Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Thursday morning, Carri stepped back and studied the display she had put together.
She’d brought about half of the more than two hundred critters she’d made, but only a couple dozen fit on the provided eight-foot table supplied.
As she sold them, she would grab replacements from the boxes tucked under the table.
After looking around at some of the other nearby displays, she wondered if she would sell anything. Her booth just looked so blah in comparison.
Tilly had somehow sweet-talked the organizers into not only renting them a third booth, but to also putting the three sisters in adjoining spaces.
With the convention running from late Thursday morning until late Sunday afternoon, they decided that each sister would spend one night sleeping at the convention center, to guard their tables.
That way they would not have to pack everything up each evening.
“Carri? What’s wrong?” Lottie approached from where she had just finished loading her glass display cases with the lollipops, chocolates, and other candies she had made over the past two weeks.
A moment later, Tilly approached from her booth on Carri’s other side. “What’s going on?”
“Does it look okay?” Carri waved a hand at her table, her heart starting to pound with anxiety. She shifted from foot to foot as she waited for her sisters to respond. “Maybe this is a mistake.”
“Hush,” Tilly ordered gently as she put an arm around her back. “This is not a mistake. I bet you’ll sell out before the end of the weekend.”
“I bet you sell out by the end of Friday,” Lottie countered as she also slid an arm around Carri’s back.
“But your table needs some height to it. And maybe not quite so many on display. That way the ones that are out are easier to see. You can replace them with different ones when they sell. That way the offerings will keep changing and people will return several times to see what’s new.
Tilly, can you grab a couple of the empty shoe boxes that I had candy in. ”
Carri stepped back as her outgoing, sales-minded sisters took over. It was a relief to have them step in. Though she had promised herself she would try to be more outgoing this weekend, it would be a challenge.
She was deathly shy around strangers. Which was why she enjoyed staying home reading and playing with yarn. Her little animals did not demand she be outgoing and sparkly. They just asked for her to love them.
In five minutes, her sisters transformed her table from blah to oh wow .
They used several of the shoeboxes and a second tablecloth to create raised display areas.
Tilly took the animals she had neatly lined up and grouped different animals together on top of the boxes as well as in what looked like conversation groups on the main front table space.
She left enough room at the back of the table for Carri’s money pouch, credit card swiper, and the pile of brightly colored gift bags that would carry the critters for their new owners.
The extra animals were returned to the boxes tucked under the table that held the rest of her inventory.
“Okay, what do you think?” Lottie stepped back after one final adjustment of a purple dragon’s wing.
“It’s quite an attractive display,” a male voice answered before Carri could give her approval.
Carri turned and found herself nose to chest with a giant who stood just behind her.
At five foot four, she was no delicate flower, though she still was not always able to reach the back of the top shelf at the grocery store.
Dropping her head back, she looked up, up, up at what had to be the most handsome man she had ever seen.
He was at least a foot taller than her, with strong, dark, well-put-together features.
He met her gaze and smiled, which only increased his attractiveness. Carri had to lick her lips to keep from drooling on his shoes as her nipples beaded and her pussy gushed.
“Hello,” Carri whispered, her stomach flipping with nerves.
“Are you the yarn artist who created all these wonderful beasties?”
Carri’s body flooded with arousal, the likes of which she’d never felt before. Ever.
“Uh-huh.”
“Words, please, little one,” he said with a wink as his grin grew.
Near panic, Carri looked around, but found herself alone. Tilly and Lottie had disappeared.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Yes, Sir. I made all the animals. I even designed a few of them.”
Carri dropped her gaze to his chest and waited for him to make fun of her critter friends.
This was why she had never done the various fairs, arts markets, and other sales venues her sisters had visited over the last year.
Tilly had even started a website selling her tutus, dresses, and other clothing for Littles.
Lottie had found a couple of candy stores in the area who bought her lollipops for their shops.
Only Carri had not turned her craft into a side business.
A finger touched her chin and tilted her head back again until she stared up into a pair of dark-brown eyes. They reminded her of the semi-sweet dark chocolate she’d helped Lottie dip strawberries in late the night before.
“There you are. I always like to look into a person’s eyes when I talk to them. So much friendlier, don’t you think?” The man’s grin belied the thread of steel that laced through his deep, deep voice, making Carri’s pussy clench again.
Carri swallowed hard. “Umm, I guess,” she answered as she forced herself not to drop her gaze.
She had never been comfortable looking into a stranger’s eyes. She always looked away, her gaze darting to their ears or mouth or just over their shoulders. But she managed to keep her eyes locked on his.
“You’re quite an accomplished artist,” he said as he moved closer, finally releasing her gaze.
“Thank you,” Carri whispered as she moved around the table.
For some reason, being close to this big man made her even more nervous than normal. Something about him made her feel different. She just wished she understood why.
She watched as he picked up a dragon and looked it over. He carefully replaced it on the table before picking up a penguin and then a unicorn.
“Do you have a Little girl or boy that you’re buying for?” Carri asked, hoping she did not offend him with the question, but needing to know if this instant attraction she felt was in vain. The last thing she wanted was to feel attraction for another man who was already spoken for.
The man set down the unicorn and looked at her with a solemn expression. “I don’t have a Little girl currently. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I’m hoping to meet someone who might be interested in filling the position.”
Carri locked her knees to keep from falling to the floor and begging the man to think about taking her on as his Little girl.
She did not know anything about him, not even his name, and after the last disaster of a relationship, she had promised her sisters not to get serious about a man until they had met and approved of him.
The man picked up a brown-and-ivory hedgehog and studied it before looking back to her again. “Which one is your favorite?”
Rooker St. James found himself impressed by the woman’s talent with yarn and intrigued by her shyness. He watched as she looked over the table before picking up a hedgehog similar to the one he held, but with a purple body and pink face.
“This one is my current favorite one, though the truth is I love them all,” she said with a small smile.
He was sure she was a Little from both her tone and the way she watched over her stock. Was she looking for a Daddy? For a man to take over and make decisions, both in the bedroom and out? Or would a man show up in the next few seconds and punch his lights out for making a pass at this sweet woman?
While he was here in his official capacity as the owner of a boutique store that catered to Littles, he was also hoping to meet a Little girl to make his own.
Looking at all the small, colorful stuffed animals, he wondered if his customers would enjoy having access to such beautiful handmade toys.
He would wait and see how she did over the next couple of days before he approached her about a possible business deal to sell her little friends in his store.
“I’ll take that one.” He nodded at the small pink-and-purple hedgehog she held as he pulled out his wallet. “How much?”
The woman looked startled at his request. Was she not expecting anyone to buy her creations? Or was it him? Did she not want to sell him her favorite little critter? Was that why she froze like a deer in the headlights?
“And do you have a business card or website?”
She looked flustered and ready to run, but before she could make a move, a second woman, whose only differences in appearance from the yarn artist were her more business-like clothing and pixie hairstyle, joined the conversation.
“Here, Carri, I made these for you last night,” she said, handing the first woman a stack of business cards in a plastic holder.
“Oh. Thanks, Lottie.”
Carri took the holder and placed it on the table. Then she pulled one out and handed it to him. He glanced at the card and smiled.
Carri’s Critters. Carrigan Smith, creator.
Cute name for the business. He noted there was an email address, but no other personal information, and no website. She must be new to the business world to not have a website to refer customers to for future orders.
“The hedgehog is fifteen dollars,” she said softly as she focused on opening a bright yellow gift bag. She put the animal in the bag before looking up at him again. “Thank you for being my first customer.”
Rooker pulled out his wallet and extracted a twenty-dollar bill. Handing it over, he accepted the bag and his change with a smile. “Thank you, Carrigan Smith. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”
The blush that rose to her cheeks delighted him. “I go by Carri. Have a good day.”
With one last smile, Rooker forced himself to walk away when what he really wanted to do was step around the table that separated them and give her a hug. He imagined taking her into his arms, and demanding she become his Little girl immediately. But that would get his face slapped, or worse.
Continuing his stroll around the room to check out the other vendors, he made note that the booths on either side of Carri’s were occupied by women who looked remarkably similar to the shy women who had captured his attention.
He stopped by several other booths and picked up business cards and information but did not purchase anything else.
He would wait until later in the weekend to make further contact with those businesses.
Maybe he would return to her booth and ask Carri Smith to join him for dinner once the vendor area closed for the evening.