Part 13 (1/2)
She raised her hands and snapped her fingers. Nope. No magic happening with the wall. Dammit. Maybe no one would notice it once she had everything else in place.
”Knock, knock,” Sophie called out.
Honor turned and almost burst out laughing as her friend walked through the door.
”What?” Sophie put a hand on her hip. ”The overalls too much? You said you were painting so I thought I'd help.”
”You do make one heck of a poster girl for painting.” Honor crossed the room and took the bag Sophie had in her other hand. ”And you're the greatest friend ever for bringing lunch. Thank you.”
Honor waved for Sophie to follow and strode over to her desk. She moved aside some stuff and put the bag from the Beach Cafe down.
Sophie practically skipped behind her. She'd been walking on Cloud Nine since returning from her honeymoon. ”What color is that?”
”Eggplant.” Honor pulled out a napkin and laid it on the desk before taking out the burgers and fries. Sophie grabbed her food and they found a relatively clean spot on the floor to sit down and eat.
”I like it. Are you painting the other walls the same?”
”No. Just that one.” She liked things slapdash. Made her feel at home. ”How's the new piano?” The surprise from Zane had floored Sophie.
”Amazing. I'm in love after only one lesson.”
”h.e.l.lo?” a man said from the direction of the open front door.
Honor looked up. ”Danny?” He looked around like he'd heard her but couldn't see her, and she realized there were several boxes in the way. She stretched up and leaned to the side. ”We're down here.”
His eyes met hers. ”Hey. Am I interrupting?” He stepped into the store, his attention wandering around the s.p.a.ce.
”No. We're just eating lunch.”
”Hi Danny!” Sophie said, lifting her arm higher than the box at her back and waving.
He responded in kind, then said, ”Nice place you've got here. I noticed the downstairs is vacant.” He stopped in the middle of the room and scuffed the floor with his work boot.
Hold on. She'd never seen Danny in anything less than slacks and dress s.h.i.+rts. ”Mr. Case hasn't rented it yet. What are you doing here?”
Hands in the front pockets of his jeans, he studied the floor for a moment. ”Bryce asked me to stop by. He told me you were fixing the place up on your own and your floors could use some sanding. I had a free couple of days, so here I am.”
Sophie kept eating her burger like this was the most natural thing in the world to have Danny show up and sand floors. Honor popped to her feet. ”Bryce thought you could come over here because...?”
”I'm pretty good at this sort of thing. I make a hobby of woodworking.”
Honor sighed. She hadn't heard from Bryce in two weeks except via text a couple of times. He'd thanked her again for helping him with the gift for his mom and mentioned he'd had to leave town to meet with clients.
She glanced down at the floor. It did need help. But that wasn't why her heart pounded. Bryce had been thinking about her. Lord knew she hadn't stopped thinking about him. His last text, You should let me help you take care of that one night thing, was burned into the back of her brain. She'd yet to reply.
”So, I'll go get my stuff out of the car and be back in a few to get started. That cool?” Danny said when she'd stood there tight-lipped.
”That's fine!” Sophie responded.
Danny gave a nod and a smile and left. Honor dropped down to the floor and gave her friend the stink eye. Although, truthfully there wasn't a lot of irritation behind it.
”What do you know that I don't?” Honor asked, grabbing a few French fries.
”Nothing. But Bryce obviously wants to do something nice for you. And Danny is really good with his hands.” Honor raised her eyebrows. ”Stop it. I've seen some of the furniture he's made and it's beautiful.” She wrapped up the remains of her burger. ”According to Zane, he hasn't been himself lately, so maybe this project is something he could use, too.”
Honor pressed her hands into her lap. This went beyond one-night and Payton's list territory.
”I know there's a lot going on in that head of yours.” Given that Sophie used to do brain research, sometimes Honor got the feeling her friend could actually see right through her forehead and into her thoughts. ”But if it's about Payton, she's gone, Honor. Feeling some guilt for being here when your friend isn't is normal, but a lot of time has pa.s.sed now. I've seen you and Bryce together. There's something there. I don't think your best friend would begrudge you finding out what that is.”
Gathering up their trash, Honor stood. ”You're right.”
Sophie got to her feet, too, and wiped her hands down the legs of her overalls. ”Why do I hear a 'but' coming?”
”Buuut...” Honor smiled. ”That something is very short-lived. Trust me.”
Doubt clouded Sophie's eyes before she nodded. ”Since we need to get out of here for Danny, want to go shopping? I could use your help with some new clothes.”
”You are the only girl I know who wants to shop after scarfing down a burger and fries. I'd love to.”
”Meet me at Ivy Bleu?” The small boutique had become Sophie's favorite, too.
”I'll be right behind you.” Honor looked around the large room at all the boxes and small furniture pieces. Should she haul everything downstairs? Push the boxes into the corners?
Text Bryce and thank him? Tell him yes.
Danny appeared in the doorway holding a big round tool thingie. ”I'm using the s.p.a.ce below to hold some of my larger items,” she said. ”Should we put everything down there?”
”I got it. You take off. Just leave me the keys. If you're okay with it, I'll hang on to them and be back tomorrow. I should be done by the end of the day.”
”Sounds good. Thank you.” She looked around her desk for the keys and handed them to him. ”A lot of the items in the boxes are fragile.”
”No manhandling the boxes, got it.” His eyes sparkled and Honor got the feeling he was really excited about this.
”Okay, then. I'll stop by tomorrow.” She stepped around him. ”You like fritters?”
”Does a horse like hay?”
Honor smiled. On her walk to Ivy Bleu's she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She and Bryce were at an impa.s.se and the ball was in her court. Sophie was right. Time marched on. People changed and made progress toward something better. Honor needed to stop standing in her own way. She'd said goodbye to eleven months since Payton's death. And the more time she spent with Bryce, the more her heart opened to him.
Both as a friend and maybe as something more, if only for one night. They both deserved to move forward and Payton would be okay with that. Her best friend had never begrudged someone else's happiness.
Okay, she texted.
Her phone chirped two seconds later. Okay what? Just want to be clear since several days have pa.s.sed since my offer.
Okay to one night. And thanks for sending me Danny.