Chapter 5
Chapter Five
TILLY
I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering if Paxton meant what he said or if he was only being polite because I’m helping him with the kitten. I pull my hair down from the messy bun I have it piled into on top of my head and give it a fluff the same way Molly did.
“You think this is cute?” I ask Paprika. She meows from the sink. It’s where I put her to keep her confined while I grabbed a bed for her. I bend down closer to her, and she tries to play with my curls. It makes me laugh, and I scoop her up in my arms before we head downstairs.
“Oooh, look at you,” Gramps says. “Is there a reason you pulled your hair down?”
“I read that wearing it up all the time can cause hair loss.”
“Interesting. I’ve never worn mine up and look at me.” Gramps rubs the top of his bald head, and I snort. “Your lips are shiny too.”
“It just so happens that my lip glass tastes delicious.” I thought it looked nice and clearly drew attention to my mouth.
Not that anyone needs to be looking there.
I know I never look at Paxton and think he has nice full lips.
Because that would be a really strange thought to have, and I’ve definitely never ever looked. Not even once.
“And—”
“Oh my god, are you the FBI now?” I set Paprika on the counter where I put her bed. I had her on the floor behind the counter, but she's nosy, like me. Now she's up here so she can watch everyone and judge them too if she wants.
"You know that boy is sweet on you."
"Who?"
"Playing dumb doesn't suit you."
"He's being nice because I'm helping him out."
"He called you pretty."
"Grandpa!"
"Uh-oh, Paprika,” Gramps tells the kitten, who is watching us go back and forth. “I'm in trouble now. She used the full grandpa name." He gives her a gentle scratch on the head, and I stick my tongue out at him.
"I don't have time for this. I have things to do."
"You do. You’ve got an order." He slides a piece of paper across the counter, and I pick it up and see that it's Paxton again. I expect it to be a bunch of materials, but it's not. “I think he wants to decorate for Christmas."
"Something is wrong with the order. Part of it's missing." He’s paid for the order but not specified which items to bring.
"He said that he would pay for the decorations and we could pick the items ourselves. Whatever stock we have left."
"We have stock year-round." It feels really personal to pick things out for Paxton’s home.
"I can pick it if you don't want to,” Gramps offers, and I roll my eyes.
"You have the worst decoration skills." I wave him off, making him chuckle. If someone has to do it, it should be me.
"Then I'll leave you to it," he says and kisses me on the cheek. "There’s a snowstorm coming."
I shrug it off because there’s always a storm coming, and my truck can normally get through most anything. I need to have the chains put on, but I keep forgetting.
For the next hour, I pick out decorations for Paxton. I’m sure I put way too much thought into it, but I can't help myself. I never decorate my place, so I’ve got a million ideas about what he could do. I’m not home enough to enjoy the decorations, and I’ll end up spending the holiday elsewhere.
"Any matches?"
"Ahh!" I scream, spinning around to see Molly standing there with her normal bright-ass smile. "You scared the crap out of me." I pick up a roll of wrapping paper and smack her hip with it.
"Oh, you want to fight?" She grabs a roll herself, and a sword fight ensues. That is until a meow distracts Molly, and I go in for the final blow. “Hey,” she huffs. “That’s not fair. You distracted me with a kitten.”
“I would never do that,” I say, and Paprika meows again.
“She’s adorable.” Molly rushes over to pick her up. “Why do you have her?” Her eyes widen. “Did the cat distribution system bless you?”
“Nah, it’s Paxton's.”
“Oh.” She smirks.
“Don’t smile.”
“I can smile if I want to smile.” Molly smiles bigger, making her dimples show.
"Whatever." I roll my eyes.
"Your hair is down and your lips are shiny."
"What is it with everyone and my hair?"
I pull the hair tie off my wrist to put it back up, but Molly snatches it from me. I go to grab it back, but Paprika beats me to it and starts swatting it around the counter. Now I’ve lost it forever because there’s no way I’m taking it from her.
“Come on. Fill me in,” Molly says, so I give her the details of everything that went down because I have no choice. She’ll bug me until I do, and I can’t be mad about it because I’d do the same.
“He’s so smitten with you!” Molly is practically dancing with excitement. Where did I lay down that roll of wrapping paper? “You should give him a chance.”
"I can't complicate our co-parenting situation. We have Paprika to think about now."
"Right." She rolls her eyes. "So? Any matches then?"
"I haven't checked." I kind of forgot about it. When I got home, my mind was on Paxton.
"Do you want to check?" I shrug. "Is it because you want Paxton?"
"I told him he should download the app." I'm still mad at myself about it. I think I’m partly scared to get on the app and see he’s on there.
"He's not downloading the app. He doesn't need to."
"Thanks, but I don't need the reminder that every girl in town wants him."
"That's not what I meant. He hasn't shown interest in anyone. No dates or anything,” she says, and I've been wondering about that. "He doesn't need the app because he wants you."
"He hasn't asked me out." Not that I want him to, but I don't want him asking anyone else out either.
"He might be building up to it."
"Maybe." I sink my teeth into my bottom lip.
"Hey." Molly steps closer. "Talk to me."
"Okay, I'm scared. You know me. I'm an all-in or all-out girl. I would fall hard, and if it didn't work, I'd have to burn down his clinic and run him out of town."
"But what if you don't break up? I mean, think about it.” Molly cocks her head, smirking. "You two kind of fit. Paxton isn't a city vet. He came out here to the country, and that means he's putting down roots. You think some fancy city girl is going to want to roll around in a barn with him?"
"I think anyone would roll around in a barn with him," I admit, and Molly laughs. I’d probably have to burn down the barn too if that’s the case.
"That’s not what I meant. Take me, for example. I can't roll around in a barn." This is true. Molly has never met a bug that didn't make her scream. "I'm just saying maybe open yourself up. See what happens. He might give you the ick, and then you're the one dropping him."
Doubtful. The man is perfect. He hasn’t done one thing I don't like, and I've been looking. In fact, he's sweet, and at times, I think, a tad shy, which is endearing if it’s real and I’m reading him right.
"I'll think about it," I tell her before we say our goodbyes. "What do you think, Paprika? Should I try flirting with your daddy?"
Do I even know how to flirt? I suppose there's only one way to find out.