Chapter Thirteen
Vera
For an event in a town this small, it was packed. I was thrilled, but the swirling in my stomach over what was going on with Benji hadn’t settled.
Which was ridiculous. If I were this worried about a workplace issue, how would I handle him going to college?
Then again, he had called me. He was a smart kid, so if he was that worried, then there must be more than what he told me.
I reminded myself that Wyatt was there. Wyatt with his smart-ass mouth, and his helpful nature. Wyatt, who asked to help rather than having to be asked. Who understood why I hesitated when he offered.
I did my best to engage with potential customers. They were very complimentary of the design and the look of it. There were lots of laughs when I explained what it was designed for.
An hour into the event, I got my first order.
I shook the woman’s hand, then put the order form in the box, staring down at it for a weirdly long time.
I might actually pull this off.
I took a deep breath, and when I glanced up, Wyatt was walking towards me with his usual casual gait.
My eye caught his across the space, and a slow smile spread across his lips. My stomach gave a little flutter. The look on his face told me that my son was fine, but it was more than that.
I was happy to see him in a way that went beyond my worries for Benji, and that was a feeling I hadn’t had — in a romantic sense anyway — in a long ass time.
“Hey Nightstand Whisperer, how are sales going?”
I laughed at the silly nickname. “Tell me about Benji first.”
“I’m glad he called, but Brody got there not long after me. He did the right thing by refusing unsafe work.”
He was diminishing his own role in things, I was sure of it. His eyes were glued to my face with his smile still in place, and I tucked my hair behind my ear, feeling flushed under his stare. “Good, thank you. Really.”
He shrugged. “So, tell me, sales?”
I reached down and grabbed my one sales form, and held it up. “I got my first sale.”
That grin widened. “Congrats, that’s amazing.”
I tucked my precious form away. “It’s a good start.”
“An excellent start! We should celebrate.” He licked his lips. “Can I take you out? To dinner, I mean, tomorrow night? I heard there’s a new Italian place in Springwood that is fantastic. We can buy the wood for all the sales you’re going to get today at the same time.”
My cheeks heated. “Are you asking because you want to go to the hardware store, or is this a date?”
He leaned against the table, his scarred, rough hand contrasting with the smooth plastic top. “Two things can be true at once, but if we skipped the store and just went to dinner, I’d be okay with that.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “I have a morning shift at the diner tomorrow, but I’m free in the afternoon.” I realized I was fiddling with my fingers and dropped my arms to my side.
“Good, great, okay. I’ll text you. Good luck with the rest of the trade show. I should get back to my table.”
I watched him go, worrying about tomorrow while being excited for it at the same time.
I ended the day with seventeen orders.
SEVENTEEN.
I all but floated out of the community center; actually, floating would have been nice since my feet were aching. I had a lot of work to do to deliver the orders I’d taken, but I was feeling optimistic about my plan.
Not only that, but I had a date with Wyatt tomorrow night.
Benji texted that Brody had dropped him off, so I went straight home. “Hey, how did the day go?” I asked him as I put my things on the counter.
He was sitting at the table with a pile of grilled cheese sandwiches in front of him. “I’m sure you want the whole story.”
I shook my head. “Only if you want to tell me. From what Wyatt said, you handled everything exactly right. I’m proud of you, kiddo.”
“I’m not a kid, Mom.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, I’m proud of you, young man.”
“Better,” he took a big bite of his sandwich. “Are you going to date Wyatt?”
I paused and considered how I wanted to answer.
This wasn’t the first time Benji had asked, maybe he saw what was growing between us.
No parent wanted to talk about their dating life with their kid, but he wasn’t exactly a baby.
If something was going to happen between Wyatt and I, I’d have to talk to Benji about it eventually.
“If I did, would you be okay with that?”
He nodded. “I don’t want you to be alone when I get to college.”
“Is that the only reason?”
He shrugged. “He seems like a good guy, and we get along. I think he’s a good fit for you since he is so laid-back.”
“Oh, and I’m not? Is that it?” I teased.
It was his turn to roll his eyes now. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do, kid. Thanks for the stamp of approval.”
I had given Benji a few more details about the business I was starting after Wyatt had left the other night. He had been less weirded out than I had expected. Things were falling into place, and I was cautiously optimistic that I could help Benji and maybe be happy too.
******
I arrived at the diner the next morning before the breakfast rush. I could have used a few more hours of sleep, but I hadn’t thought to ask for a different shift.
I yawned widely as I tied my apron around my waist. “Morning,” Ruth said, “get yourself a coffee before it gets busy here.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
I poured myself a cup and drank it black.
“How’d your trade show go yesterday?”
“Great, actually. Almost got derailed when Benji called needing some help, but Wyatt went instead so I could stay.”
“Ooh, Wyatt, huh? Spending a lot of time with him these days.”
“Well, I did hire him to help me with my project…and he asked me to dinner tonight.”
I felt like jumping around in circles like a teenager and gushing about how cute he is, but I held back…barely.
“That’s exciting; you guys will have a blast. Are you excited? Nervous?”
I leaned against the counter. “I was nervous before. My life is a bit chaotic, but it works. If I am going to potentially throw myself off balance, it has to be worth it, you know? When he offered to help Benji, it was as if the concerns were lifted. He wasn’t going to come into my life and take, take, take; he wanted to make my life easier.
The fact that he and Benji have the same interests doesn’t hurt either. ”
She squeezed my shoulder. “Happy for you, honey, just make sure you are picking him for you, not Benji.”
My mom-brain would never let me not consider my son, but I wasn’t only going out with Wyatt for that reason. There were a million of them. He was hot. So there was that. But he was also helpful and kind; we have a lot in common and, dammit; the man was worth risking a broken heart for.