21. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Lizzie
“L izzie, can I get you to take a quick look at something when you get in?”
“Yes, just a sec!” It was Monday, and Bucky and I had just returned home following his initial vet visit. It had been a busy two days of setting up the cabin for my new roomie, picking up supplies, and just getting used to one another. He’d ended up sleeping with me the past two nights since his bed hadn’t arrived yet. All it took was one look at his furry grin—as he stretched out to spoon me—to realize that doggy bed was a total waste.
Anyway, I was making my way from my car to the front door—Bucky’s leash and probiotics in one hand, my coffee and a sack full of strawberries from the Hanson’s roadside stand in the other—when I heard James’ voice filter through my open bedroom window.
I’d sent him a text the night before, letting him know that I wouldn’t be there when he and Jesse arrived for work. Since he had a key of his own, I knew it wouldn’t be an issue. I had yet to share the news about Bucky, but I secretly couldn’t wait for the two of them to meet.
As I rounded the front corner of the house towards the porch a moment later, I let out a surprised squeal as my face met the very muscular chest of my contractor.
“Whoa, sorry...” With a short, surprised laugh, James reached out a hand to hold me steady, even managing to grab my iced coffee with the other before it dumped all over me—in a moment that had me feeling all kinds of déjà vu. “You ok?”
“Cripes, yes. Guess I should’ve been watching where I was going.” I peeled myself from his chest, realizing only afterwards that I’d taken a deep whiff before doing so. Normally, I would’ve felt more embarrassed—but God, he smelled so damn good , it was criminal.
Like fresh air… and cedar… and… mountain rain, which is impossible, because we are in Minnesota…
As Bucky continued pulling hard at his leash to sniff away at something much less appealing in the grass ahead of him, I noticed James’ lips curving upwards into a hesitant smile. Almost like he was uncertain if he should be caught smiling at me at all.
Yep, I wasn’t the only one thinking about the last time we were this close.
But unlike before, I now knew what kissing those lips felt like—and there were no take backs. Willing my pulse to slow down, I returned his smile, wiping a small drip of iced coffee that had trickled down my bare arm. “Anyway, sorry I’m late… the vet took longer than I expec—”
Of course, before I could even finish the sentence, James was already on the ground, receiving a kiss-attack of his own from Bucky. I sighed. My wingman would be the only one getting any kind of action today. What can I say—after many years as the best friend of some very beautiful women, I was used to it.
At least, judging by the laughter pouring out of James, the feeling towards my pup was mutual. “So, this is the secret you were keeping,” he said, looking up at me with a grin. “Well done, Ms. Blake. He’s perfect.” He ruffled my dog’s ears, while Bucky continued gazing up at James like he was pretty much the best thing he’d ever seen.
You and me both, boy.
James stood back up, brushing off the back of his shorts. “So, what’s his name?”
“Bucky. You know, like…”
“Cap’s buddy. Yeah, that’s perfect for him.” He leaned over to give him a little chin scratch as Bucky rubbed his head against his hand in a state of bliss. “You keep our girl safe now, got it, Bucky?”
Our girl?
Right then, I was even more grateful to have Bucky there as a distraction, and not only because of that statement. This was the first time James and I had talked—or even seen each other, period—since our kayaking ‘incident’ two days prior. Not a peep via text either, outside of my heads-up about this morning.
Though honestly, what were we even supposed to say after that?
“Yeah, sorry for totally losing control with that kiss in the lake. My bad.”
Except, I wasn’t sorry. Not one bit. I’d be more than happy to kiss him again, if he’d let me. Because right now, with the way this man was staring at me, it felt like a foregone conclusion. And I knew I was rapidly losing every remaining bit of my very weak self-control.
Would he let me? Or did he regret that it had happened at all?
The look on his face didn’t seem remorseful—he really did seem happy, relaxed. Like maybe calling me ‘his girl’ felt natural.
In reality, though, it was probably a momentary lapse of judgment. And I was still his client. I shouldn’t even be thinking about kissing that man again, much less willing it to happen. It’s most of the reason why I’d avoided digging into all of this with Brooke and Kait the other day. I knew they’d try to talk me into it—with the best of intentions, of course. They loved me, wanted me to be happy.
But what would make me happiest right now is for something to go smoothly for once, without ending up knee-deep in complications. And I wasn’t only thinking about my career.
Our Dearie Girls’ biannual ladies’ weekend was coming up quickly at the start of September—and after I’d inherited the cabin back in April, I’d made the pitch about hosting it here for the first time. Of course, everyone had been totally on board about the idea.
Now here we were, with the Fourth of July only four days away, and at least a couple months’ worth of work remaining before we could officially tie a bow on this remodel, along with our working relationship. I couldn’t afford to lose a contractor at this point.
Not to mention, I was only a couple of months removed from the whole mess with my ex, Randall—who, for whatever reason, was still continuing to reach out in the form of unanswered calls, months after I’d stormed out his door. Like he refused to just let me move on.
I needed to move on.
But was kissing another man—a palate cleanser, of sorts—the right way to go about it?
Because despite the fact that I was on a temporary writing hiatus, there were still plenty of other things I should be focusing my attention on at the moment that wouldn’t wreak havoc in my life.
Like, um, my dog.
Personal development to help me to work through my issues? Possibly.
Maybe taking up gardening?
No, like… his lips.
No. NO.
Suddenly, I became very aware that I must be staring at them again as the image of James waving a hand in front of my face came into clearer focus.
“You still with me, Red?”
I gave him a sheepish look. “Sorry. I’m just… tired. Guess I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Guess so.” He had that half smile on his face again, studying mine intently. Then, with a shrug, he turned, motioning for me to follow. “Anyway, let’s go inside for a moment. We found something you need to see.”
“Sure, ok.” We walked together up the porch steps and through the front door, Bucky leading the way. “What is it?”
“Well, you know how Jesse and I were planning to move the furniture out of the master bedroom this morning to start painting, now that the walls are finished in the master bath? Well, we started before you got back, and … you need to see this for yourself.”
Passing through the short hallway and into my bedroom, we intercepted Jesse walking in the opposite direction, carrying the mirror that had previously been hanging above my grandmother’s dresser.
“Did you tell her yet?” Jesse moved past us with the mirror, on his way to hide it somewhere safe until the work was done.
“Not yet,” James called out after him. Then, grabbing my hand—with another one of those jolts I still hadn’t quite gotten used to—he pulled me over to the empty spot where the mirror used to be. “Check this out,” he said, eyes twinkling as he motioned towards the bare wall.
Except… the wall wasn’t bare at all. Because hanging there was a small painting of what looked to be Lake Elska, no more than a foot across in either direction and surrounded by an ornate gold frame. Around the painting, the wall appeared brighter, as though the mirror had hung over it for a lifetime—concealing its secrets, until this very moment.
It was… odd though, wasn’t it? Why would a random painting be hanging behind the mirror? I wondered.
I glanced back at James. “So… you found a painting,” I said, as if it were obvious. “Kind of strange, huh? I guess we should probably take it down before you get started.”
But he just grinned at me. “Nope, we can’t. Come on… look closer, Lizzie.”
Giving him what I’m sure had to be a look of total confusion, I stepped closer to inspect the painting further. As my fingers grazed the surface, that’s when I realized—this wasn’t a normal piece of artwork at all. For starters, I spotted two brass hinges attached to the left side of the frame. And the surface of the painting itself wasn’t made of canvas at all—it seemed to be painted directly onto a piece of wood.
But then I noticed the small gold handle, bolted to the right side of the frame. It was…a door? Intrigued, I pulled at the handle—but it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s… I mean… what do you think it is?” I turned to look back at James, who was watching my reaction with interest.
“I have no idea… maybe a safe or something? Definitely strange,” he said, shrugging as he looked back at the painting. “Anyway, I figured you’d want to see this before we got going in here. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure it’s protected.”
“Yeah, ok…”
I felt him move closer until he was standing right next to me, the scent of him once again making me a bit dizzy. “I have to admit, though, I’m intrigued… makes me curious about what might be inside.” His voice was low but close, almost directly above me.
It should be illegal for someone to smell this good while sweaty from manual labor, damn it .
“Yeah, me too.” But even though his proximity had my senses swimming, the voice in my head couldn’t help wondering—What in the world could possibly be hiding behind a tiny door that nobody had likely seen for decades?
What secrets had my grandparents been keeping?
I turned towards James, so close that I had to crane my neck to look upward at him. I took a small step back. “Thanks for showing this to me. And…”
“... listen,” James interrupted me, but his voice was gentle. “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry if I caught you off guard or overstepped after kayaking the other day. I… kind of lost control out there for a moment.” He gave me another one of his awkward sort of half smiles.
But what he saw in front of him had to be way more awkward by far, as I felt my cheeks return to their perma-embarrassed shade of rosy pink—trying my damndest now to avoid his gaze.
Because I knew looking into those eyes of his would inevitably lead me to take whatever remained of my self-control and chuck it straight into the ‘fuck it bucket’ , as my friend Kait was so fond of saying.
“It’s… ok. Don’t worry, I’m not upset or anything… I mean—”
“Good.”
Now I met his eyes. “Good?”
“Yeah. Because I’m not sorry that I did it.” He took another small step closer to me.
“You’re… not?”
Jesus, Lizzie… Could you sound like more of an idiot right now?
“Nope. In fact, I’m hoping… maybe you’ll let me do it again sometime.”
Ok, I am definitely having a stroke or something.
“Are you… asking if you can kiss me again?”
“In a roundabout way.” James smiled. “But first, I’d like to make you dinner… if you don’t mind.”
I just stared at him. “You want to cook… for me?”
“Yes, I do. Would that be alright with you?”
“Well, sure, but…”
“... because if it makes you uncomfortable to have dinner with the guy you hired to work on your house, Lizzie, I promise… I’ll respect that. I know I’m crossing a line here. Just say the word and you won’t have to worry about me bothering you again.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “But I’ll be honest… I’m really hoping you’ll say yes.”
James’ face looked serious now, and he seemed almost… nervous? It was the first time I’d seen him like that, and it actually helped to diffuse the anxious energy buzzing around inside of me.
This was the moment, though, where I needed to decide if I was willing to take on this risk. Because once we stepped onto this path, there’d be no going back. It could no longer be considered an accident.
And I’d have to own whatever the outcome might be.
Just then, I felt Bucky nose his way in between the two of us—weaving through our legs, one at a time, before sitting like a good boy to stare at me expectantly.
And it was clear that he had an opinion on what my answer should be.
Glancing back up at James, I pushed through the last shred of doubt, tentatively offering a shy smile. “Alright. Yes, I would love to have dinner with you.”
His entire body seemed to relax before me, the relief evident on his face. “Good. You busy tonight? Say, seven o’clock?”
“Sure, that works.” I hesitated. “Is it ok if I bring Bucky? I don’t want to leave him home alone just yet.”
“Of course, Bucky’s more than welcome.” As if on cue, Bucky licked James’ hand in approval as he smiled at him. “Alright, then. Seven it is. I’ll text you my address.” With a quick nod, he turned to walk out of the room, calling out over his shoulder. “Jesse and I are going to get started in there, alright? Just so you have someplace to sleep tonight.”
It wasn’t until I’d heard the front screen door swing shut that I finally let myself relax, leaning against the wall to try and process everything that had once again transpired in a very, very short period of time.
First, a mysterious door—quite possibly left behind by my grandparents. But what lay behind it? And why was it locked?
And then, in an unexpected turn of events, I find out the man I’d been secretly crushing over for weeks… liked me? And wanted to make me a meal?
Any objections I’d thought seemed responsible and logical prior to this conversation now felt completely lame. Because the only reason I’d made them was to cover up the fact that I really, really liked this man.
It wasn’t just that I found James a hot and sexy distraction. Turns out, the promises I’d made to myself to ignore whatever I was feeling for him had fallen on deaf ears.
Because, yeah—I was already starting to fall. And the thought of how quickly it seemed to be happening was both overwhelming and terrifying. Especially when I didn’t know if I could trust myself— or anyone else —with my heart just yet.
But at the very least, I was definitely certain of one thing—as scary as it felt to jump into something that seemed so tenuous, I couldn’t wait to kiss James again.
I just prayed that it wouldn’t end up hurting me in the end. Because after everything I’d gone through over the past year, I didn’t think I could bear to lose one more thing.