3. Daphne
3
DAPHNE
When I get back to my apartment, I shrug off my coat and set it on top of my suitcase.
Coat hooks.
I’d better add that to the list of things I need.
My new home is tiny, a shoebox studio, but the rent is cheap and it always smells like pizza—double bonus. Aside from a cheap plastic table, a single chair, and a mattress in the corner, there’s nothing in here except my suitcase full of clothes and my art supplies. I seriously need to find a job. Then I can buy some furniture and try to make this place feel a little more like home.
I pull up a chair and sit at the table, unboxing the still-warm cherry pie and tasting a forkful.
Wow, now I get what all the fuss is about.
It’s flaky and deliciously sweet, and I devour the slice with a hum of appreciation. But as I eat, my mind drifts back to the man in the bakery.
Garrett.
I shouldn’t be thinking this much about a total stranger, but I can’t help it. I’ve never seen anyone like him before, and as I scoop up the crumbs of cherry pie, I can’t help remembering the way his muscles stretched out under his flannel shirt. A shiver runs through me, an unfamiliar warmth blooming between my thighs.
I wonder if I’ll ever see him again.
In a town like Cherry Hollow, the chances are pretty high, and the thought makes my heart beat harder than it should. I’m a twenty-two-year-old woman, not a giddy schoolkid, but I still can’t help smiling to myself as I wash up my dirty plate, my mind full of those intense brown eyes, the slight quirk of his brow when he looked at me…
Knock knock.
The sound of the front door makes me jump, and I turn off the faucet with a frown.
Who the heck could that be?
I don’t know anyone in Cherry Hollow, and I haven’t ordered anything. Could it be the press? Would the local papers in Iowa really care enough about my parents’ scandal to follow me to Colorado?
Of course not. You’re being paranoid.
Still, unease settles over me as I reach the door and unlock it cautiously. I pull it open and suck in a breath, clinging to the frame for dear life.
It’s Garrett.
The gorgeous mountain man from the bakery is standing on my doorstep.
“Hey,” he says, eyes fixed on mine. “Sorry to bother you. Wanted to return this.”
His voice is so deep and gravelly that it sends a shiver up my spine, and it takes me a second to process that he’s holding something out for me in his giant hand. One of my gloves. Instinctively, I reach into my pocket where I thought I’d put it, but there’s only one in there.
I must have dropped it at the bakery.
But the logical explanation for Garrett’s presence doesn’t stop my head from spinning. His giant frame fills the doorway, and it suddenly feels a lot harder to breathe in here.
“Oh…I…th-thank you so much,” I choke out, taking the glove from him. “I didn’t even realize it was missing.”
“No problem.” Garrett thrusts his hands in his pockets. “The clerk told me where to find you. Apparently, her aunt’s your landlord.”
“Small towns, huh?” I laugh weakly. “Thanks for going to the trouble of getting it back to me. I really appreciate it, Garr?—”
My cheeks color as I cut myself off. I only know his name because Rita said it at the bakery, and I don’t want him to think I was gossiping about him.
“I’m Daphne,” I say quickly, trying to cover my mistake. “Just moved here.”
“Garrett.” He nods at me. “How are you liking Cherry Hollow?”
“It’s a beautiful place. I just tried my first slice of cherry pie, so now I’m totally sold.”
Garrett’s lips quirk slightly, the shadow of a smile on his grumpy face. “I know how you feel. Cherry pie is the only reason I come down here.”
“You don’t live in Cherry Hollow?”
“I live up on Cherry Mountain. Got a cabin out in the forest.”
His words don’t surprise me. I can perfectly picture Garrett in a rustic log cabin, surrounded by trees. He looks like a mountain man from head to toe.
“Sounds wonderful.” I smile at him, gesturing to the apartment behind me. “Sorry, I’d invite you inside, but I don’t have any furniture yet.”
Garrett frowns. “Sounds uncomfortable. You need help getting some?”
My heart melts at the concern on his face. “Thanks, but that’s okay. I left my last place in kind of a hurry—wasn’t super prepared—but once I get a job, I’ll be fine.”
The concern on his face lingers as he asks, “Was your last place around here?”
“No, it was in Iowa. My parents’ house…long story.” I shake my head, hurriedly changing the subject. “Anyway. Do you know anyone who’s hiring around here?”
“What kind of job you looking for?”
“Anything I can get,” I say honestly. “Just something to put food on the table while I work on my art.”
Garrett considers me as he runs a hand over his beard. “You’re an artist?”
“Trying to be. If you know anybody who wants to commission a painting, then I’m your girl.” I grin at him, hoping he doesn’t notice my cheeks pinkening beneath his gaze.
His eyes are so freakin’ intense…
I could lose myself in them for hours.
“You know what?” he says after a brief pause. “I do know someone who wants a painting.”
I blink at him, surprised. “Really?”
He nods. “Me.”
“You want a painting?”
He nods again, and for a second, all I can do is gawk at him.
“I want a painting of my cabin,” he says. “Been looking for something to hang over the mantel. Can you do that?”
“I…yes, absolutely! But let me show you my portfolio. You should look at my style first. You might not like?—”
Garrett cuts me off. “Don’t need to see anything. I want you to do it, Daphne.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say yes.”
My heart is skittering, excitement buzzing through my veins.
Is this really happening?
This handsome mountain man really wants me to paint for him?
“Yes,” I say, beaming at him. “I’d love to paint your cabin.”
Garrett shoots me another one of his barely there smiles, but to me, it feels like the biggest grin in the world. Before I can bring up the subject of payment, he offers me twice what I would usually ask and silences all my objections with a stern look. Then he reels off his address, and I hurriedly tap it out on my phone.
“When do you want me to start?” I ask a little breathlessly.
“As soon as possible.”
“How about tomorrow morning?”
Garrett nods. “Perfect.”
I planned to spend tomorrow handing out my resume around Cherry Hollow, but with the sum Garrett just offered, I can afford to wait until after I finish the painting to find a job. His commission will pay for furniture and give me some much-needed breathing room before my next rent payment is due.
“Can’t wait to get started,” I say. “Thank you so much, Garrett.”
He shrugs. “No need to thank me. Thanks for agreeing to do it.”
God, I wish I could throw my arms around him.
If I were braver, I’d do it.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” I smile at him, hoping he can’t see my feelings written all over my face.
“See you then, Daphne.”
My name is a deep growl in his voice. I want to hear it again, but Garrett is already retreating down the stairs and out the door. I hurry to the window and watch as he climbs into a battered pickup before driving up Main Street and out of sight. When he’s gone, I hold up the blue glove he returned to me and beam at it.
“I owe you big time.”