Page 66 of If You Were Mine (After We Fall 3)
I decided to brave it. “Lately, like just over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about my carpentry business. I kind of miss it.”
“You were so good at it,” my brother said with conviction. “I never understood why you gave up.”
“I didn’t make as much doing it as I made…doing other things. And I always felt so fidgety and unsettled when I stayed in one place too long. But maybe…I don’t know. Maybe I’m outgrowing that.”
“Why don’t you try again?” Josie asked.
“I could.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ll give it some thought.”
“I’d help you,” Aaron offered. “I’d go in with you if you wanted a partner. I don’t have any money to put up, but I could apply for a loan once I got a job. We could save up. Invest in some more equipment. Advertise. I know a lot of contractors who might hire us.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Josie enthused. “You guys would be a fabulous team.”
“I’ll give it some thought,” I said again. I’d probably have to get a legit job in the meantime too, until we got on our feet. Maybe the stoneworks would take me back part time.
“What made you start thinking about that again?” Josie wondered.
“I’ve been helping a friend of mine redo her kitchen, and I’m really enjoying it.”
“Her
kitchen? Hmmmm.” Josie’s eyebrows rose. “Very interesting. Who is this friend?”
“Just someone I met recently.”
“Is the someone pretty?”
My neck got hot, but I answered truthfully. “Yeah.”
“Are you…dating her?” The disbelief in my brother’s voice told me how well he knew me.
“No.” I sighed and closed my eyes for a second, Claire’s hurt expression still fresh in my mind. “We were just hanging out. But I fucked it up. As usual.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. I don’t know. Maybe.” Did I? Would I feel better if I talked this through? Maybe if I told them what had transpired, they’d be able to tell me I’d done the right thing, validate my decision to end things the way I had.
Josie laughed sympathetically. “The look on your face is pure agony.”
“Talk,” my brother said. “What did you do?”
I decided to try it. “I really like this girl. I just met her last week, but right away, something about her got to me. She’s really different than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Josie smiled. “How so?”
“She’s just…nice. Sweet. Smart. Fun. And so damn talented. She’s an artist and she creates the most incredible things, but she has no confidence in herself. Doesn’t think she’s good enough to sell what she makes, so she doesn’t even try.”
“How does she support herself?” asked Aaron.
“She’s an art teacher at an elementary school. And she’s really good at that, too. I took her to this wedding on Friday night, and all her co-workers were saying how incredible she is at her job.”
“Wow,” said Josie. “Sounds like a good catch.”
“She is. Totally different from me in so many ways, but we really hit it off.” And hit it hard. “We have…great chemistry.”
“So what’s the problem?” Aaron asked.
“The problem is that I was at her house last night and her mother showed up. Claire introduced me to her, and she started asking all these questions about me. It made me nervous. Her dad’s a judge, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t know that.”
