’t be right.

“I’m so sorry, Iris.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like it was your fault,” I tell him, trying to lighten the mood.

I’m not sure that it works. There’s still something a little off in his expression but before I can put my finger on what it is, it’s gone. He gives me a small smile and I know that he’s trying to comfort me.

“I was really worried about you last night,” he says quietly and I shift on my feet.

I’m not sure what to say to that. I’m not even sure how I feel about him saying that. The butterflies are back, but it has my nerves feeling like a frayed live wire.

Dangerous and out of control.

I like having everything in order. I like being calm and settled, but I have to admit that there’s something addicting about the way that Arlo can make me feel with just a look or a few words.

Is this what love is like? Or maybe just lust…

“I’m okay,” I try to reassure him.

My voice comes out shaky and unsure and he picks up on it.

“I like you, Iris. I want you and I’ve been trying to take this slow because I know how important you could be to me and I don’t want to do anything to screw that up, but I don’t want to wait anymore.”

I blink, wondering if I’m hallucinating.

How can this be real life?

That, what he just said, that’s leading man talk and while Arlo can definitely be a leading man, I’m no leading woman. I’m a wallflower and I’m totally okay with that. I’m more comfortable in the background.

So why is my heart beating out of control? Why am I moving closer to him?

“I like you too,” I whisper and Arlo grins, his green eyes flashing.

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