Chapter 9
Molly
Something had gotten into Salem.
This kiss was different than any that had come before it.
We kissed for a long time.
We stood there in his shop for what must have been fifteen minutes—maybe longer.
He was completely irresistible, and I was all hot and bothered because of it. I felt weak in the knees and rosy-cheeked.
The weirdest part was that he hugged me afterward. He embraced me.
That was happening at the moment.
He leaned down and rested his face near mine, holding me gently. I took in a heavy sigh, and he pulled back and stared at me.
This was new. He stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. He touched the side of my face, and my heart was beating so fast that it felt like it wasn't beating at all. Salem let his fingertips run down the side of my cheek, from my temple to my jaw, the whole time staring at me like he thought I was beautiful.
This man was traditionally handsome .
I stared into his sparkling eyes, and then the spot where his eyebrow met his straight nose. Then I glanced down to his mouth before my eyes met his again. His gaze was roaming over my face as well. The whole moment was breathtaking.
I had to remember to breathe.
The smell of wood was in the air, and I loved it. We were in his shop, and it seemed he was working on two large wooden panels. I knew by the shape of the cutout that one of them was his mantle. "What's that other piece?" I asked, nudging my head toward the second piece.
I stepped away from him and straightened my shoulders, getting myself together.
"It's all the mantle," he said.
He stepped away from me as he spoke, and I watched as he noticed something on his shirt. He turned to the side and lifted it to dust it off. I saw his stomach when he did it. Maybe he wanted me to see it because he glanced at me after he did it. Those abs. That was what construction did for you. I only caught a glimpse of it because I didn't want to stare.
"I know, but what's this piece?" I said, pointing at the other giant slab of wood.
"That's still the mantlepiece," he said. "It's in two pieces right now. This one goes on top of that one. It's going all the way up the wall to the ceiling. Sixteen feet.
"Oh, my goodness. This is going to be one giant piece? "
"Yeah, you see how the pattern lines up?"
I could see that he had indeed made a geometric pattern on the right side and the left. I stared, marveling at it.
"This is amazing, Salem! It's so beautiful."
"It'll be better once I get it all sanded and polished."
"How are you so talented?" I asked, still marveling at the giant wood structure. "This is going on top of this?" I asked, pointing at each of the massive pieces.
"You've seen the fireplace cut out in the house. I told you I was making that mantle go up the wall."
"Yeah, but I don't guess I pictured it like this," I said, staring at it. "I hope I can afford to pay you to make stuff in my house one day."
"You already have one of my—" Salem started to mention the counter, but I cut him off when I remembered.
"Oh, yeah, I already have something you made," I said, smiling. "I can't get greedy, but goodness gracious Salem. This looks like something you'd see in a movie. I wish I knew how to build something like this… even though I have no time for anything besides chocolate."
"Being good at chocolate is a gift."
I laughed, and suddenly I saw a beam of light enter the room when the door opened .
"What's up, brother?" Phillip called from across the room, seeing us standing there as he opened the door.
"Hey," Salem said.
Then he turned around and we glanced at each other as if to say, 'Thank goodness we weren't kissing'.
He turned to face his brother. Phillip was in the room with us by then, crossing our way and smiling at us.
"What's up Molly Ringwald?" he said.
"Nothing."
"What are you doing here? Did you come over here to help my brother choose paint colors, or what?"
"She came to bring me some chocolate."
"Chocolate?"
"Did you see the counter he made for me?" I asked.
"I did," Phillip said, looking at me and coming to stand near us.
"It's so beautiful. I figure I owe him chocolate for life."
"I thought you already paid him for that counter," Phillip said.
"I guess you don't think I deserve chocolate, too," Salem said, taking a swing at his brother's shoulder .
Phillip grinned broadly and squared up with his brother, shuffling his feet and shadowboxing without skipping a beat.
Salem shook his head. "Don't even… I will take you out."
"What makes you think you can do that?" Phillip said, dancing around. He was in a good mood, and I smiled at the side of them acting like teenagers
"You're an old, married man now," Salem said. "I could take you any day."
"Being married does not make me stop being able to fight, dill-wad. If anything, it makes me stronger," Phillip stopped and flexed as a way of quitting the impromptu boxing match. "Can I have some of this?" he added, pointing at the box.
He looked at me, and I pointed to Salem since they were his. He nodded at his brother, and Phillip opened the box.
"Good grief, why are there so many in here?"
"I had to make three batches of white chocolate today. I didn't have to, but I wanted to. They weren't batches that I could sell with my normal stuff, so I brought a lot of it over here."
"Oh, my goodness it's so good," Phillip said with a mouthful. "Why in the world can't you sell it? What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing, it was just from test batches that I did this afternoon with a chef who was over at my apartment. He's going to buy chocolate from me every week for a recipe he makes in his restaurant. "
"Come on, go ahead! Is that your first wholesale customer?" Phillip asked.
"Yeah, I've never even thought about selling my chocolate to restaurants, that was his idea."
"That's pretty cool. How did you meet him?"
"He's friends with my landlord."
"Nice," Phillip said, nodding.
I made eye contact with Salem as Phillip and I were talking. I didn't know what he was thinking. our expressions were unreadable but our eyes were locked.
"Can I have some more of this?" Phillip asked. "Can I take some home to Addie? She would love this."
"No," Salem said, joking.
"Of course you can," I interjected even though he was being silly.
"I have more of this at home. I didn't give him everything I made today. Take what you want, and I will replace it for Salem tomorrow, I promise."
Phillip made a face at his brother—a greedy face like he was going to take the whole box.
"You can't be stingy," Phillip said, taking several pieces out. "Especially since I came over here to tell you to come over to my house for dinner."
"Now you can have all you want. What's for dinner?"
Phillip laughed. "Addie's making fried chicken thighs."
"Yum. "
"I know, I had to go work out just now to get ready for it."
"Are you just leaving the gym?" Salem asked. "Is that why you stopped by instead of calling?"
"Yeah, I was on my way home, and I figured I'd find you out here. I didn't know I'd find the chocolate fairy with you."
"She is a fairy," Salem said. He smiled at me when he said it. It was a fair assessment of my looks with my fair skin and red hair. I didn't know if I wanted to be that in his eyes, though.
"She's graduating this month," Salem added.
"Oh, congratulations."
"I was going to tell you guys that… I know you join us sometimes when we go out to eat as a family. Dad wants to take everyone to lunch after my graduation if you guys want to come to that. It's not next Saturday, but the next."
"I'm in," Phillip said. "Do we have to go to the ceremony?"
"No, no, I am barely going to the ceremony," I said. "Lunch is afterward. We're meeting at Vinnie's."
"Vinnie's? I am definitely going to that. Can me and Addie come?"
"Yes. And Salem, if he wants," I said, pointing at Salem. "And you can bring a date if you have one. My dad's a big spender for graduations, so you guys can definitely both bring dates."
Salem squinted at me a little.
I wasn't sure why he did that. I wasn't sure why he didn't play along. Mentioning both of them bringing a date would be something I would do normally. But Salem squinted at me this time. He was so handsome and irresistible when he squinted that my stomach tied in knots and I felt like I was in danger of blushing. Goodness. It must've been that kiss. Something was drawing me to Salem, more and more.
"What are you going to do with that degree?" Phillip asked.
"It'll help me with my business. I'm full steam ahead with chocolate."
"Oh yeah? Can you make a living with that, long-term?"
"It's no different than you with carpentry. If you make something that's worth buying, people will buy it."
"This is pretty worth it," Phillip said eating another piece off of the stack in his hand. "You did get a big contract with a restaurant today," he added, chewing. He turned toward the door. "I’m going home."
"Can I ask Molly to dinner at your house since she heard you mention it to me?" Salem asked.
"I was just about to, and you beat me to it," he said. "Thanks for making me look like a jerk." Phillip was joking, and we all laughed. He looked at me. "Seriously, though, you're more than welcome to come over. Addie's fried chicken is the best. "
Phillip left quickly after his invitation, so I didn't bother telling him I couldn't make it. But there was just no way. I had work to do at home to clean up my mess from today and situate my new counter. Plus, I had orders to prepare for tomorrow and studying to do for my final. I didn't say any of that. I just thanked Phillip for the invitation and waved at him.
Phillip closed the door and I looked at Salem.
"You can bring the rest of that box to your brother's. I'll make you a whole new box tomorrow if you want."
"Aren't you coming to dinner?"
"No, I have to get home. I have tons of stuff to do for school and a lot of catch-up in my kitchen from today."
Salem reached out and held my hand. It was natural and easy. He simply reached out with his dusty, callused hand and wrapped it around mine.
"What is this?" I said bluntly, looking at him.
We had kissed before, but there was no handholding. This was too intimate. It made my heart feel like it wasn't even in my chest. My chest was fluttering and warm, and the feel of his hand on mine, so tender and kind… it was too much.
I took an unsteady breath and stepped back, smiling and playing it off, breaking contact because I was overwhelmed with emotion.
"I'm sorry," he said .
"It's fine. I'm just trying to make us use good judgement here. I'm just glad Phillip didn't come in two minutes sooner."
"Yeah, I know. I definitely didn't expect him to stop by just now."
Salem turned and swiped at a metal pipe that was hanging above his head and used for storing lumber. His shirt lifted up when he reached upward. He knew what he was doing. He was an attractive man, and today he was inviting me to notice it. He had hugged me, and he had reached for my hand. The attraction was so intense and the interaction was so different that it made me wonder if I might have feelings for him.