What?
Hadn’t been so what?
He was a guy who was on the island and wanted to pass his time, and I wouldn’t be his entertainment. I had enough games to play and balls in the air for any one human being. He was probably feeling all nostalgic and romantic since he was an artist and his brother just proposed. I slipped my key in the ignition and watched him give me a slight wave as I pulled onto the street, silently scolding myself for giving him a second glance.
But as I looked in the rearview mirror, I spotted him watching me drive away. The way he stood on the sidewalk all alone, with no real place to go, made me do a double take. The guy behind me didn’t resemble the man I’d read about in the tabloids. There was something about Anthony that was full of contradictions, or maybe it was the world he lived in, which was so unlike Fireweed that it drove home the differences.
I slowed at the stop sign and watched him shove his hands into his pockets as he kicked a stone into the street. He looked like a little boy wandering around the neighborhood looking for friends, and my soul tugged a bit at the innocent gesture that revealed more about the enigma that was Anthony Hill than I wanted to admit.
I set out a tray of cheese and crackers on my coffee table just as the doorbell rang. I’d felt unsettled since I’d left Natalie’s shop. I’d only gotten out a quarter of what I’d intended to tell her. Not to mention, the image of Anthony standing in the street kicking around rocks got to me in an unnerving way, and the only thing that would make me forget my worries was my favorite worn pair of pajamas and a night gabbing with my best friend.
I bounded over to the door, excited to have some of the girl time I apparently needed, and flung open the door only to let out a horrified gasp as Anthony stood at my door with the largest bouquet I’d ever seen.
“You’re not Natalie,” I blurted, eyeing Anthony and the bouquet suspiciously while attempting to tug down my pink thermal shirt over my flannel boxers. My favorite pajamas suddenly didn’t seem like such a great idea for the night.
“Nope,” he said with a grin as I stared at him. “Were you expecting her?”
“She’s not coming tonight, is she?” He knew full well she was supposed to be the one ringing my doorbell. I narrowed my eyes at him and noticed that he’d changed clothes since this afternoon . . . and he’d shaved.
So, while I stood here in a grubby pair of pink and white boxers, he looked incredibly gorgeous and put together.
Perfect!
“Nope.” Anthony shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes dropping to my pink bunny slippers before bringing his gaze back to mine. I wanted to slam the door in his face, but instead, I stood gawking at the lead singer of Crimson Strings. It wasn’t until I watched his lips curve into a beautiful o that I realized he was speaking.
“So I can either just hand you these and split or—”
“Oh, brother. Sorry. I don’t know what gets into me around you,” I said, shaking my head before motioning for him to come inside. He let out a soft chuckle, and it only took him one step before he was squarely inside my apartment.
“I’ll take that as a positive.” A smile flashed across his lips as if I’d spoken the magic words for the night.
I brushed up against him as I closed the door behind us, and my breath caught in my throat. To throw him off, I cleared my throat and pointed toward the couch.
“It looks different in here. Did you change something?” he asked, looking around my living room with the flowers still firmly in his clutches.
“Well, electricity probably helps a lot, and I did move the chair from one side of the room to the other.”
“That’s what it is. It looks great by the window. It opens up the room.” His smile was genuine and there was something oddly appealing about him. “Do you have a place for these?”
“Sorry. Yes. Let’s put them on my coffee table,” I said, still amazed he noticed anything about my apartment.
“Do you have a coaster or something you want me to put the vase on?” he asked.
“You don’t seem very rock star like,” I teased, taking the vase from him and putting it on the bare wood.
“You don’t seem like a bunny slipper wearing kind of girl.”
I glanced down at my slippers and wiggled my feet.
“I guess we’re both full of surprises.” I tugged the sleeves over my hands and stood awkwardly in front of the sexiest man alive, wondering what kind of girl I seemed like to him.
“For the record, I wouldn’t call myself a rock star, and I wouldn’t know how one is supposed to act. I’m a singer in a band.” He took a seat on the couch and stretched his long, lean legs in front of him. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”
I laughed nervously. “How noble. So what brings you here?”
“You’ve got great taste.”
I flashed him a puzzled look, which only seemed to amuse him more. I wasn’t sure if he was referencing my nightwear, or my apartment, and what did either have to do with him sitting on my couch?
“Thank you for these. They’re the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever gotten,” I said, switching the subject and leaning over to take in a deep breath, inhaling the fragrant roses from the bouquet.
Anthony sat back slightly and nodded. “Actually, I felt like I owed you an apology. That’s why I’m here.”
“An apology?” My brows furrowed. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
He nodded. “I do. I’m used to getting what I want when I want it, and that’s a bad habit.”
“That’s not your fault. It’s your profession, and I still don’t know what that has to do with apologizing to me.”
“I know you’re busy with lots of things, and I didn’t mean to bombard your cell just to amuse myself. Natalie mentioned you’d had a rough couple of days, and sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own world, I don’t notice when I’m being annoying or adding complication to other people’s lives.”
“It sounds like you got a Natalie lecture this afternoon, but I promise. You didn’t complicate my afternoon. I actually didn’t mean to send a hint one way or another. I just haven’t been myself lately. Lots of things have been going on so don’t take it personally. And for the record, I don’t think you could ever be annoying.” My eyes fell to the cheese and crackers next to the arrangement. “Would you like some cheese?”
Food was always the perfect distraction, but he shook his head and smiled.
The air stirring between us was filled with heated tension and something else I didn’t recognize—uncertainty maybe? Like tonight could go in two drastically different directions, and either option would result in disappointment.
“So was the Natalie lecture brutal?” I asked.
“I’ve had worse.” His gaze met mine and wonder filled his expression.
It took everything I had not to ask him why me? Why was he the least bit interested in me? But that would ruin the moment.
“Well, I have no idea what she might have told you, but I apologize on her behalf and I’m sorry for not returning your texts. You’ve been nothing but kind and generous, and I’ve been. . .” I paused, searching for the right word.
“Busy?” His eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Yeah. Busy. So don’t read anything else into it.”
“So I haven’t lost my mojo since coming back to Fireweed?” His brows rose.
“Not to fear. You’ll be headed back to LA armed with as much charm and charisma as before.”
“Charm and charisma?”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Never would.”
I liked how at ease I felt with him and that was worrisome. The sooner he shipped out to LA, the better.
“Natalie didn’t actually tell me any specifics, but I got from her tone that things aren’t going exactly how you’d hoped.”
I blinked, not really sure what to say, but he continued on.
“Why do you think that is?” he asked, reaching f
or cheese and crackers after all.
“Life, I suppose. Sometimes, I wonder what choices have led me to this point, and I find myself second-guessing things.” My sudden candidness with Anthony surprised me, but the moment the words tumbled out, I felt some tension in my shoulders begin to release.
He nodded. “I completely understand.”
I doubted that, but I appreciated the gesture.
“But you like living on Fireweed?”
I nodded. “I love it. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Anthony shot me a mystified look, and I wondered what he was thinking.
“Have you thought more about your store name?” he asked, taking another cracker.
“My store name?” I asked, baffled.
“On Etsy.”
“You certainly have a good memory.”
“Only when I think the subject matter is interesting.”
I chuckled.
“See? I went too far again.” He rubbed his knee and laughed.
“Maybe the girls in LA are dazzled easier.” I shook my head. “And yes. I think I’ve come up with something a little better.”
He sat up a little straighter. “Let’s hear it.”
“If there’s anything wrong with it, you’ll tell me, right?”
He nodded. “Have I held back yet?”
I cleared my throat and debated about the name I’d tossed around all week. It worked, but it still didn’t sing to me yet.
“Silver and Lace Rustica Decor.”
Anthony bit his lip and took in a deep breath.
“You hate it?”
“I don’t hate it. It’s nice.” He rubbed his fingers around the back of his neck.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want my store name to be nice.”
“Nice is better than naughty,” he mumbled.
“Hardee har har.”
“Do you know how many names we went through before landing on Crimson Strings?”
“No idea.”
“At least fifty. And they were all serious contenders. I think Silver and Lace Rustica is great. But it doesn’t tell the same story you told me a few days ago.”
I was surprised he remembered any story I told him. Actually, I was surprised I told him a story at all. I’d prided myself on keeping everything I was up to close to my heart— until him.
“And what is that?” I asked, my brow arching.
“What your brand is about.”
“My brand? I’ve barely got an online store, let alone a brand.”
He shook his head. “The moment you put yourself out there, you have a brand. You never know when some celebrity might stumble upon one of your signs and tweet it out to millions of their followers. Crazier things have happened.”
Considering one of them was sitting in my living room, a truer statement couldn’t have been said.
“Well then, what do you suggest?” I asked.
“You wanted to sell your current signs online but eventually offer more décor and possibly offer design services. Did I leave anything out?” he asked, standing up and pushing his sleeves up. He looked like he was getting ready to pull an all-nighter.
“That’s correct.”
“So let’s come up with something that’s going to tell the world what you do.”
“The world is about thirty-two followers,” I informed him. “Plus fifteen admirers. Did you want anything to drink?”
“I’m good.” He walked over to the slider and looked outside into the darkness. My eyes followed his silhouette, and my imagination briefly dove into stripping him down to nothing in my living room. But those kinds of actions always had consequences, and I so didn’t have any room in my life for the aftermath of sleeping with someone like him.
“Hear me out.” His voice startled me and brought my attention back to the subject at hand.
I swallowed the embarrassment of allowing myself an insane fantasy I’d never act upon.
“Think about Bristol Designs or Bristol Décor. Or what about Sophie Bristol Designs?”
“But that makes it all about me.”
He turned around, and his eyes fastened onto mine. “It should be all about you. You have a beautiful name, and it offers a lot of flexibility.”
“Thank you.” I shifted my gaze to the flower bouquet.
His willingness to help me hammer out my Etsy store made me wonder how much Natalie had revealed.
“You’re not a fan?” he asked.
“No, actually, the name is fabulous. It sounds so classy.”
“Classy is my middle name.” Anthony seemed relieved as he walked back to the couch and sat down.
“I love how tasteful and refined it sounds.” I closed my eyes and imagined an elegant logo in black and silver.
“I’m glad. I’d sit on it for a while and see if you can envision it with everything you want to accomplish.”
I flashed my eyes open and smiled. I felt almost silly thinking about how small my dreams were in comparison to his, but giddiness still flooded through me.
Until he opened his mouth.
“I have a proposition for you.” He leaned forward, and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest the way he looked at me. I might get tempted to sleep with him in a moment of weakness, but I wasn’t anywhere near that point this evening.
“What kind of proposition?”
“The house I’m flipping here on the island is getting to the finishing stages.”
“Yeah?” I asked, relief flooding through me. “The one that you bought from your parents?”
He nodded. “And I think to sell it quickly and for top dollar, having someone with your talent come in and stage it would make sense.”
My pulse quickened.
“I’m not ready for anything like that,” I insisted.
Anthony looked around the living room. “Your style is perfect for the house, for the island. It’s crisp and inviting, and I don’t have time to do it.”
“You need to get someone from Seattle, who has way more experience than me, to do the staging.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want someone from Seattle. I want you. I like your designs.”
I shook my head and glanced around the space.
“Decorating a one-bedroom apartment isn’t what I’d call having a great sense of design aesthetic.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I can tell that selling yourself short is something you do a lot.”
I opened my mouth to protest but quickly shut it.
“Trust me on this.” His voice softened, and so did his gaze.
This guy was good. I could see how Natalie didn’t have a chance at resisting his brother. The charm had to have been genetic. It was too smooth to be learned.
“I don’t have time.” I crossed my legs and noticed Anthony’s eyes following along.
Grabbing a blanket from behind, I draped it over my lap and cleared my throat.
“So can I count on you to stage the house?” He brought his eyes back to mine.
The thought alone overwhelmed me, and I hadn’t even lifted a finger. How in the world would I stick staging his house in between caring for my dad and my other jobs? Not to mention, I didn’t have the collateral or the backing to even begin something like this. My plan had been baby steps on Etsy. I had a plan to see where things went and build my business accordingly, but as I looked into Anthony’s eyes, I saw the same fire I so desired in my own life.
“Let me think about it.”
Anthony nodded. “Sometimes it’s best not to overthink important decisions.”
“How do you figure?”
“You wind up talking yourself out of a dream.”
“Are you sure you even want to sell the house? Natalie told me the remodel you’re doing is beautiful.”
Anthony’s eyes darkened as he ran his fingers along his jawbone. “Positive. This place doesn’t do it for me.”
I flinched at his words. I loved Fireweed, probably to a fault, but it was a commu
nity where others looked out for each other and lifelong relationships were founded. What was not to like?
Anthony caught the hurt in my expression and shook his head. “It’s not the island. It’s the memories. I don’t have the fondest memories being back here.”
“Seriously? The Hill brothers owned the island,” I teased. “When Cole got that brand new Mustang for his sixteenth birthday, he could do no wrong. He was the most popular guy in high school. Not to mention the parties at the Hill house. I can’t imagine either of you ever wanting to leave.”
“And yet we both left as soon as we could.” Anthony let out a deep breath.
From all appearances, the Hills were the perfect family. They were one of the wealthiest in all of Fireweed. They had only recently left the island and seemed to use the place as a second home. I always remembered Cole returning from Hawaii at the end of mid-winter break with a golden tan or jetting off to some ski resort while the rest of the island kids hung out at the bowling alley or threw freezing cold bonfires to pass the time.
I nodded, seeing the same flicker of loneliness dart through his gaze from earlier, and it pulled me to want to know more.
“When do you need an answer?”
“I’m headed back to Los Angeles in a few days. It’d be nice to know before I leave.” The light from earlier left his gaze as he glanced around the apartment. “I’ll be back in a couple of weeks when the contractors start laying the floor and finishing up the tile work. If you decide you want to take on the job, that would probably be the best time to look at the space.”
There was a change going on inside him. I could see it happening right before me, and I had absolutely no idea what prompted it or how to fix it. The carefree Anthony had been replaced with an overly contemplative and somewhat wounded being. My mind flashed back to the song from a few days ago that I’d heard at the party. It was filled with an overwhelming sense of despair, and as I sat staring quietly at Anthony Hill, I saw the same emotion fill his eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. You just seem off all of a sudden.”
His mouth quirked on the corners. “Is that so?”
I nodded.
A bit of earlier glimmer filled his eyes. “I can think of a way to fix that.”
Tangled Love on Pelican Point (Island County Series Book 3) Page 5