The Quietest Shop on Main (Shops on Main #3)

Chapter 10

10

S omething had changed.

Skyla didn’t know what it was, but ever since Dalton and Analiese had come over for dinner the first time, her relationship with Dalton was shifting.

He was more flirtatious, more bold, more…everything.

And she absolutely loved it, though it was awkward to respond when they always had an audience.

Analiese was softening more and more, and Grandpa seemed to be getting grumpier, if that were possible. Or, at least pretending to be grumpy. Skyla was starting to believe he just enjoyed making Annaleise laugh, and she seemed to particularly enjoy his snark.

Meanwhile, Skyla was enjoying the experience, but was also becoming more tired than usual. There was something about having people over that had her feeling more worn out than usual, but she didn’t want to say anything.

It seemed to be so good for everyone that she couldn’t bring herself to put a stop to their dinners or to ask for a break. But working all day and taking care of Grandpa, followed by entertaining in the evenings was definitely taking a toll.

In fact, tonight her feet were absolutely aching as she walked through the bookstore, shutting off lights and retrieving books that readers had left behind.

Skyla’s jaw cracked as she yawned. Whew. Tonight she was too tired even to dream of what it would be like to turn this shop into something more. Usually, her mind was always churning with ideas, but tonight…tonight Skyla could barely think.

She leaned her shoulder against the wall, taking a few deep breaths and trying to wake up her body and brain. It had been a good day. A long one, but a good one. Patrons had been happy, and she’d had a good number of sales. Exactly the kind of situation she was looking for in a bookstore day.

But Dalton and Analiese and Grandpa would all be expecting food, and Skyla had no idea what she was going to fix. She’d been working hard to have things on hand and use her crockpot in the mornings, but today she’d barely managed to get out the door with her coat, let alone with dinner in the works.

“Come on, Sky,” she urged herself, forcing her tired feet back into action. “You’ve got people to take care of.”

The cozy shop grew dark as Skyla managed the last of the lights and pushed her arms through her coat. The key ring she kept jangled as she locked the door and turned toward the alley to get her car, only to come to a halt.

“Dalton,” she breathed. Skyla was wide awake now. Her heart was in her throat from the unexpected visitor, and Skyla had to take several deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating.

“Sorry,” he said, though she could hear the humor in his voice, even in the dark. “I thought about knocking, but was worried that might startle you.”

Skyla laughed with him. “I guess you were doomed either way.” She straightened. “So…what brings you by?” Ouch. She shifted her weight. Maybe she needed new shoes? These were definitely not doing her much good at the moment.

“I had a thought.” Dalton slowly sauntered in her direction, and Skyla’s heart went right back to where it was a moment ago.

Seriously. What exactly was going on? Not that long ago, he’d made it clear he wasn’t asking her on a date. Then he sort of asked her on a date, by way of using her grandfather’s health as an excuse. Now he was acting like a man in pursuit. What was happening?

“Oh?” Skyla murmured.

Dalton unwound the scarf from around his own throat and draped it across Skyla’s neck, then slowly wrapped it around and tucked it in.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the masculine scent he left behind.

“I thought that maybe you’ve been working too hard.”

Her eyes darted open. “What?”

Dalton chuckled and tucked a piece of floating hair behind her ear. “Somehow, you’ve gotten roped into cooking for the whole group nearly every night.” Dalton leaned in a little. “I thought maybe I’d reverse our roles.”

She couldn’t be mistaken. The flirtatious tone to his voice and how he stood closer to her. This wasn’t the actions of a man who wanted to be just friends…was it?

Dalton straightened. “In other words…I’m taking you to dinner tonight.”

Skyla’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally found words. “What about Grandpa and Analiese?”

Dalton’s smirk softened into a smile. “Analiese made sure they’re covered, and I made sure she didn’t make something that would kill him.”

Skyla laughed softly. “That would be preferable, yes.”

Dalton tilted his head, his smile falling and his eyes narrowing. “Skyla…I…” He scrunched his nose.

“What?” she asked, patting at her hair. “I’m a mess, aren’t I?” Skyla groaned. “Sorry. I should have just pulled my hair up?—”

“No, no,” Dalton hurried to say, shaking his head. His hand came up, and Skyla waited for him to fix her hair again, but instead, he rested his knuckles on her cheek and rubbed his thumb under her eye. “You really are working too hard. I happen to know that these dark patches weren’t here before.”

She couldn’t move. In fact, Skyla could barely breathe. “H-how would you know that?” she asked, unable to get her voice much above a whisper.

His smile was back, but there was a sad edge to it. “Because I’ve watched you for too long to miss something like this.”

What?!

“Would you rather we get take out and eat at home? You look ready to pass out.”

Knight in shining armor wasn’t enough to describe this man. While not cooking sounded great, the idea of noisy crowds and having to be on her best behavior sounded just as tiring as feeding a group.

And now Dalton was offering her a way out of both?

Seriously…where had this man come from, and why was he so perfect for her?

“That sounds amazing,” Skyla gushed, not even bothering to hide her enthusiasm.

The smile she absolutely adored, spread across his face. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Tacos or fish and chips?”

Skyla took a moment to think, biting her lips between her teeth. “Tacos? I’ve always loved the ones from the truck by the dunes.”

“Ah, yeah. Their jumbo shrimp is the stuff of legends.” He unexpectedly took her hand, guiding Skyla toward his SUV. “Let’s go.”

Skyla had no words. She probably should ask about her car or just say she was going to follow him. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t pull her hand from his and had absolutely no desire to step away from him.

Instead, she stood dumbly as he opened the passenger door. He waited for her to get in and reached across, pulling the seat belt over her lap and securing it for her.

There was no way he didn’t hear how crazy her heartbeat was or how shallow her breathing had recently become.

Dalton paused before pulling completely out of the car. “You just rest,” he said softly, touching her cheek once again. “It’s my turn to take care of you tonight.”

Still smiling, Dalton stepped back and closed the door before heading around the vehicle.

“Heaven help me,” Skyla said breathlessly as her eyes followed his every move. This might be the most intimate and exciting date she’d ever been on. Which was a little sad because one, it wasn’t an actual date. Two, he hadn’t done anything more than hold her hand. Three, well, she wasn’t sure what point three was, but Skyla was absolutely sure of one thing.

If Dalton wanted to break the friend barrier between them, she was all too happy to oblige.

This was it. The fishing trip was still coming together, but tonight…Dalton was going to make his move. He’d already had plenty of guilt for all the nights she’d been feeding him and Analiese. More than once, Dalton had argued that they should give her a break, but somehow, Analiese had attached herself to Mr. Bowen and the two of them wouldn’t stop making plans that didn’t include anyone else’s opinion.

So Dalton helped where he could, doing dishes, offering help in the kitchen, which was usually turned down, but still…he tried.

Tonight, he’d put his foot down. It wasn’t right that Skyla worked all day and still fed all of them at night without sharing the load. He knew she was amazing, but he also had a deep suspicion that she wouldn’t ever refuse, no matter how tired she got.

They’d had a lot of fun over the last couple weeks. Lots of laughter and good food and fun stories, but tonight was two-fold.

Give Skyla a break, and get her to himself.

It was really hard to do much more than flirt in front of an audience, and Dalton was getting tired of holding himself back.

The fact that she was tired enough to want to get take-out, only worked in his favor. His house was peaceful and blessedly empty, since Analiese had taken a meal to Mr. Bowen. Those two could cackle and be snarky all night. It meant he’d have more time with Skyla.

The ride to the taco truck was quiet, but peaceful. Somehow, just being in her presence made his day better. The couple of days he’d gone without seeing her had been markedly different from the others, and it had only pushed Dalton toward changing their relationship.

He wanted the right to be near her, to talk to her all hours of the day, and hold her hand whenever they were close. He wanted the right to wrap his arms around her, smell her hair, cuddle on the couch, talk about how much he missed her, and eventually…he was going to taste those lips. It was all he’d been dreaming about for weeks now.

Okay…maybe more like months. But who was counting?

“Here we are.” He pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. “Do you know what you want? You can stay here where it’s warm, and I’ll grab it and we can go.”

Skyla hesitated, her hand on the seat belt latch. “You…you’d really do that?” she stammered.

Dalton smiled. He’d do a lot more than grab tacos if it meant getting on her good side. “Of course. Tell me what you want.”

Skyla relaxed in her seat after giving him her order. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been so pampered,” she said.

Dalton began to open his door. “Get used to it, sweetheart. Because the evening is just getting started.” He grinned when her eyes widened, then he stepped out of the SUV. A warm, cozy restaurant would have been a wonderful place to talk, but taking her home was even better.

He bounced on his toes as he waited in the short line to order, anticipation pinging through his core. Maybe that kiss he’d been dreaming of would happen tonight instead of later…maybe….Dalton shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself.

Food first.

Then he could talk to her about more.

It took a half hour to arrive back at his house with the bags of savory smelling tacos in tow, and by then, Dalton’s stomach was roaring with hunger.

“Let’s get inside before I keel over,” he joked, grabbing the bag.

Skyla laughed softly and began to reach for her door.

“Hang on,” Dalton said quickly. “I’ll come get you.” Before she could object, he hopped out and rushed around, pulling open her door and offering his free hand.

“If I didn’t know better,” Skyla said softly, glancing at Dalton from under her eyelashes. “I’d say you’re treating me like I’m your date.”

Dalton raised his eyebrows and tilted his head down toward her. “There’s no thinking involved. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Skyla’s gaze darted back and forth between his.

“Didn’t I already ask you on a date? We’re going fishing, remember? So you can see if your grandfather can handle it?”

Skyla nodded, her eyebrows still slightly pinched. “I remember,” she responded warily. “But I assumed it had more to do with helping Grandpa than actually going out with me.”

Dalton frowned. How could she not know how he felt? Dalton felt like he’d been completely transparent in his attempts to catch her attention. Just where had he gone so wrong?

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been very attentive lately, but we’ve known each other for quite a while,” Skyla continued carefully. “And you’ve never once hinted that you were interested in anything but friendship.”

Guilt began to build in his chest. Why had he chosen to move so slowly?

“And then just a couple weeks ago, you were adamant that going for hot chocolate wasn’t a date. That we were just friends.”

The guilt exploded. Dalton blew out a breath, releasing a large puff of white smoke into the night sky. “Come on inside,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, and the food’s getting cold.”

He kept firm hold of her hand. They needed to clear the air between them, and he didn’t want there to be any question moving forward. He liked Skyla. A lot. He liked her enough that Dalton knew he could fall in love with her without trying very hard.

But she needed to feel the same.

She reacted to him enough that he was sure she found him attractive, but maybe the real question of the night was whether or not she saw more than that.

Dalton set the food on a side table and helped Skyla with her coat and scarf, took off his own, then regained her hand and led her deeper into the house.

“Your house is beautiful,” she said softly.

Dalton stopped moving and looked down. “You’ve never been here.” It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that. I never meant to keep you from here. I just haven’t thought about it.”

Skyla shrugged. “It’s fine. I haven’t been worried about it.”

Blowing out a breath, Dalton brought her the rest of the way into the kitchen. “Well, tonight we’re going to change some things, obviously, starting with you coming to my house.”

She hesitated before sitting at the table. “What all are we changing?”

Dalton didn’t answer right away, instead choosing to get them settled with the food first. A full stomach always helped any situation.

He grabbed plates and got them both glasses of water, then pulled out her chair before taking the chair across from her.

Folding his hands, he faced Skyla, knowing he couldn’t hold off any more. “The main thing we’re going to change is the nature of our relationship,” he said bluntly. “The fact of the matter is, I like you, Skyla. A lot. When I asked you on the fishing trip, it was more about having an excuse to date you and have you to myself than about appeasing your grandpa or figuring out if he can handle a fishing excursion.”

She didn’t speak. Hopefully, that wasn’t a bad sign.

“But I’ve been an idiot,” Dalton continued. “I’ve been worried that I would scare you if I moved too fast, so I’ve tried to keep up in the friend zone until you were comfortable with me. Your reaction to me asking you to hot chocolate had me panicking.” He chuckled, but there was very little humor in it. “You looked terrified, and I was trying not to create pressure.” He shrugged. “But both Analiese and your grandpa seemed to think that you weren’t scared of me and that you liked me as well, so…I decided to take a chance.” He spread his hands. “And here we are.” Dalton studied her face and wide eyes and pink lips. His heart was beating so hard he wasn’t sure he could eat, and he was desperately trying to keep his breathing from going wonky. This last question was really the end-all to the whole situation. “What I’m really getting to, Skyla…is are you willing to date me?”