lot more. And I didn’t hate it. He was waiting for my reaction, and I smiled. “I think it’s great. Welcome to The Kitchen.”
“Thanks.” We stood looking at each other for a few seconds, and with the sunlight streaming through his hair and caressing his tanned skin, I had an almost hallucinatory moment brought on by his ridiculous beauty and felt a little lightheaded.
Jesus, get it together, Avery . Clearly, a handsome new coworker, too much sun, and not enough sleep will all interact to make you loopy. He looked curiously at me when I laughed at myself, but he didn’t comment. I’d learned over the last couple weeks, even with limited interaction, that nothing much could ruffle Fox. Even though he was probably the only person in the last thirty years to voluntarily move to Brancher, the oddities of this particular small town and being the under-the-microscope new guy didn’t seem to bother him in the least.
“Let me know if you need any ideas for fixing up the studio. I’m pretty good with small living spaces.” Before I knew it, the words were out of my mouth. I was full of bold moves when it came to this guy.
“I appreciate that. Have a nice day, Avery.” The dimple. And then he was gone.
* * *
After more not-so-subtle comments from Chase, I decided to finally give in to his request for alone time. My parents happily agreed to watch Annabelle so we could go out on a real date. They offered to take her to their house overnight, but I declined, saying it was easier to get her off to preschool in the morning if she was home. I appreciated their willingness, but my mom was a little obvious with her intentions.
“It’s no problem. You know we love to have her.”
“I know Mom, but really, it’s fine. Just hang out here and I’ll be home early.” I finished putting Annabelle’s clean laundry into her dresser drawers and straightened up.
She speared me with a knowing look. “It’s okay if you stay out late.”
“MOM! Stop.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m just saying, Avery, it’s perfectly normal to have a life outside of your child.” She picked up one of Annabelle’s stuffed animals from the floor and placed it on the bed. “Go have fun with Chase.”
I sighed. “I need to get dressed. He’ll be here any minute.”
Suddenly, getting ready seemed like an obligation. I thought of the sixty billion other things I had to do, and sitting around a mediocre, overpriced restaurant while I listened to Chase ramble on about MSRPs and test drives was basically last on my list.
But I knew he was really looking forward to this, so I threw on a brightly patterned cotton dress, shoved my feet into my boots, and looked at myself in the mirror. My skin was cooperating nicely even with the dry weather, and my hair settled back into smooth blond waves after I brushed it out. Not bad, Avery , I complimented myself. A little blush, lipgloss, and mascara to bring out my blue eyes, and I was ready to go. I grabbed my lightweight jean jacket and headed toward the kitchen, where my father and Annabelle were molding Play-Doh animals at the small table.
Annabelle smiled. “Mama, you look pretty!”
“Thank you, angel.” I looked toward my dad. “And thanks for watching her tonight, Daddy.”
He nodded. “Have fun,” he said, then regarded me thoughtfully. “Did Fox speak with you yesterday?”
I felt my face start to flush. Why did the mention of Fox always evoke some weird reaction in me? Because you like him, duh , a tiny part of my brain teased. “Um, yes. He’s the new cook, right?”
Another nod. “He’s going to be a big help. Smart man.”
Sometimes, the fact that my father was not usually a talker was incredibly inconvenient. “Oh really?” I said, trying to appear mostly uninterested. “Why do you say that?”
“Hard worker. Knows a lot about different things. He’ll be setting up a kitchen computer system for us as well.” He took the can of dough that Annabelle offered and
“Thanks.” We stood looking at each other for a few seconds, and with the sunlight streaming through his hair and caressing his tanned skin, I had an almost hallucinatory moment brought on by his ridiculous beauty and felt a little lightheaded.
Jesus, get it together, Avery . Clearly, a handsome new coworker, too much sun, and not enough sleep will all interact to make you loopy. He looked curiously at me when I laughed at myself, but he didn’t comment. I’d learned over the last couple weeks, even with limited interaction, that nothing much could ruffle Fox. Even though he was probably the only person in the last thirty years to voluntarily move to Brancher, the oddities of this particular small town and being the under-the-microscope new guy didn’t seem to bother him in the least.
“Let me know if you need any ideas for fixing up the studio. I’m pretty good with small living spaces.” Before I knew it, the words were out of my mouth. I was full of bold moves when it came to this guy.
“I appreciate that. Have a nice day, Avery.” The dimple. And then he was gone.
* * *
After more not-so-subtle comments from Chase, I decided to finally give in to his request for alone time. My parents happily agreed to watch Annabelle so we could go out on a real date. They offered to take her to their house overnight, but I declined, saying it was easier to get her off to preschool in the morning if she was home. I appreciated their willingness, but my mom was a little obvious with her intentions.
“It’s no problem. You know we love to have her.”
“I know Mom, but really, it’s fine. Just hang out here and I’ll be home early.” I finished putting Annabelle’s clean laundry into her dresser drawers and straightened up.
She speared me with a knowing look. “It’s okay if you stay out late.”
“MOM! Stop.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m just saying, Avery, it’s perfectly normal to have a life outside of your child.” She picked up one of Annabelle’s stuffed animals from the floor and placed it on the bed. “Go have fun with Chase.”
I sighed. “I need to get dressed. He’ll be here any minute.”
Suddenly, getting ready seemed like an obligation. I thought of the sixty billion other things I had to do, and sitting around a mediocre, overpriced restaurant while I listened to Chase ramble on about MSRPs and test drives was basically last on my list.
But I knew he was really looking forward to this, so I threw on a brightly patterned cotton dress, shoved my feet into my boots, and looked at myself in the mirror. My skin was cooperating nicely even with the dry weather, and my hair settled back into smooth blond waves after I brushed it out. Not bad, Avery , I complimented myself. A little blush, lipgloss, and mascara to bring out my blue eyes, and I was ready to go. I grabbed my lightweight jean jacket and headed toward the kitchen, where my father and Annabelle were molding Play-Doh animals at the small table.
Annabelle smiled. “Mama, you look pretty!”
“Thank you, angel.” I looked toward my dad. “And thanks for watching her tonight, Daddy.”
He nodded. “Have fun,” he said, then regarded me thoughtfully. “Did Fox speak with you yesterday?”
I felt my face start to flush. Why did the mention of Fox always evoke some weird reaction in me? Because you like him, duh , a tiny part of my brain teased. “Um, yes. He’s the new cook, right?”
Another nod. “He’s going to be a big help. Smart man.”
Sometimes, the fact that my father was not usually a talker was incredibly inconvenient. “Oh really?” I said, trying to appear mostly uninterested. “Why do you say that?”
“Hard worker. Knows a lot about different things. He’ll be setting up a kitchen computer system for us as well.” He took the can of dough that Annabelle offered and
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