Chapter Eighteen Jamie
Chapter Eighteen
Jamie
Unknown: ??Do you have a hammer???
Jamie was about to respond with Wrong number when a second message came through.
Unknown: ??It’s Elliott.??
The way his breath caught wasn’t normal.
It was just ... He’d sort of given up on hearing from her. It had been two weeks since he’d put his number in her phone and ... nothing. Not even a text to share her number, and no requests to take his dog out.
He was a little offended on Hank’s behalf.
He’d told himself it was probably for the best, though, because when she’d told him about her anxiety and planted the image of her being sick or afraid and alone in her apartment, he’d been stunned by the force of his reaction. He’d damn near asked her to move in with him, which wouldn’t have come off weird at all.
Jamie: ??Sure, what’s it for? Need me to bring it over???
Elliott: ??Hanging some stuff, and that would be awesome??
Elliott: ??Bring Hank if you want. I miss him.??
Jamie glared at his phone, then eyed his dog, looking all adorable curled up in his favorite bed by the coffee table. “You have no idea how lucky you are, do you?”
Hank sprung to his feet with interest when Jamie grabbed his baseball cap and rose, then followed him to the hall closet. Jamie rummaged through his toolbox and grabbed the hammer, and soon the pair were trekking across the complex.
Elliott answered the door right away with a grin and her eyes lit with excitement. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, but several pieces had slipped out and fallen around her face.
“Find the art you were looking for?” he asked, trying not to notice how adorable she was like this. He liked every version of her, even the subdued Elliott he’d seen most often this time around. But this energized version, brimming with happiness, was an Elliott he hadn’t seen since ... well, since the night they met.
Thinking about that was ... a mistake. A visceral memory slammed into him of their teasing, suggestive comments while beating egg whites and the urge to kiss the hell out of her right there in the middle of the crowded room.
And the searing kiss they’d shared later.
“Yes, and I’m obsessed with them.” She held open the door, and as soon as they were inside, she crouched down to cuddle Hank’s neck. Jamie inhaled deeply through his nose and tried to stay cool. Ignoring her excitement was one thing—not swooning at the way she adored his dog was a different story.
Hank licked all over her face and she laughed, the sound like a balm to his soul. “I missed you, too,” she murmured.
“I’m surprised you haven’t borrowed him yet.” He regretted the words immediately. How pathetic did that sound?
She stood. “I know. I thought about it a couple times.” She scrunched her nose. “But I talked myself out of it because I didn’t want to bother you.”
Bothering him was exactly what he wanted her to do.
He pointedly glanced at the hammer in his hand and said lightly, “You don’t seem to have a problem bothering me for tools?”
She laughed. “I was desperate. I can’t wait to get these up.”
She pointed to three paintings lined up along the living room wall. Her lips curved into a smile, and she pressed clasped fists to her chin, rocking back on her heels. “Aren’t they great?”
He unclipped Hank’s leash and stepped to the side to get a better look. He knelt down, balancing on the balls of his feet. They were large—probably three by four feet—and outdoor scenes. “Oh yeah, these are definitely cool. I like the colors.”
“Me too.” She sounded almost breathless. “It feels like every time I look at them, I notice something new. A different blend of color or a texture I didn’t see before.”
“Where’d you find them?”
“I went to Dundee, like you suggested.” She pointed to the one in the middle. “That was the only one on display, but I met the artist and asked if she had more like it.”
“That’s awesome.” He regarded them for another moment, then stood and checked out the rest of the room. His eye caught on a bouquet of aging flowers in the middle of the coffee table, and an ugly sensation settled low in his belly. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion he was familiar with, and certainly wasn’t welcome when it came to Elliott.
She’s not yours.
But ... where had they come from? A man? A friend? Had she picked them up for herself, just because?
He’d go with the last one, because if he spent too long considering another man vying for her attention, he’d be tempted to create his own bouquet for her, all with fresh blooms from the nursery. He’d arrange something a hell of a lot better than that one.
She caught him eyeing the vase, and her lips twitched. “I couldn’t find peonies anywhere.”
God, was he that obvious? He kept his face carefully neutral and cleared his throat, hoping to move on before he did something idiotic like offer to bring her some. “So what’s the plan? Have you measured and marked where you want them?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “No. I just know where I want them.”
“They don’t look too heavy. Do they have wires in the back?” He reached to the side to tip one piece forward.
“I don’t know.”
“Got a level?”
“No.”
He dropped his chin to his chest. “Elliott.”
“What?”
He lifted his eyes to hers, trying not to smile. “Were you just going to hammer nails in the wall and hope it worked out?”
“Maybe?”
He released a dramatic sigh. “Okay. First, I need to go back to my apartment and get more stuff. The paintings are already wired, but we need a tape measure, level, and picture hangers. Then we need to measure the spot and mark it—”
“Jamie?”
He stopped.
“Can you stop mansplaining and just do it?”
Laughing, he went for the door. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Hank can stay with me.”
Jamie noted where his dog had already made himself at home on her couch. “He seems good with that.”
He went back to his place, gathered the supplies in his toolbox, and returned. She told him where she wanted them and he got to work, determining where the nails should go, marking the spot with a pencil.
“So is this all the art you wanted?”
“It’s all I’m going to buy. I like photography, and thought maybe one weekend I’d find some cool places to take pictures around town. If I get any good shots, I can print them and hang them in my room.”
“I’m not sure what subjects you’re looking for, but there are some cool old barns outside the city. Some are close enough to the road you could get shots from just off the highway. They’d look great in black and white.”
“You have an idea for everything, don’t you?” she said.
Jamie nodded and picked up a picture hanger and the hammer for the first one. He lifted his arm. “You sure this is where you want it? No going back after I start.”
“I’m sure.”
He hammered the small nails into the wall, and she grabbed the painting and brought it over.
“So how’d that book work for you?” he asked as he took it.
She laughed. “Really well, actually. I had a great night’s sleep after you gave it to me.”
He glanced over at her and found her face strangely flushed. She seemed almost embarrassed for some reason, so he didn’t call attention to it. “I’m glad. This look even?”
“Perfect.”
They repeated the process with the other two, and he tossed the hammer to the carpet before positioning the final painting on the wall.
As he worked, she told him about her recent clients and the project she was finalizing for his sister’s bakery. He told her about a book he’d recently read that threw him for a loop in the best way, and she asked for suggestions for the best Mexican restaurants around town—which wasn’t difficult, because he hadn’t met a salsa he didn’t like.
“Good?” he asked before stepping away from the final painting.
Her eyes were bright. “Yes, I love it. Thank you so much.”
“Anytime.”
Seriously, he’d do anything for her, anytime.
A heavy silence descended, though Hank didn’t seem to notice, completely passed out and snoring on the edge of her couch.
“We’d better get out of your hair. Hank, come.”
“Oh, okay. Sure.” She took a step forward and her toe caught the lid of the toolbox he’d left open, pitching her forward. Jamie immediately reached out to steady her, his hands closing around her waist, and hers blindly reaching out and landing on his forearms. She regained her balance in his arms, her hip brushing his and her hair near his face.
Her breath hitched.
His heart stopped.
They both froze and he closed his eyes, fighting the urge to pull her closer, body flush against his. Energy pulsed through him, charged and thick.
She tipped her chin up and regarded him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. Her pupils widened at the same time one of her thumbs shifted across his skin.
Had—had she just caressed him? That was on purpose, right?
In that moment, everything but her flew straight out of his mind: Carly, his dad, his worries about mass deforestation and global warming. All forgotten.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips parted and her grip tightened on his forearms. He wouldn’t make a move—would leave it up to her—but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to pull away.
Hank chose that moment to obey Jamie’s command and jumped down, coming over to shove his nose between their thighs.
She blinked as if coming back to herself and edged sideways, dropping her arms.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“No, um ... thanks.” Her cheeks were still pink. She knelt to close the toolbox and latch it, then rose again to hand it to him. “This would have taken a lot longer without your help.”
He took it from her, careful not to touch her skin. Her apartment suddenly felt warm, and he needed to keep her at arm’s length if they were going to continue whatever avoidance ritual they were doing.
Elliott ruffled Hank’s ears in goodbye, and they left, Jamie struggling to make sense of everything that had just happened.
She’d come to him for help: good.
They’d talked and, as far as he was concerned, enjoyed each other’s company: really good.
When she’d fallen into his arms, she’d looked at him like she wanted him: fucking awesome.
Then she had pulled away and hadn’t looked at him again: possibly the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
Back at his apartment, he crashed onto the couch with a frustrated growl. He just enjoyed being with her so damn much. He loved her kindness, her sense of humor, her determination and strength. He loved that she was sweet to his dog and the way he felt her eyes on him when she thought he wasn’t looking. He wanted to sit beside her and learn about her, and he wanted to kiss her until he could hardly breathe.
There were times it felt like she wanted those things, too. But then she’d pull away, and he was back at square one.
It took a while, but he finally fell asleep and, the following morning, found a surprise waiting for him. When he opened the door, about to step into the hallway on his way to work, something on the ground caught his eye. He looked down and barked out a laugh.
It was a National Geographic encyclopedia on ocean animals with the section about narwhals marked with a scrap of notebook paper. He slid the book onto his coffee table and went to the door a second time, a huge smile now on his face.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and his heart lurched.
Was it Elliott? Maybe she wanted to make sure he’d gotten the gift or was interested in taking Hank out again. Even better, maybe she just wanted to talk to him for no reason at all.
But when he pulled the device out and regarded the screen, his smile disappeared.
Carly: ??Can we talk???