Walker couldn’t hide his smile, and I wanted to slither under the table.
“This is getting more interesting by the second. Mind if I take a seat?” Walker strolled to the seat next to me.
“Not at all.” Clayton grinned. “Be my guest. Name’s Clayton.”
Walker slid out the chair and took a seat.
Immediately, the familiar smells of fresh soap and something sweet coated me in memories.
Walker glanced at me, and I caught his gaze dropping to my chest. “I’m Walker.”
“And you know Harmony?” Clayton asked.
“I’m just an old friend passing through the islands.” Walker turned in my direction. “Isn’t that right, Harmony?”
The way his mouth circled as he said my name rolled electricity right through me.
I drew another deep breath and nodded, accidentally sounding raspy. “Absolutely.”
“She’s a hard nut to crack.” Clayton eyed me. “I know she’s into me. I can read her like I can read someone who needs a new mattress.”
“Is that so?” Walker pressed as his lips curled slightly at the thought.
“She’s obviously been sleeping on the wrong mattress for quite some time. She’s way too uptight.”
I snapped my head in Clayton’s direction. “She is sitting right here.”
“You know what I mean, babe,” Clayton explained.
Walker stretched and rested his left arm around the back of my seat.
“Yeah, babe.” Walker laughed, knowing how much I’d hated being called babe. “But I’ve never known Harmony to be uptight.”
“Well, she is now.” Clayton shrugged. “I’m telling you. It’s the mattress.”
I smiled as the server brought a carryout box for Clayton, and I snatched it from her hands. “Thanks. I’ll be taking that.”
I shoved two twenties in her hand for my part of the meal. “For my half.”
The server nodded sympathetically as I scooped my meal into the box, but not before her gaze landed on Walker. She smiled at him, and I knew Walker Malone was everything he once was, only more.
More sexiness. More sin. More heartache.
On that note, I quickly hopped up with my carryout in hand and smiled. “You two enjoy talking beds. I’ll see you around.”
My pulse raced as I turned and made my way toward the door, but I felt Walker Malone’s gaze on me the entire time, and it took everything I had not to turn around.
Because I knew I’d only see the man I wished he were, not the man he actually was.
That’s what got me burned last time—imagining that Walker Malone was someone he wasn’t.
Chapter Five
“You walked out on him?” Maddie’s eyes widened.
I’d stopped by the teashop on Fireweed, but I hadn’t expected to see Maddie there. I just needed some simple chamomile tea to calm my nerves. It had been two days since the disastrous blind date, and I’d pretty much stopped taking calls. I think I was still traumatized.
Since Walker Malone showed up on the island, I’d been a ball of nerves.
Worried I’d run into him.
Worried I wouldn’t.
And even more worried that I’d run into the mattress man.
“Which him are you talking about?” I rested my hands on my hips. “The weirdo you set me up with or my ex-boyfriend from a million years ago?”
Maddie’s brows shot up. “Your boyfriend is here . . . on Fireweed?”
“Yes, he is. Much to my surprise, my ex is Ashley’s cousin.”
“Or Ashley’s cousin is your ex.” She giggled. “What are the odds?”
“I’ve been asking myself that same question over and over again.” I walked over to the wall of tea tins and pointed at a silver tin with a bright pink label. “What’s that one?”
“Oh, my new favorite,” Maddie gushed. “My sister, Holly, came up with it.”
Maddie waddled over to the tea shelves as if she were auditioning for a role in March of the Penguins.
She looked beyond cute in a floral dress with a large blue bow sitting atop her belly.
“Chance is watching our little today while I came here to catch up on orders. I’m so happy I caught you.”
I chuckled. “I bet.”
“Well, it seems your cellphone is somehow forwarding all my calls to voicemail.” She chuckled as she opened the canister and waved it under my nose.
“That smells heavenly.” I closed my eyes and sniffed in again. “Like brown sugar and roses.”
“Exactly. Want me to add some to your order?”
My eyes blinked open. “Yeah. That would be great.”
Maddie walked back behind the counter and started measuring some onto the scale. “Is it safe to say that the mattress man was a no-go?”
I laughed and nodded. “I have to say . . .” I bit my lip and glanced at the cute store. It totally reflected Maddie. Just stepping inside the store felt sweet.
Maddie was sweet, which was why this Clayton date was so confusing.
“I’m just going to come out and say it.” I scowled. “I’m kind of worried that you don’t think very highly of me.”
Maddie gasped. “Don’t think that. It was probably pregnancy brain.” Her lips quirked slightly. “It seemed like a good idea at the mattress store. I mean, he seemed passionate about what he does, and you’re passionate about—"
I held up my hand. “That is probably where the similarities end. He wanted me to let him into my bedroom so we could” —I used air quotes— “test out my mattress.”
“Ew. On the first date?” She shuddered.
“The entire date was one big cringe-fest.”
Until Walker Malone showed up, I thought.
Maddie cocked her head. “Tell me about this ex of yours.”
I shrugged. “Not much to say. We broke up when we were young, met when we were even younger, and it just wasn’t meant to be.”
But oh, how I’d wanted it to be. I was deeply, madly in love with Walker Malone, and I’d loved his family. His mom and dad were so sweet, and his younger sister was a doll. They accepted me immediately. I thought about his sister, Becky, and my chest tightened. She’d been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, and Walker’s family wasn’t sure how they were going to pay for her medical treatments. It was something that stuck with me all these years because I never faced that reality in my own home. I’d always wondered what happened to Becky.
Maddie’s voice drew me out of my head. “How does he compare to Clayton?”
“He doesn’t,” I said too quickly.
“Really?” Maddie drawled. “Tell me more.”
I laughed. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that they’re so completely different. Clayton, I’d never remember from a crowd. I couldn’t even tell you exactly what he looked like now, except he had a creepy blond mustache. But Walker . . .Walker leaves an impression.” I sipped the air. “You don’t have to see Walker Malone to know he’s in the room.”
“Sounds like there’s some unfinished business between you two.” Maddie smiled and handed me the bag of tea. “Maybe the bad date will inspire you to give this Walker guy another look.”
“Ha. Not in the slightest. Been there. Done that.” I grinned, taking out my wallet.
Maddie held up her hand. “It’s on me. This tea is the least I could do as an apology. I should never have tried to be a matchmaker.”
I chuckled. “It came from a good place.”
“It did,” she assured me. “I promise.”
“And I believe you.” I winked. “And thank you for this. You seriously don’t have to.”
“I insist.” She walked out from behind the counter and gave me a quick hug. “Do you forgive me?”
“Ten times over.” I smiled. “I’m just glad you didn’t find me my happily-ever-after, or I’d owe you and Chance for the rest of my life. This job is already more than I—”
“Not even.” Maddie let go and took a step ba
ck. “As Chance has said a million times, you’re more than qualified. If he could give you the restaurant, he would. You need to start believing in yourself.”
I smiled and glanced at her belly. “Your babies are fortunate to have you and Chance as parents.”
Maddie smiled and shook her head. “We’re the lucky ones. I just hope that we can give them everything and more.”
I smiled and nodded, wondering if I’d ever get to experience motherhood.
It was something I’d thought about here and there, but I never dreamed about it as some women did. I always figured I’d become a mom someday when the time was right, but now that I was in my thirties, I realized that time does start ticking.
I gave a quick wave and made my way out the door toward the library.
I had reserved a mystery, and I finally received an email that it was in.
Once I swung open the door and made my way to the counter, I knew.
I knew that Walker Malone was in the building.
Just like I had told Maddie.
You didn’t need to see him to know he was around.
His presence could be felt.
I suppose if I didn’t know better, it could be almost spiritual.
But Walker Malone was a long way from being angelic.
I glanced around the library and didn’t see any trace of Walker.
Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.
I waved at the librarian and whispered, “Hey, Jewels.”
She chuckled. “I told you it’s totally okay to talk in your normal voice.”
I laughed. “I know. I just can’t help it. I swear it’s some trauma left over from my first-grade teacher. She was awful. That woman could turn something fun like going to the carnival into something wretched.”
“There’s always one teacher like that.” Jewels chuckled. “Picking up your hold?”
“Sure am.” I glanced behind me, and disappointment dipped through me before I shook myself out of it.
I didn’t want Walker to be here.
“I’ve been waiting to read this book forever.” I grinned.
Jewels winked. “It’s a good one. The mystery is woven through the town, characters, and objects like you wouldn’t believe, and there’s a bit of romance.’
“Ugh.” I shook my head. “After the other night, I don’t need romance.”
Jewels scanned my book and slid it over the counter.
“What happened the other night?”
“The worst blind date in the history of blind dates.”
Jewels gasped. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“Maddie decided to set me up with some guy who sells mattresses.”
Jewels grimaced.
“What?” My brow arched.
“It wasn’t Clayton, was it?”
“How’d you know?”
Jewels shook her head. “Why would Maddie have ever set you two up?”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Exactly what I was wondering. She blamed pregnancy brain, but I don’t know. It makes me think her idea of me is really . . . off.”
Truthfully, I had given Maddie a bit of a hard time when she’d first started dating Chance. Maybe this was her payback.
“Maddie has a heart of gold. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.” Maddie was actually Jewels’s sister-in-law, and they usually shared everything. But this little fiasco must have slipped Maddie’s mind.
I smiled. “I hope so.”
“What aren’t you telling me about that night?” Jewels pressed.
“Well, if it weren’t bad enough having to sit through drinks and appetizers with the mattress king, an ex showed up.”
Just talking about Walker made my heart flip.
“On Fireweed?” Jewels couldn’t hide her surprise. “How does anyone wind up on Fireweed?”
“Just my luck.” I shook my head. “Anyway, he had the nerve to show up at my table and start a conversation with Clayton. Walker is just so cocky, and maybe rightfully so—”
“Did you say Walker?” Jewels’s eyes widened.
“Yup, Walker Malone. God’s gift to women everywhere.”
“Uh . . .” Jewels started shaking her head frantically.
“Yeah. I might have fallen for it once, but not twice.”
Jewels leaned over the counter. “He’s here.”
“What?” I squealed.
“In the nonfiction section.”
Horror spread through my veins. “You don’t think he could have heard me, do you?”
Jewels shrugged.
“The one time I don’t whisper in a library.” I shook my head as I batted down the excitement of knowing Walker was in the same building.
“He is pretty good-looking,” Jewels whispered.
“And he knows it,” I assured her. “I think I’m just going to take my book and sneak out while I can. I have to pick up the restaurant’s flower order from Natalie’s shop.”
“She always does the best work.”
I nodded. “She does.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I slowly turned around and glanced toward the nonfiction section. I still didn’t see Walker, so maybe today was my lucky day, and he’d already left.
The moment I stepped outside, I felt like a new woman. I could finally breathe again, and my heart rate started to slow down to an average pace. I didn’t know how in the world I was going to handle Walker on this island, but it certainly made moving to Hound more appealing.
The thought of running into Walker wherever I went was intimidating.
Seeing him after all these years made my mind race with memories I’d tried to push away so long ago. Having him wander the streets of Fireweed made my world feel like a storm was always on the horizon—that at any minute, the storm would unleash itself on me and I’d be ruined.
Everything I’d tried to run away from, everything I’d tried to build here, everything I wanted for my future would all be ripped apart if I let this storm drench me.
I opened my passenger door, placed my book on the seat, and grabbed an old vase before heading over to Natalie’s flower shop.
Every week, she and I picked out a theme for the restaurant bouquet for the main lobby. This week was hope and new beginnings. I always liked everything to have a purpose. It didn’t matter if it was a floral arrangement or an original recipe I created. I wanted to find meaning in it, and thankfully, Natalie was a kindred spirit and loved creating themes right along with me.
The idea of new beginnings sounded good when Natalie and I had settled on it, but now the thought made me think of Walker Malone.
Ugh. Walker.
I shook off the confusion and annoyance as I walked into the flower shop. The fresh scents of flowers and cut greenery swirled around. Everything was so crisp and clean in Natalie’s shop. She had a little bakery and coffee area in her shop and several spring displays with pastel arrangements ready for someone to take home.
“Right on time,” Natalie sang out. “Let me go get it. You might need help with this one.”
“Really?” Excitement pulsed through me. I loved getting to see Natalie’s work. She was as passionate about flowers as I was about food. I placed last week’s vase on her counter. I always brought the vases back for a discount.
A few seconds passed, and Natalie came out carrying a silver vase filled with so many red and white tulips, I couldn’t even see Natalie any longer.
“Wow. There’s no way all those tulips fit in our budget.”
Natalie giggled. “It’s tulip season, so yeah, they do. I have a local supplier from up north. I think I should just follow you to your car.”
“Okay.” I nodded, not that Natalie could see it, and quickly opened the door. “I’m just down the sidewalk about three car lengths.”
“Perfect,” Natalie mumbled through the tulips. “Just be careful. They snap easily at this stage. When they start to open up and drape over the vase, they’re a little more flexible.”
“Got it.” I o
pened the back door. “I think we should still be able to buckle the arrangement in. The box is still there from last week.”
“Great.”
I took the vase from Natalie as her cell phone rang.
“Oops. I’ve got to grab this. This weekend’s bride is going a little bridezilla on me.”
I chuckled as I bent down to buckle the arrangement into the seat. “No sweat. Thanks again, Natalie. These are beautiful.”
“My pleasure.” She bounded off, answering her call as I tightened the belt.
Once I was sure the vase wasn’t going to tip, I crawled out of my car and spun around to see Walker Malone walking out of the library.
I quickly looked both ways and couldn’t figure out how or where to hide, so I ducked beside my car, twisting my ankle as I fell off the sidewalk.
A yelp escaped my lips as the pain tingled down my foot.
“Damn,” I whispered, trying to shake the pain away.
As I stayed huddled between the curb and my car, I prayed that Walker would just keep walking. I had no idea what the man did for a living, but I wished he would go find himself some work.
One thing I loved about being a chef was that for the most part, I had my days to do what I wanted. I could roll into my house late at night, crash, and wake up just early enough where I still had enough day to almost feel like I was on mini-vacations.
“Harmony?” Walker asked.
His shadow towered over me, and I let out a silent sigh.
“Are you okay?” His voice sounded concerned.
And sexy.
Which was incredibly annoying.
“I’m fine. Just uh . . . searching for my keys. I dropped them here somewhere.”
“Interesting.”
“Why’s that interesting?” I stood.
“Well, you’re holding a pair of keys.”
I glared at him. “Right. I am. Guess I found them.”
Walker wore a tee and hoodie, nothing fancy. Yet, the look brought me right back to the first time I saw him.
I was so young, and he seemed so unattainable. I was on my way to violin lesson, and he was standing by his car in the parking lot waiting for his sister to finish her piano lesson.
Imagining Love on Willow Road (Island County Series Book 13) Page 4