10. Emma
Emma
Maggie stands directly behind me, her arms crossed over her chest. “Isn’t that the hot new dentist from across the street?”
My entire body tenses. Also, Maggie isn’t single, so that’s a little weird.
Carson Price is written in blocky letters and I’m cutting around it to paste his name on a bright orange piece of construction paper. My hands pause when the evil shadow lurks over my shoulder, waiting for an answer. I was hoping if I pretended not to hear her, she’d go away.
“Yeah,” I say. “He bought Vance Dental.”
“What’s he going to call the new place?”
“I’ll ask him when I go take his picture for his jug.”
“I can do it,” Maggie says, fluffing out her hair.
Again, the woman is engaged.
“That’s okay. You need to man the desk.” I push all my cut-up papers into a pile and stack them together to finish later. “Tell Seth I’ll be back soon, if he asks.”
She says nothing, popping her gum instead. Some people were never taught proper professional etiquette.
Should I tell Seth I’m running across the street? No. That’s weird, right? We’re not in a relationship. We had one date—to the wedding—and it’s been business as usual ever since.
Except for the lingering looks. And the late-night texts asking me weird questions like where I see myself in three years and if I’ve ever had rhubarb pie.
Yeah. I don’t get it either.
It’s cold outside when I walk toward Keller’s Bakehouse.
The place smells amazing when I push the door open, baked goods and coffee scenting the air and making me want to curl up with a blanket in a window seat somewhere to read.
I don’t have a window seat in my house, but I plan to rectify that shortly.
By shortly, I mean it’ll probably be finished sometime next year.
“Hi, welcome to—oh, hey Emma.” Sadie smiles, returning to filling the glass case with freshly baked goods. She brushes her bangs from her eyes. “How’s it going?”
“Just prepping things for Kiss the Pig. Can I snap a picture of you really quick?”
“Sure.” She puts the last few sticky buns in the case and closes it, wiping her hands on her tan canvas apron with a black logo across the chest. Her long, copper hair swings when she moves around the counter, and her smile is bright. “Over here?”
I open the camera app on my phone and hold it up to frame her face. “That’s great. Hold the smile…there. Got it.” I show her the photo. “Do you approve?”
“Yeah, but maybe I don’t want to look too happy. I’d rather people vote for anyone else.”
“It’s always a close call. Carson mentioned he was going to put a big donation in your jug and James’s jug so he won’t win.”
“Carson who?”
“The dentist across the street. Carson Price? He’ll be the third person.”
“Oh, then I’m not too worried. I was a little stressed it would end up being a physical representation about who sides with my family in this town and who’s sympathetic to James.”
I hadn’t thought about their family rivalry when I asked James to participate. It was either him or his mom up for repping their maple farm, and I’m not about to ask that sweet woman to kiss a pig. “Autumn Ridge likes to draw out its drama as long as possible.”
“Consider hiding the whole thing from the Ednas. Then it won’t blow out of proportion.”
“I’m kind of relying on them to remind everyone to vote. I’m hoping it brings in enough money to cover all the new books for the elementary school and our Reading with Santa event this Christmas, if we can swing it.”
Sadie pulls a face. “Go on and make it about the kids,” she teases.
“They are the future.” I laugh. “Hey, can I get a maple sticky bun to go?”
“Of course.” She heads behind the counter and pulls one from the glass case, boxing it up for me. We chat about the upcoming Fall Festival and how much the town will change with the influx of leaf-peepers.
“I’d better go. Maggie’s going to rat me out if I take too long.” I roll my eyes.
“Good luck.”
Crisp air greets me at the door. I hold my sticky bun and check for cars before jogging across the road. It’s past lunchtime now, so who knows if Carson will be in or not. I peek through the window on the door and find him measuring something in the corner of the waiting room.
Knocking as I let myself in, I give him a warning. “Hey, Carson.”
He doesn’t react.
I set my sticky bun on one of the chairs grouped away from the drying walls and head toward him. “Carson?”
Nothing. Which is when I notice the earbuds he’s wearing—noise-canceling, presumably. He’s in the zone, his dark T-shirt stretching over his back while he reaches to measure aspects of the corner and write the numbers in a notebook.
I cross the room and press his arm lightly to get his attention.
“What the—” Carson turns, startled, and his measuring tape flies from his hand, narrowly missing me and slamming against the wall.
Pale blue paint lines the tool where it lies on the floor, and there’s a mark on the wall now.
He pulls the earbuds out and drops them in a pocket. “Didn’t see you there.”
“Or hear me. Do you have extra paint sitting out? I can fix that really fast.”
“Not in those clothes.” His gaze sweeps over my body in a flash that sends heat through me before his eyes snap back to my face. It’s so quick it borders on respectful, but the feeling he leaves me with is lasting.
My work shirt today is a button-down beneath a V-neck mustard sweater, which I put over a brown plaid skirt and tights.
I’m a walking advertisement for autumn with my auburn hair and leaf-colored clothes, and I’m thinking for the first time ever that maybe I shouldn’t wear such tight things to work.
“I’ll swing by after work then.”
“It’s not your fault, Emma.” He laughs, retrieving a paint pan and clean roller. He fixes the mark and looks at me. “What’s up?”
“The donation jugs are almost ready, but I need a picture of you to put on the front. I’ll leave the photo off the jar for your dental office and just do a logo, though. People should already know who you are if they’re coming in here.”
He glances down, probably thinking his paint clothes aren’t ideal for a photo that’s meant to advertise his dental practice. “This is pretty casual.”
“Don’t most of the people around here know you already? I think they’ll like a laid-back Carson.” I smile, pulling out my phone. “If you’d rather send me your headshot, that works, too.”
Carson cringes, setting the roller in the paint pan and wiping his hands down his pants, which are already covered in pale blue marks. “That one is way too buttoned up. This is fine. Where should I stand?”
I put him in a spot with good lighting, a plain blue wall behind him, and frame him in my phone. “Smile.”
He gives me a soft smile, his eyes warm, and butterflies race through my stomach. I snap one because I want to bottle this look forever.
“Now show those teeth. That’s your best advertisement.”
Carson laughs once in surprise, which I manage to get a shot of, then gives me a nice, wide smile. He’s so handsome. It’s no surprise he dated both the cheer squad and the girls soccer team. It’s hard not to melt underneath his attention.
“Got it. Want to see them?” I ask.
He nods, sliding his hands into his pockets as he makes his way toward me. I pull up the photos and he stands close to look at them, his shoulder pressing into mine. “Not too bad.”
Psh. I’d say. The man looks like a freaking model. But I suppress this reaction and shrug, my arm pushing into his. “They’re alright.”
Carson’s eyes glitter with amusement as he looks down at me. “Keeping me humble.”
“That is my one goal in life.”
He looks like he might banter back, so I cut him off. This is dangerous ground, and I don’t like feeling like I’m skirting landmines. Time to steer him back to safer territory.
“Hey,” I say, my voice sounding much more breathless than it has any right to. “What is your new office called? Do you have a logo?”
“Price Dental. I can send over the logo if you want to give me your email address.”
“Great, thanks.” I push my hair behind my ear. “Oh, before I forget: we didn’t have the book Penny wanted. I requested the transfer, and it should be here in the next few weeks.”
“Bummer.”
“I found a few other books she might like and pulled them, so feel free to bring her by whenever and she can look through her options.”
His green eyes are shining down on me like moss in a clear stream, vibrant and deep. “That was thoughtful of you.”
I literally have to force myself not to shrug, taking a step back instead to clear my head. Friends. He said that’s what he wants to be, and I’m going to respect that because it’s the smartest decision and my emotional health can’t handle another rejection.
Last time I really put myself out there was with a guy in college, and it didn’t go well.
Garrett, my lab partner senior year, had spent the entire semester making me believe he was interested in me.
But when I asked him if he wanted to get together outside of class, he’d laughed in my face and told me he had a girlfriend.
I mean, he’d heavily flirted with me, so how was I supposed to know he wasn’t available? I’ll never make that mistake again.
And I haven’t. Since that moment, every date I’ve had, every kiss I’ve had, has been initiated by the guy.
Probably every one before him, too, if I’m being honest. I finally psyched myself up to put myself out there, then crashed and burned hard. Needless to say, Carson doesn’t have anything to worry about. If there’s one thing I know how to do well, it’s navigate an unrequited crush.
I pick up the bakery box holding my sticky bun and note the old, dingy brown chairs piled in the center of the room. “It’s a good thing you’re replacing these things. They’re hideous.”
Carson blinks. “I was going to keep them, actually.”
Hello foot, meet mouth. “Oh, Penny mentioned that your chairs are late—”
“I got new ergonomic chairs for the exam rooms—for me and my assistants while we work on patients.”
“Right.” I nod, backing toward the door. Maybe we won’t even become friends. I can’t seem to have a normal interaction with him. “Makes sense.”
“Hold on,” he puts a hand up, halting me. “Hideous? That’s a strong word.”
My neck burns. “It’s probably the lighting.”
Carson’s smile is indulgent. “Be real with me. Should I replace these, too? I need this place to be inviting, but my budget is shot. How important is it?”
“I don’t think they need to be replaced.”
He gives me a look that cuts through all my nonsense.
“I really don’t!” I promise. “Reupholstering them might take a minute, but it’s not hard. It’s a way more cost-effective option. Right now, they kind of clash with the new blue on the walls. It makes them look worse than before, when they kind of blended in.”
“Blended—yeah, that’s a good reason alone to fix the chairs.”
“Reupholster them. The bones are great.” I give one a sturdy nudge for effect.
“If only I knew how to do that,” he says.
“I’ve done it to some of my furniture. I could show you.”
“I already owe you too much.” He shakes his head, looking around the waiting room, and I can sense how overwhelmed he is. Like he’s straining beneath the pressure he’s under.
“Then help me tile my bathroom,” I blurt out.
He looks like he might be considering it.
“Not now,” I say, because the last thing he needs is to add something to his to-do list. “I meant eventually, once all this is finished and you have time. We can trade services.”
“If I was going to trade for any service, it would be braiding lessons.”
“We can do that too. I also need a new sink installed. Maybe even a toilet.” I grin widely.
Carson laughs. “I’m being hustled, aren’t I?”
“If it’ll make you feel better, then sure. Ever since I met you in that bar, I thought to myself, I’m finally going to finish my bathroom, and this guy is going to help me do it.”
His eyes focus on me like he can’t see anything else, driving awareness through me. “When should we start?” he asks.
My pulse heightens. Is this really happening? I’m going to take on the arduous task of reupholstery and he’s going to help with my bathroom?
Honestly, it seems like a fair trade-off. “Is there a way you can get the chairs to my house this week? I can probably get them done before you open…what day is that?”
“This Friday,” he says.
Okay, sooner than I thought. I can swing it, can’t I? “We need to pick a fabric. I know a good store in Burlington with plenty of options. I have tomorrow afternoon off if you have time to meet me over there.”
Carson looks up, like he can find his schedule written in the air. “How about one-ish? I need to be home in time to pick up Penny from school.”
“That works.”
“I’ll pick you up?”
My hesitation is so brief I wonder if he notices.
He doesn’t seem to, and I nod quickly. It’s only a car ride.
Nothing special, nothing of any meaning.
Sitting together for a thirty-minute ride is something friends do all the time.
Just because my crush seems to grow every time I see him doesn’t mean I can’t handle being his friend.
It means that giving this thing with Seth another chance is important.
I start to head out but look back. “How did Penny’s braids hold up today?”
“They looked great this morning, but they’re starting to get fuzzy.”
I choke on a laugh. “You mean frizzy?”
“Same thing.” His smile is wide. “See you tomorrow.”
I walk back to work with the goofiest grin on my face.