14. Millie
CHAPTER 14
Millie
I didn’t expect Kira at the record store. I actively try to avoid her whenever possible. We never have anything nice to say to each other, so it’s easier that way.
We have a mutual understanding, never feeling the need to rehash the past.
Except, Kira would walk into the store, to try and talk to Will, when she knows we are dating.
No one knows it’s fake.
Luckily, Will and my PDA seemed to have worked because she rushed out of the store quickly after I arrived.
Grandpa also leaves after Will tells him it’s okay if he heads home for the evening. So not only am I spending time with Will, but I'm alone with him. Again
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
On one hand, I’m terrified of getting my heart crushed. On the other hand, I’m excited.
I haven’t decided if it’s worth it or if I’ll regret all my actions.
That’s for future Millie to deal with.
“Mind if we chat while we do some price checks?” Will asks .
“Oh, I didn’t know you were going to talk dirty to me, William,” I joke.
“Price checks turn you on, Millie Mae?”
“Seeing you in action turns me on. Remind me what to do, it’s been a while.”
Jeremy and I used to help out a bit when we were younger with random tasks. Jeremy worked here for a short time when they needed extra hands before he got into the restaurant industry, but the store isn’t as busy as it once was.
After Will walks me through what to do, and after a few not-so-secret lingering touches, we talk about the event.
“I want this event to be successful for you, Mills. I know I wasn’t your number one pick to have as a partner, but I want to be helpful. For you.”
God, my heart can’t take it.
“What do you have in mind?” I ask.
“I was thinking each store could have representation there. I know most stores sponsor the event and donate items, but what if we did some booths that helped remind the town to shop local?”
I stop scanning and look at Will with my mouth wide open, my jaw unhinged.
“It’s dumb, isn’t it?” Will chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “Shit, I’m sorry, I thought about it earlier when I heard people talking, and I thought it might have been sales, but it wasn’t, and so I was?—”
“Will,” I say to stop his rambling. “It’s a great idea.”
He smirks as his cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. “Yeah? You think so?”
I bob my head.
“Okay, well what would be helpful? What should I do? You’re the expert here.” Will walks over to me, close enough until his mouth is hovering by the shell of my ear, showering my body with goosebumps the more he breathes near me. “You’re the boss. ”
He tugs on my ear with his teeth, then spins on his feet, walking to the other side of the room.
Can I throw the record I’m holding at him?
“That wasn’t fair,” I pout.
Will winks and turns his back to me to price check the merchandise on the stand at the back of the room.
“You can create a document. If you could list all the stores, and some ideas for booths, then we can go around and propose the ideas to the owners. As long as it doesn’t take a lot of time or money, we should be good. The event isn’t for another seven weeks.”
“You’re good at this, you know,” Will says.
“Good at what?”
“Well, a lot of things…” Will drawls out, licking his lips to emphasize what those things are. I blush, of course. “But I mean planning events, and everything. I know we haven’t talked much about it, but you’re a natural-born people pleaser, it makes sense. The flower shop is great, and I know you love that, but helping at events is where you get to talk to people and see all your hard work be appreciated.”
I shake my head in disbelief.
“What?”
“Nothing. I didn’t think you noticed that much is all.” I shrug, trying to hide my embarrassment over being head over heels for this man.
“I notice, Rose. Always.” Will takes the scanner and clipboard away from me and brings them over to the front desk. He takes a seat and opens the computer. “How do you do it? How do you manage it all?”
“With little sleep and lots of caffeine.” I grin.
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t manage it well.” I hop onto the counter and sit there while he finishes his work. “Have I told you how I started doing events?”
Will shakes his head. “Tell me.”
“Well, it was the most random thing.” I chuckle. “The flower business was doing fairly well, but we weren’t super busy. Mom was helping out more regularly, so she would assist with the day to day while I’d go to handle the events. Except for this one wedding I went to, it was the middle of winter, like I’m talking a snow storm blew through and this couple was still getting married.”
“Well, I’m assuming everyone stayed at Willow Inn?”
I dip my head. The Willow Inn is the only place in town to stay, unless they want to have a much-longer commute. “So people were there, but they decided to let everyone forgo wedding attire so they could wear their snow boots.” We are both laughing. My heart stutters at how familiar this feeling is with him, how easy it is. “Anyway, the pictures of that wedding are funny. You’ll have to ask Ava to show you. But because of the storm, their day-of coordinator canceled on them. They could have done the event without one, but they needed assistance with making sure all their guests knew where to go, and there were also a few vendor fall outs, so they needed some last-minute music.”
“Grandpa was there?” Will interrupts the story.
“Kind of. He couldn’t, because he wasn’t even in the store. He’d decided to not come into town. He didn’t want to drive. But Jere used his key, took a few people, and went to grab equipment.”
“Oh, man, what are the odds?”
“Right? Now stop interrupting me, that’s not the point of this story.” I push his shoulder, and he surprises me by grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him.
“Will, what the—” I scream as I fall forward, but of course he catches me and uses his free hand to pull my mouth to his.
As quick as his lips meet mine, he pushes me away, my cheeks flush from the sudden intimacy.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist. You’re so cute when you talk about things you love.”
The urge to tackle him is fairly high right now. Being at an elevated position, I do have the upper hand, as I could simply lean over and hop into his lap. Not sure if the chair would support us both. There’s a slim chance it’s older than I am, but I’d take that risk.
Will clears his throat. That’s when I snap back to reality and discover I was staring at the bottom half of his body the entire time, picturing a fantasy that will never happen. Or at least, it won’t happen in this record store.
My gaze meets his. I bite my lip.
“You better keep talking, Millie, before I switch the sign on the store to closed and drag your ass upstairs.”
“You started it.” I glare. “So anyway…oh right, I had to remember where I was, so because of the mess with the vendors and the need to let people know where to go, I asked if they wanted help. At that point, we had been doing weddings for a little while, so I figured if I could help with some of the stress they were feeling to make their day perfect, I wanted to. I’d want someone to do the same for me.”
“And that’s when you knew you wanted to do events?”
“Kind of. I think that was when I hosted the election party for my dad and saw the town come together to celebrate him. It was a fairly large event, we thought he was going to be mayor, but you never know. The excitement from everyone that night was overwhelming. I wish you could have seen it.”
That happened when he and Julia started dating and he stopped coming to town as much.
“I wish I could have been there. I have seen pictures though, and that did not disappoint. Well, I don’t know how much my opinion matters, but you could do it. You could launch your own event business and get paid. You’ve done it before. Finding balance is important.”
“Yeah. I don’t have time for much extra these days. But I have a plan, or at least I’m working on one. If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to step back from doing events. Or only take on a few. But it’ll all work out one way or another.”
Will stands and places his hand on my knee. “If anyone can do it, you can.”