The sun had just gone down, but it was still plenty light outside. She led them to her car, which was parked next to a row of shrubs on the driver’s side of the car. She opened the door to the backseat and laid down the camera case, then accepted the tripod from him and laid it beside the camera before shutting the door. He probably should’ve said goodbye and walked away at that point, but instead, as she was opening the driver’s door, he leaned against the back door and asked, “So when will the first interview air?”
She turned so she was facing him—just the two of them nestled in the little space between her car and the shrubs, the open door behind her. “Next Tuesday. The same day your app releases.”
“And you’re going to show me before it airs, right?”
She gave him an amused smile that made his chest tingle. “I always keep my word.”
“So, are we talking five minutes before it airs, or with enough time to request changes?”
There was that same smile again, but she moved forward just a bit. Enough to make it feel like she wanted the distance between them to close just as much as he did. “I will send it to you by Sunday evening so you’ll have all day Monday to look at it.”
He nodded, and turned so that he was facing her fully, which put him a little closer to her.
“We need to film the next one.” Her eyes were searching his. “When are you free?”
“Tomorrow.” He said it without thinking and instantly regretted it. He hadn’t wanted to tip his hand and show how much or how soon he wanted to see her again. So he added a quick, “Or next week,” so it wouldn’t seem like he was desperate.
“Tomorrow sounds good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She moved a bit closer, and her eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips. One slight little flick of her eyes, and suddenly all he could think about was her lips and how it would be to kiss them. “Can you meet me at the inn?”
“Anywhere.”
“Anywhere?”
He breathed out a chuckle and thought As long as you’re there. Instead of answering, he just closed the gap by a few more inches, and she was close enough that he could hear her soft breathing.
“I’m suddenly feeling drunk with the possibility of getting you to meet me anywhere.”
He was pretty sure she could’ve talked him into anything right now. He reached out and ran his fingers down her upper arm. She responded by touching her fingertips to his chest, and tingles spread up his spine as she started to close the gap, her eyes on his lips.
“Bex!” Peyton yelled as she ran around the bushes that separated where they were from the rest of the parking lot. “I’m so glad I caught you! Oh. Oh! My lands, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I’d be interrupting... I just...” She opened the front passenger’s door and tossed a bag inside. “I was afraid of leaving this in Max’s car. I’ll just...go now. Ignore me. Pretend I was never here.”
Peyton raced off, and they heard a car door shut and then the sound of Max’s car driving off. Bex looked around like she had just come out of a daze. The moment was gone, though. He could see it in her eyes. He took a deep breath to pull himself out of the daze, and then rubbed the back of his neck. “What time did you want me to come tomorrow night?”
“Oh, um, seven-thirty?”
He nodded, then turned and walked toward his car. It was probably a good thing they hadn’t actually kissed. What had he been thinking? They were in a fairy tale world, not the real world. He had just reached in his pocket to pull out his keys when Bex said, “Roman?”
He turned back toward her, not sure what, exactly, he was hoping for, but knowing hope was alive and well.
“What was your favorite ice cream as a kid?”
That was not what he was expecting. “Chocolate chip cookie dough.”
She gave a nod and a wink, and then said, “See you tomorrow night.”
Yep. Hope was definitely alive and well.
11
Bex
Can I borrow three small legs, sweetie?
The text came in from Ian’s grandma, Shirley, next door. The woman had discovered the beauty of voice to text, but not how to edit what it thought she said. Luckily, Bex was practically a pro at translating voice to text. She had Vivian as a sister, after all. She typed a quick response.
Yep! I’ll bring them over. I need to get out of the house.
She got three eggs out of the fridge and headed next door, breathing in the sweet afternoon air as she went. She had started off the day by filming an Inn Roomies segment about the chaos of a morning when living in an inn full of entrepreneurs. Peyton had been organizing bowls, mixers, food items, pots, pans, and containers to put the food in for a family she was making a week’s worth of food for. Timini had a play she was creating all the costumes for, and not only had she taken all of the six smaller tables in the dining area, but she was petitioning to use the dining table they all used as well. Peyton and Timini were duking it out for use of the table during the day, all while Bex, Addison, and Ian were all trying to grab something for breakfast before they took half a dozen trips out to her car to load up a ridiculous number of organization bins and other items for a client of Addison’s.
Not long after Addison and Ian both left, while Peyton and Timini were still discussing how to share the space, all of Bex’s sisters showed up to film a Sterling Sisters segment. Then, once they were finished, she figured she would film her review of a stylish sports bag that a company had sent her, since Nikki was there to film. Enoch was her favorite cameraman, but since Nikki did most of the editing, she had a good feel for what, exactly, they needed.
Filming always gave her a boost of energy. But now that it was late afternoon, all that extra energy was gone and she was crashing. The fresh air and time away from her computer helped, though. She went straight to Shirley’s kitchen door and knocked twice before opening the door.
“Oh, thank you,” Shirley said as she turned from a bowl of something she was mixing on the counter and accepted the eggs from Bex. Her apron was covered in flour, and Carol, who was also wearing a flour-covered apron and stirring a bowl of something, sat at the kitchen table.
“What are you making?”
Shirley pointed at a muffin tin and a cake pan on the stove, the bowl in front of her, and the bowl in front of Carol. “Cookies, lemon tarts, and fudge jumbles. Our entire origami club district is getting together tonight.”
“Wow! You guys really know how to party it up.”
Carol stood up, grabbed a spoon from the drawer, and then got a scoop of the yellow substance in her bowl and handed it to Bex. “Here. Try this lemon curd.”
Bex sat at the table, too, and put the spoon in her mouth. The curd was an explosion of flavor on her tongue—tart and sweet and so very lemony—and her eyes rolled up as she closed them to savor every bit of it. “Oh, my, Carol.” She licked the spoon. “This is divine. I can’t speak for Addison, since she owns it, but if you two ever want to move into the inn, I’m sure we would all welcome you with open arms. And open mouths.”
Both women laughed and went back to working on their sweet confections.