It Started with a Snap by Piper James

Chapter Twenty-One

Ember

Ethan Perry was my lucky charm. Not only did the pest control company give me the all clear to go back into the building a day earlier than expected, but after putting the boutique back to rights in record time and opening by one p.m., the shop was busier than it had been in months. Maybe even years.

A few of my regulars came in, but there were also several new customers I’d never seen before. I’d put a big sign on the door that explained the construction noise Ethan was making and the lack of air conditioning, but no one seemed to mind. I was on track to make my highest day of sales in over a year.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that most of my customers were women, and Ethan was wearing a tight, sweat-soaked tank top that was practically transparent. His chest and ab muscles were clearly outlined beneath the thin white material, and I’d caught more than one woman salivating as they pretended to browse the racks closest to where he was working on the electrical wiring.

Hell, I couldn’t blame them. I was having a hard time concentrating, myself. And remembering the feel of his hand in mine, and his lips brushing my cheek as he hugged me after our day at the carnival, well, I was probably a few degrees hotter than the temperature in the building called for.

In addition to the eye candy he presented, I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation that night. I’d been a little thrown, seeing that bare chest laid out before me like some kind of dream buffet, but I’d quickly recovered and forced my eyes to focus only on his face. Once I relaxed and made a few jokes to ease the tension I’d been feeling, our conversation had been…wonderful.

I really liked talking to Ethan.

We didn’t get the chance to talk yesterday, but we did exchange a few text messages when the fumigators called him to let him know we could enter the building today. He met me here bright and early with two cups of coffee and some frosted donuts, which we consumed while we worked. Ethan insisted on helping me set the store back to rights instead of starting his own work, and together, we’d finished the job in only a few hours. Then he’d ordered pizza, and we ate side-by-side at the sales counter, washing it down with some bottled waters I had stashed in my fridge upstairs.

By the time the boutique closed at six, I was exhausted. I counted the cash in the register, gathered up the credit card receipts, and printed out the day’s sales reports. My heart sped up as my eyes scanned the bottom line. It really had been a great day.

“Ethan,” I called out, wandering into the storeroom to find him flicking switches in the fuse box.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing the back of his arm across his brow to clear the sweat dripping down.

The move stretched the wet material of his shirt even tighter across his abs, and I found myself swallowing thickly against the lump in my throat. When my eyes finally lifted to meet his, I found them sparkling with humor as a crooked grin twisted his lips.

“Shut up,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m only human, you know.”

“Feeling nauseous at all?” he asked, arching a brow.

“Very funny,” I deadpanned, shaking my head. “I came back here to tell you what an amazing sales day I had. I doubled my usual daily income, and we were only open half the day. How do you feel about a permanent position as Glowing Embers’ official mascot? I swear, your muscles drove the women batty, making them spend all their money just so they would have an excuse to stay longer and ogle you.”

I shot him a teasing smile, but his laugh was stilted as he turned back to busy himself at the fuse box. He mumbled something that sounded like congratulations with color darkening his cheeks, making me regret my words.

“Hey,” I said, moving in a little closer, “I was just kidding. I don’t really want to objectify you like that.”

Ethan dropped his chin to his chest and heaved a sigh. When he tilted his head up to look at me, there was some strange emotion in his eyes…something that looked a lot like fear. Or guilt.

“What is it?” I asked, bracing myself for whatever was putting that expression on his face.

“It wasn’t me bringing all of those new customers in,” he said. “While I can admit, yes, I caught quite a few of them ogling me, as you put it, I’m not what got them through the door in the first place.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

“Don’t be mad.”

“Tell me,” I said, my voice firm even though fear spiked through me at his words and his skittish behavior.

What did he do?

“So, I may have taken the liberty of creating a website for the boutique and creating some ads to drive people toward the site.”

“You…what?” I asked as he pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped at the screen.

He took a deep breath and handed the device to me, and my heart skipped a beat or two as I stared at it, my mouth hanging open. This wasn’t just some basic, informational website. It was beautifully designed, featuring a custom-looking logo for the boutique and a collection of photos I recognized—photos I’d taken and posted to my social media feed.

Which explained why Ethan was stalking my socials several days ago…before we called our truce and became friends. I clicked the tabs in the menu, checking out the info page with our telephone number, address, and directions to get here from several nearby towns. There was also a page dedicated to me, with a picture—also procured from my social profile—and a glowing bio that described my dedication to my customers and the business.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Ethan said when I didn’t speak for several long moments. “I was just trying to help.”

“When did you do this?” I asked, scrolling through the site again.

“A few nights ago,” he murmured. “The day we prepped this place for the fumigation.”

I was right. He did this amazing thing for me while I was still being a total asshole to him. And I knew he wasn’t doing it for brownie points. He didn’t even tell me about it until now, and I was sure the only reason he did was because he didn’t want to lie and pretend he had no idea why I had this sudden uptick in sales.

“It’s only been a few days,” he said when I didn’t speak. “Once the keywords establish and boost your SEO, you should see your clientele expand even more, beyond what the ads are doing. This is just the beginning.”

I had no idea what SEO was, but what I did know was that this was probably the kindest, most selfless thing anyone had ever done for me. I knew websites and ads took time and money to create, yet Ethan had done it without expecting anything in return.

Finally looking back up at him, I handed back his phone and tried not to cry.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. “I can’t believe you did this for me. Just…thank you.”

“Wait,” he said, holding up his phone to point the camera lens at me. “Can you repeat that?”

With that, the tension was broken and a laugh burst through my lips. Ethan chuckled, stepping back as I moved forward to swat his arm.

My eyes flared as the toe of my tennis shoe stubbed the floor. My arms windmilled as I tumbled forward, but Ethan’s arms closed around me at the last second, keeping my face from getting up close and personal with the hard wood beneath me. My body slammed into his hard chest and my hands latched onto his hips as I struggled to get my feet back underneath me.

He smelled like citrus, wood, and sweat, and the combination was far more pleasant than I would’ve expected. My heart pounded in my chest as I tilted my head back to look up at him, putting our mouths mere centimeters from each other.

I froze, the heat in his blue eyes mesmerizing me as his fingers dug into the flesh of my back. Fear streaked through me. Fear that he would kiss me. Fear that he wouldn’t.

He must’ve seen something in my eyes, because he blinked a few times before pushing me upright. When I clearly had my feet solidly underneath me, he took a step back and scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

“I should get going,” he said, turning to gather his tools and pack them neatly in his toolbox. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay. See you,” I mumbled as he walked past.

I heard the bells on the front door—which he’d replaced this morning—jingle as he pushed his way through, leaving me standing in the storeroom, alone, wanting…more.

“Fuck,” I sighed, then wandered back out to the register to finish my closing routine.

I didn’t know what was going on in Ethan’s head, but I did know one thing—wondering about it was going to drive me crazy.