CHAPTER 2

“Thank you so much,”Harper gushed to a customer who bought her biggest canvas of the day. “Enjoy!”

“Oh, we will!” the older woman said with a smile. “It’ll look just perfect on the wall above our bed.”

Harper gave a little wave as the adorable couple walked away, the husband holding the wrapped artwork under his arm. She was always so grateful when people saw value in her work. It gave her hope that her plan to be full time might eventually come to fruition. With the launch of her online store last year, Harper had seen an increase in orders, but it still wasn’t enough to live on. Someday...

A loud cheer rang through the air and Harper couldn’t help but look over. She could hear the roar of the chainsaw as sawdust filled the air, but otherwise the only visible details of Mason’s demonstration were the crowds’ backs. Her mind went to their short conversation earlier that morning. She had nearly told him exactly how she felt about him, before managing to cover it with a lame excuse.

Harper rolled her eyes at herself. Luckily, Mason had bought it, or at least seemed to. As usual, however, he had barely spoken two words to her. She had tried to leave herself open for him to join her in unloading her paintings or coming to see her booth, but he hadn’t taken her up on any of it, just reaffirming the fact that her stupid crush was one sided.

She shook her head and turned back to her booth. She shouldn’t complain. She really had had a good day so far. It seemed other people were just as happy to see the winter end as she was.

Tilting her head to the side, Harper took a quiet moment to assess her booth. Some of the paintings were now gone, so she set about trying to move her inventory around until it looked more even. “There,” she murmured, squinting to make sure it all felt perfect.

“Looks good,” a gruff voice said from behind her.

Harper spun, a gasp escaping her lips. “Mason!” she scolded. She put a hand to her racing heart. “How in the world did you sneak up on me like that? I thought you were carving.”

Mason grinned. Pieces of sawdust were stuck to the front of his shirt as he shrugged his massive shoulders. “I wasn’t trying to be quiet. You were too caught up in making things pretty around here.”

“I guess so,” Harper murmured. She hoped the bright pink on her cheeks could be mistaken for time spent in the sun. She glanced up, but the sun was currently behind a cloud. Crud.

“I, uh, just wanted to...” Mason scratched the back of his head, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Harper held back a sigh. Was she really that scary to talk to? She could tell Mason was trying to be nice, but really!

“How’s the selling been going?” he asked, his arms folding over his large chest.

Harper nodded politely, praying her face didn’t show her sadness. A pinching sensation sat in her sternum. Why did life have to be so hard? Why did the art world have to take all her time and concentration? Mason was such a good guy and it was so hard to let that go when she wasn’t sure she’d ever find someone like him again.

“Good,” she responded, forcing a bit of cheer into her tone. “I sold my biggest canvas just a few minutes ago, when you were still carving.” She furrowed her brow and leaned closer. “Hold on.” Without stopping to think of her actions, Harper stepped forward and reached up to grab a small piece of wood that had lodged itself in Mason’s beard.

His beard felt coarse, but was well groomed, she realized as she brushed her fingers along it to grab the piece. Holding it up triumphantly, she grinned. “Got it!” Her eyes went to the piece. “Hazard of the job, I suppose.” When she looked back at Mason, she froze. She hadn’t realized how close she had gotten in order to pick up the shaving.

His golden eyes bore into hers and for the first time, Harper didn’t feel like he was anxious to get away from her.

“Thank you,” he said in a gruff tone.

“You’re welcome,” she said, backing away quickly. Dang it. Why couldn’t she be better aware of others’ boundaries? People didn’t just go around plucking wood from handsome men’s beards.

She sucked in a deep breath, trying to cool her embarrassment, and noticed the enticing scent of freshly cut wood immediately, followed by a softer smell of fresh pine. It fit Mason. Even if he hadn’t been carving a log, the smell would have been perfect for him. There was something distinctly manly about the outdoor scents that only made Harper’s attraction grow even stronger.

“Miss?”

Harper blinked, her brain scrambling to catch up. “Y-yes?” she asked, forcing herself to look away from Mason. She smiled tightly when a middle aged woman glanced between her and Mason.

“Are you the artist?” the woman asked hesitantly, as if she knew she had interrupted something.

Harper nodded. “Yes!” She cleared her throat. “Would you like to look at anything in particular?”

“I...” The woman still hesitated.

“I’ll stop by later,” he said in a low tone. “We both need to eat, right?”

Harper’s heart fluttered. Dinner with Mason sounded great, but could her heart handle it? “That sounds wonderful,” she responded.

Mason’s smile was as charming as always and he nodded at the woman as he left.

Harper turned back and brought her mind back down to earth. “I’m sorry about that. Did you say if there was anything particular you wanted to see?”

The woman smiled understandingly. “More of that handsome young man would be fine.”

Harper laughed softly. “You and me both,” she admitted.

“Well, if that’s not on the menu, how about that picture with the seagull flying through the sunset?”

Harper nodded. “That I can do.” The next hour passed quickly as Harper chatted and made a few sales along the way. She was just finishing up talking to a little girl about her painting when she noticed someone come up to her side. “Aspen!” Harper cried. She held up a finger. “Hang on a sec.” After finishing with the child, Harper stood and hugged her friend. Aspen had been simply glowing ever since she and Austin had gotten married and it turned her already beautiful looks into something stunning. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Me too,” Aspen agreed. She looked around. “It’s nice to see so many people getting outside.”

“Yeah...nothing like being stuck in the kitchen all day,” Harper teased.

Aspen laughed and set down the box she had brought with her. “Do you have time for a treat?”

“Actually...” Harper hedged. “I think I might save them for a little later.”

Aspen’s eyebrows shot up. “Is there something I should know?”

Harper snorted. “I wish.” She couldn’t seem to stop herself from thinking about sharing them with Mason. They were friends. Just friends. But a girl needed a dream, right? And if hers included a particularly handsome lumberjack who sent butterflies through her stomach, well...no one could blame her.

*****

Tags: Laura Ann Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net