Just One Look (Castleton Hearts)

“Hello to you, too,” she said, stepping by me to go out to the grill. This time she had her apron on and it made me smile just as much as the first time I’d seen her wearing it. She had one of those dark tank tops on underneath, the kind that looked like it was working hard to contain her arms and shoulders.

“I can’t open a bookstore without a name, Theo,” I said, putting down the bag with the crunchy noodle salad I’d brought for a side and following Theo out to the porch.

Scout was thrilled to see me and demanded that I pay attention to him.

Theo laid the chicken on the grill and then turned to face me, her face thoughtful.

“Have you narrowed it down to a few options, or are you completely out of ideas?”

“Completely out of ideas,” I said, flopping into one of the chairs. “I think I’m getting a migraine.”

“What about Mainely Books?” Theo said, and I looked up at her. “Is that already taken?”

I typed the name into my phone and searched. “No! No one has used the name! Holy shit, Theo!” I jumped up without thinking and threw myself at her. To her credit, she caught me, her arms going around me to prevent both of us from crashing into the grill.

Theo’s arms locked around me and I forgot all about bookstore names and even my own name.

Theo was strong as hell, and so warm. She held me tight, but I didn’t mind at all.

That smell of wood and sweat and just the barest hint of woodsy freshness flooded my senses and I closed my eyes to appreciate it more completely.

Theo enveloped me and didn’t seem to be letting me go anytime soon. I wiggled my toes and realized I wasn’t touching the porch. She had all my weight and didn’t even seem to notice.

I clung to her, my heart pounding so loud I was sure she could feel it since my entire body was pressed up against her. Theo’s arms twitched once and then she set me down slowly. I still stumbled a little as I adjusted to being on my feet.

With my arms still around her, I risked looking up and found her green eyes staring down at me.

“It’s a good name,” she said, her voice low.

“What?” I asked. I had no idea what she was talking about. I was too busy staring at her mouth and wishing she was kissing me with it.

“It’s a good name for a bookstore,” she whispered and licked her lips. I was so turned on it was painful. She had to know what she was doing to me.

Since she couldn’t step backwards due to the grill, Theo literally picked me up and set me further away.

“Hey!” I said, annoyed. “What did you do that for?”

She ignored me and opened the grill.

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” I said, tapping her on the shoulder.

Theo shut the grill and turned around. I thought she was going to blow up, but she didn’t.

“Is that the name you’re going to go with?” she asked, as if nothing had happened. As if we hadn’t had one of the most intense moments of my entire life.

Fine. If that was how she wanted to play this, then fine. I’d go along.

“It’s the perfect name,” I said. “It’s cute, but it’s also informative. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “You want a drink?”

I nodded and she disappeared into the house. I looked down to find Scout watching me.

“You saw that, right? I didn’t imagine it?” I asked him. He just came over and sat at my feet, looking up at me with his tail going back and forth.

“Yeah, you saw it,” I said, rubbing his head.

Theo took a while to come back out, and I wanted to make a joke about what she could have possibly been doing in the house, but I was trying to act friend-like toward her and I didn’t think she’d appreciate it, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Are you going to design your own logo?” Theo asked, still talking about the bookstore stuff. She also had a plate of veggies to go on the grill that she carefully placed, as if they needed her utmost concentration.

“Oh, I hadn’t gotten that far. I was kind of stuck on the name thing.” Now that I had the name, I would have to think about a sign and other things.

“I bet Hollis could help me,” I said. When I’d shadowed her, she’d told me that she did select logo work for people.

Theo nodded, her focus entirely on the grill. Like she was afraid to look directly at me. As if I was an eclipse.

I guess she was just going to be that way, so I chattered on about my plans for the bookstore and let her finish cooking. We brought everything back inside and sat together at the dining table.