Sally stood. “I’ll take a copy of the rental agreement to look over and let you know in a couple of days.”
“Perfect. You have my email and my number if anything comes up. And tell Bruce we said hello.”
That brought a proud smile to Sally’s face. She’d apparently been on the verge of leaving, but she joined Iris on the sofa, bringing up the gallery on her phone to show off pictures of Bruce and his family without being asked. Eli circled behind the sofa to dutifully admire the chubby babies who grew into sturdy children with each swipe of Sally’s screen. Honestly, her grandkids were super cute.
“I have other grandchildren too,” Sally was saying. “But Megan is older. She’s my daughter’s daughter, and Kim is a lot older than Bruce.”
Henry Dale sighed. “Is there a reason for us to know any of this yet? We’re not even sure if you’re moving in.”
The older woman scowled at him. “Do you need a reason to be friendly?”
This time, Eli intervened before Iris had to. “I enjoyed seeing those pictures. Thanks for sharing them.”
Sally bestowed on him a radiant smile. “You’re sweet. I already know I’ll like you. Do you like cheesecake squares?”
Eli blinked. “Uh. Maybe?”
“Anyway, I was on my way out. I’ll be in touch.”
It felt like much longer than forty minutes had passed. Weirdly it was like being released from a time-warp spell when Sally sailed out the front door, as if the normal passage of moments had resumed. Henry Dale grumbled beneath his breath, and this time nobody stopped him when he stomped off to the shed.
“They’re going to clash,” Iris predicted.
“I suspect you’re right. Does that mean we should tell her she can’t move in?” Eli hated doing that to such a sweet woman, especially one who reminded him of Gamma.
Iris shook her head. “I mean, honestly, Henry Dale is cranky. I like him, but if we let him, he’ll veto basically everyone, and…”
You need the money.
He didn’t finish the thought, but he was aware of her financial status. That was why he was working on a bot to scrape references on social media for people interested in handmade jewelry. This wasn’t the right moment to mention that, however.
“We can let him mull the idea over,” he said. “Today he socialized quite a lot. I’m sure he’ll be okay with it once he has time to ponder.”
“Well, even if he’s not, if you vote with me, we win,” Iris pointed out.
And oh hell. While he felt bad for Henry Dale, he’d probably vote yes on whatever she suggested just to keep her gazing at him like that. Her smile was a starry night, the kind that offered perfect weather for flying.
“True enough. Uh. If you have time, we can work on your shop tonight.”
Iris bit her lip, seeming uncertain. “I have time, but—”
“I’m between projects right now, so I can absolutely show you those upgrades.”
“Then let’s do it. I’m so excited, you have no idea. I did use the graphics you provided, but I could use some help with the other features.”
His heart pattered wildly as she followed him into the main bedroom. When she perched on his bed, his face went ridiculously hot. Please don’t let her notice. I don’t want to her to think I lured her into my room for some weird reason. Eli had no intentions other than to pay her back, but shivers of reaction went through him when she perched next to him on the bed, eyes fixed on his screen.
“Should I log in so we can just work on the shop directly?” she asked.
“Go ahead. I’ll delete all traces of your login afterward.”
Iris laughed. “Like I’m worried about you stealing my eight dollars. I haven’t even earned enough to get my first payout from the site yet.”
“You will,” he said.
She shot him a melting look. “You’re the only one who thinks so.”
“Everyone else is wrong.”
A quiet sound escaped her, sweet and soft, and it raced through his veins like wildfire. “Careful you don’t encourage me too much. You’ll never be rid of me.”
I should be so lucky.
Frankly, Eli had no idea how he focused well enough to explain, but he tried to make it clear, step-by-step, as he used photos she retrieved from the cloud. The quality of her photography needed improvement, but he suspected she was just using her phone and filters, so it couldn’t be helped. She’d probably spent a lot of money on supplies to make the jewelry but hadn’t factored in extra costs for displaying her work.
“Can I say something constructive?”
“Of course!”
“It’s not enough to create beautiful pieces. You also have to show them off in a way that makes the person looking at the page feel like they can’t live without them.”
Iris frowned at him. “If I knew how to do that, I’d already be doing it!”
“I’m going somewhere with this. A tech witch could probably help. They can absolutely make social media posts go viral. I read something about it—there was some talk during the local election. Apparently one of the councilwomen is a witch, and her opponent was yelling about it.”
“Oh wow. I wonder what they’d charge. I probably can’t afford it.”
“We can do it in other ways,” he said. “But it’s something to consider.”
Her open mind meant a lot to him, as it suggested that she wasn’t simply pretending to be okay with what he’d confided about himself. It took a special sort of person to open their mind to new possibilities, and maybe he was asking too much, but it also seemed to offer hope that she might understand his motives one day. Maybe.
It’s more than I had before.
CHAPTER TEN
Sally moved in a week later, bringing joy and chaos and myriad knitting projects in various stages of completion.
She didn’t have a car either, but it seemed like she had a never-ending stream of friends and relatives willing to pick her up on their way somewhere. Iris envied how connected the older woman seemed to be. She had clubs and lessons and lunches. Hopefully, Iris would be that engaged and busy when she got to a certain age. Henry Dale wasn’t thrilled with the noise and energy Sally brought with her, but he spent so much time in the shed or in his room that it shouldn’t become an issue.
For the next few weeks, Iris worked on her shop, following Eli’s tips and strategies, and she was definitely seeing an uptick in page views. She’d even gotten a couple of orders, and she was so excited to pack and send them. Tiny steps toward success, but they counted. She hummed as she worked, turning her dreams into reality.
If I worked with a witch, we could sell magical jewelry. That would be amazing.
But she didn’t know any witches well enough to suggest it, and—
“Iris! Are you home?” That was Sally.
Eli would often text, even if they were both in the house, and Henry Dale didn’t communicate much. It amused her to be summoned with such urgency, especially when the issue wasn’t usually that critical. But she still put aside her tools and headed downstairs.
Sally met her in the hall and grabbed her hands. “Now you know I’m not one to meddle…”