Chapter 6
Britt allowed herself to be swallowed up by Maude’s engulfing hug. She smiled, hugging her back. The second she walked into
the store and inhaled the familiar scents of art supplies and a mysterious combination of essential oils that X insisted on
diffusing near the front door, she felt at home. With Maude’s patchouli perfume filling her nose, every muscle in Britt’s
body relaxed. Other than her house, this was her safe space.
“Good to see you too,” she said, moving a little out of Maude’s embrace but still keeping her arms around her.
“So, tell us what you’ve been doing that’s kept you away from us for so long.” Maude beamed. “Of course, since we always watch
all of your videos, we know you’ve been busy with your channel.”
“Loved the ten-minute challenge,” X said from behind the register. He was putting art supplies in a bag for a customer...
Britt stilled. Thump. Thump. Standing at the counter was the most perfect-looking guy she’d ever seen. Thick, shaggy blond hair with sun-kissed highlights,
a white T-shirt that fit tight in all the perfect places, jeans that weren’t too baggy or too slim, and black leather boots.
Thumpity thump.
X handed him his bag... and the guy promptly dropped it on the floor.
“I’ll help you with that,” Maude said, floating over to him.
“I got it.” He swooped it up. “Thanks, though.”
Wow, even his voice was perfect. Deeper than she’d expected, and that wasn’t a bad thing. Her pulse thumped again. She’d seen handsome men before, but she’d never had this reaction—at least not since she was a teenager. To be fair, most of her adulthood was spent inside away from crowds, so she hadn’t seen that many men in real life, period. But this one... Oh my —
“You’re looking at a genuine celebrity here.” Maude fluttered back to Britt and took her by the hand, parking her in front
of the man. “Brittany Branch,” she gushed. “The greater Plano area’s premiere artist.”
Not only did Britt’s face heat up like a pizza oven, but her palms grew damp, her mouth turned dry, and her stomach twisted,
all at the same time. Her upper lip was also perspiring, and not a delicate, feminine glow, but an outright ugly sweat. Talk
about embarrassing. She wiped her mouth and stared at her feet, unable to look at him.
“Maude, you know Britt doesn’t like us making a fuss over her.” X moved from behind the counter and put his arm around her.
“We’re just excited to see you, sweetie.”
She gulped, still staring down, her palms so slick she wanted to wipe them off on her shorts, but didn’t dare.
“And we do love to brag about you.” Maude flanked her on the other side. “We’re so proud of our Britt. From the moment she
started taking art lessons from us ten—”
“Eleven,” Britt mumbled, unable to stop herself. She managed to slightly glance up.
“—years ago, we knew she was gifted. We even have our own Britt wall of fame.” She gestured to the wall behind the counter,
covered in art projects Britt had made over the years. K&B’s equivalent of a proud parent’s refrigerator.
She was dying inside. Normally Maude didn’t go overboard like she was doing now. She would sometimes mention Britt’s channel to a customer or point out her favorite work on the wall of fame—a mixed media, Picasso-inspired modern portrait of her and X’s wedding day at his parents’ bowling alley in Middlebury, Vermont. Maude bowled a perfect game at the reception. When Britt first saw the photo of her in a wedding dress, him in a tux, and the six attendants all holding colorful bowling balls, she had to create her own interpretation.
“That’s... great,” the man said.
That voice. So smooth, like honey over glass. She was terrified to look directly at him, knowing he was probably more than
ready to get out of the store but now had to act interested to humor Maude. She desperately needed an escape. “I, uh...
gotta go to the bathroom.”
She dashed off to the back of the store, alternately wincing and cringing the whole way. She could have said she needed new
brushes or wanted to look at watercolor options for an upcoming video, or she could have pretended her phone buzzed in her
pocket and she had to take the call.
But no. She chose to run to the bathroom.
Britt entered the one-person restroom and nearly slammed the door. She leaned against it, squeezing her eyes shut and willing
her pulse to slow. Then she pressed the heel of her damp hand against her equally perspiring forehead and cringed. Her whole
face felt moist. How pathetic.
She couldn’t even look at a handsome guy without turning into a boiling cauldron of nerves. How was she going to handle being
in Savannah’s wedding? Surely there would be some handsome men there, although probably not any as gorgeous as that guy.
She went to the sink, grabbed a length of the brown paper towel from the dispenser, and ran cold water over it. Dabbing it over her forehead, she looked into the mirror and grimaced. To top it off, her hair was a mess. She’d put it in a loose bun earlier in the day and hadn’t thought to check to see if it needed attention. Twirls of curls were falling out of the scrunchy, making her look like she’d just rolled out of bed and out the door.
Britt threw the towel away and leaned against the sink. Finally, she was cooling off, her heartbeat steadier. She didn’t feel
like throwing up anymore either.
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered, looking in the mirror again. Odds were next to zero she’d ever see that guy again, and
X and Maude knew about her problems with anxiety. Maude was probably in the break room now, fixing Britt one of her calming
tea blends. Although they were nice to drink, they rarely made a dent when she was really agitated.
After deciding she might as well make use of the facilities, she finished up by washing her hands, in control of her emotions
again. She really didn’t want to waste time in the bathroom when she could be visiting with X and Maude. Now that she was
able to think clearly, she wasn’t even sure why she’d had such an extreme reaction to him.
“So what if he’s handsome?” she said aloud, her voice echoing off the subway-tiled walls. “For all you know, he could be an
axe murderer.” Managing a small smile at her lame comment, she straightened, threw her shoulders back, and blew out a breath.
Crisis over.
Ready to visit with her friends and apologize for being the weirdo she was, she threw open the door... and saw the handsome
stranger standing right in front of her.
***
Those eyes...
Hunter had known from Britt’s videos that she had pretty eyes. But their beauty in real life was on a whole other level. Variegated
shades of jade green, with thick black lashes lining them. He couldn’t take his own unremarkable eyes off her. She was cute
on screen but downright adorable in person. Even the way she kept looking down while Maude was singing her praises appealed
to him. She really was as humble as she seemed to be in her videos.
But right now, her stunning eyes were wide and filled with shock. He suddenly hoped she didn’t think he was following her,
even though he totally was. Then her gaze darted down again.
He knew from her videos that she was somewhat shy, but the sides of her neck were dark red, bordering on purple. Her visual
focus was still downcast, as if she didn’t want to look at him. Now he was second-guessing his impulsive decision to wait
for her to come out of the bathroom and tell her who he was. She seemed extremely uncomfortable around him.
“I, uh...” he stammered, shoving his hand through his hair. Then he saw the commode behind her. “Gotta go.”
Her gaze whipped up. A wayward curl fell out of her casual bun and joined several others that were loose around her face and
neck. She took a step to the side but remained in the doorway.
He almost smiled but kept it to himself. He wondered if she knew she was staring straight at him. Then he realized she was
looking almost through him, which made his internal grin disappear. Better to just end this now. He moved to squeeze past
her, but she stayed in place. He caught the scent of fresh soap and... oregano?
When his body brushed against hers, a pleasant, intense shock went through him. He froze. Whoa. Her rosy cheeks, thick eyebrows, and pale skin were a dynamite contrast to her wild black curls. But that wasn’t what hit him. It was the fervent way she was looking at him when their eyes met. She wasn’t seeing through him now.
Then her brows shot up. “Oh! Sorry!” She flew out of the doorway and scurried off, much like she had minutes before, and disappeared
into the woodworking and leather tools aisle.
Hunter turned and stared at the empty bathroom. He didn’t have to go, but he couldn’t just walk back up front without waiting
a few minutes, or she would for sure think he was following her.
He closed the door and shook his head. Despite discovering how pretty she was in person, never mind whatever that electric
jolt was that hit him when they touched, it was probably best that she didn’t know who he was. She was a successful artist
who had her act together, and he was a warehouse worker. Not that working in a warehouse was bad or anything to be ashamed
of. It was his chronic lack of direction he didn’t want her to know about. Better to just keep their correspondence online
with quick, surface messages.
When enough time passed, he exited the bathroom and went to the front of the store, expecting to see her with X and Maude.
He intended to just nod goodbye to her and move on. Maybe he wouldn’t bother with the ten-minute challenge either. There wasn’t
any reason to get involved any deeper with her than he already had.
But when he reached the front, a troubled-looking Maude and X were there, but no Britt. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Oh, sure.” Maude’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, and she glanced at the front door.
“I said you were over the top,” X muttered, frowning. “You know she isn’t comfortable with attention.”
“I just...” Maude looked directly at Hunter, then shook her head. “You’re right.”
Hunter paused, wondering why the woman was giving him a strange look. Not that it mattered—he didn’t plan on returning to the store anyway, although Maude and X seemed like good, enthusiastic people. But because he couldn’t leave well enough alone, he asked another question. “Did Britt leave?”
“Yes.” X pointed his thumb unnecessarily at the front door.
“She hustled out of here like her pants were on fire,” Maude said, now sounding distraught. She put her hand on X’s arm. “I’ll
go check on her—”
“No.” He took her hand. “She’ll be fine. You didn’t chase her off for good.”
“I hope not.”
“She obviously needs some space.”
Now Hunter felt like he was intruding. “Thanks again,” he said, lifting up his bag.
“Oh! Thank you.” Maude smiled, and this time it was more genuine. “Please stop by again.”
He gave her a tepid wave and left the store. As he headed for his bike, he passed a light-blue compact car parked three spaces
over and glanced at it, stopping when he saw Britt in the driver’s seat. She was staring straight ahead, and she hadn’t even
started the car. Maybe there was something really wrong with her. He hesitated, then tapped on her window.