Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2)(14)

My jaw falls open. I’m speechless.

Noah shakes his head at me. “So unthoughtful. Are you trying to seduce them? Your first day on the job?”

“Who? The young ladies?” I raise my hands. “No. I swear. I just got hot and took off my shirt like I normally do, and…” I pause when I hear both of their barely contained laughter. “And you’re messing with me.”

Noah nods this time, smirking. “We’re messing with you.” He walks by and claps me on the shoulder. “Welcome back to Rome. Where no one has anything to do but complain about one another.”

He passes Amelia and stops to kiss her on the mouth—not a long kiss and not a short kiss either. Just…heartfelt. I rub my chest. “I gotta get to work. I’ll see ya after a while. And Will,” he turns back to me. “Please do your best to keep your damn clothes on today.”

“I’ll try.”

Once he’s out the door, Amelia pours me a cup of coffee and I sit at their little kitchen table. We catch up for a few minutes, and she tells me what’s been going on in more detail with the press and a few superfans who get a little too close for comfort. We set up a game plan for the month and decide that we’ll go on a day-to-day scheduling basis. A morning meetup to see what her plans are for the day, and then I’ll be around to escort her into town and anywhere else she needs to go, but I don’t need to hang around while she’s home or in her studio. She’s apparently working on a new album and will spend a lot of time here, and I’ll be left to my own fun while she does. Goody.

She’s hopeful that after the wedding, everything will calm down. Either way, I plan on asking to be transferred to a different client after the month is up. Not because I don’t like working for Amelia—I always have—but I won’t stay put in this town for a minute longer than necessary. Boredom does not suit me.

“So that sounds good to you?” she asks.

I nod. “Sounds great. I’m here for anything you need. Seriously, yard work? Gutters cleaned? I’m your guy. You know I get stir-crazy when I have nothing to do.”

Amelia laughs. “I do know. Which is why I’m happy to hear you say you’d be willing to help out with other things in your downtime.”

I sit forward, eager to know what she has in mind. “Yes, anything. Name it.”

If I’m not mistaken, her smile turns a little mischievous. Anyone else would see that smile and think she was implying something sexual. But knowing Amelia as I do, it’s definitely not that. It’s something different. Something tricky. Something I’m not going to want to do.

“Great. For starters, do you mind taking a letter into town for me?”

“Sure,” I say, dragging out the word to let her know I’m onto her. “Like to the post office?”

“Nope.” She grins wider. “To the flower shop, actually.”

And because there’s only one flower shop in town, that means I’ll be seeing Annie Walker today. Shit.

If I wasn’t on edge before, on my way out the door with a discreet little white envelope in hand, Amelia calls out, “Hey, Will!”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t say no, okay?”

“To what?”

“To what’s in that envelope.” The look on her face is all plea and genuine something. “Please don’t say no.”





CHAPTER SIX


Will





This time for my trip into town, I’m fully dressed. It doesn’t seem to stop everyone from popping their heads out of storefronts to stare. I wave at a lady who emerges from the quilt shop. She blushes and waves back. A little farther down, a man rushes out of the hardware store (I think I remember his name is Phil) and asks if I need any tools. Tape measures are on sale today, he informs me eagerly and with eyes that can only be described as slightly feral.

“I’m good for today, thank you.” I try to step around him, but he steps too. I think maybe he wants some insurance that I’ll only shop in his store for anything handyman related while I’m here, so with a wide smile, I tag on, “But I know where to go if I need anything.”

“Sure you do!” he beams back, slightly over the top in a disconcerting way. He then yells over his shoulder to a guy about his same age writing in chalk on their propped-up street sign. “Todd! I said tape measures are on sale today. Not screwdrivers.”

Todd sighs and silently wipes away his intricately detailed handiwork, starting over. Man—poor Todd.

“Right, well, I’m actually headed toward the flower shop, so…” Kindly get out of my way.

His eyes narrow. “Ah, going to see our Annie, are you?”

“Sort of—but not specifically.” I move to the right of the sidewalk, and he moves with me. Again.

“Sure, sure. I get it. The kids are all against commitment these days. It’s supposedly cool to keep your options open.” He does air quotes when he says cool.

I shift on my feet and eye him, feeling like I’m missing something here. I chuckle in an easy-natured way, though. “Listen, Phil, right? I’m just running an errand for my boss.” Everyone knows I work for Amelia, but I’m careful anyway. “An errand which I really need to be getting to. So if you don’t mind, I’ll need a raincheck on our chat.” Kind but firm. The ever-present tightrope I walk.