Chapter 4
Easton
The box of chocolates was gone, and the gift wrap was in her trash can.
I wonder if she liked them.
I drifted past her desk, staring longingly at the back of her head. I’d never had a crush on a woman like I did on Violet. It had been instantaneous. From the first second I saw her, I’d been totally enamored.
And the more I’d observed her over the past few months, the more I liked her.
Violet was shy. And quiet like me.
She was also a hard worker. And a little bit quirky, even though she tried to hide that part of herself.
I wanted to dig deep into the layers of who she was, but I hadn’t figured out how to loop her into a conversation. It was hard to get to know someone who always had their head buried in their computer.
Plus, there was the whole work thing.
Dating wasn’t simple anymore. If I asked Violet out and she wasn’t into me, who was to say she wouldn’t march over to HR and call it harassment?
Not that I thought Violet would do that.
But these days you couldn’t be too careful.
And if she wasn’t into me, she might legitimately feel like I’d creeped her out with all these gifts. I didn’t want that.
It’s not like I was a stalker. I had a pretty straightforward workplace crush going on, but as a man these days, you could never be too careful.
After Leann, I never thought I’d want a relationship again. But there was something about Violet that was bringing me back to life.
But did she feel the same way about me? We’d hardly talked before. Despite that, I felt a connection between us. The only question was, did she feel it too, or was this a one-sided love affair?
I knew what my grandpa would have said if he’d still been here.
He’d tell me to go get that woman. My grandpa had been full of life.
He’d wined and dined my grandma until she couldn’t say no to his marriage proposal.
He’d believed in going in strong, shaking your tail feathers, and taking what was yours.
Somehow, it wasn’t as easy for me.
I inhaled deeply as I walked by, filling my lungs with the scent of her.
Lenore looked up and spun around in her chair as I passed behind their desks. “Hey Easton. I don’t know if you saw this, but someone ran into the handicap sign out front. It’s bent over and needs to be replaced.”
Nodding at her, I rumbled, “I’m already on it. I’ve got a new pole, and I plan on installing it later on today after I get done at the lodge.”
Violet didn’t look up during the conversation. She was still tap-tap-tapping at her keyboard.
Sometimes I just wanted the woman to look at me. That would be a start.