“Miss Schaffer.” I beam at her, and her eyes widen as she straightens.
“You.” This time when she speaks to me, it’s not a hiss or a cure, but more like a shock.
“I saw you sneak out of your shop a little while ago and I thought I’d take the liberty of coming over so we can have our meeting now.”
She must have let go of the door, because as she stands there frozen in place, it begins to slowly creak open. That’s when I finally see what she’s wearing. Her hair is up in a towel, and she’s got on some kind of blue sheet mask. My eyes move down her body, and I take in the thin silk robe she’s wearing that is barely pulled closed. She must be naked under it because I can see the little pebbles of her nipples pushing against it. The robe is so short it’s nearly at the tops of her thighs, and seeing her bare legs and feet is so incredibly erotic.
“I see you were expecting me,” I tease, and that snaps her out of her block of ice.
She quickly crosses her arms over her chest, and all it does is shorten her robe at the bottom. Christ, I have to lock my knees to keep from falling over.
“Now is not a good time,” she snaps and tries to close the door.
Before she can do it, I put my foot against it to stop her. “Fair enough, I’ll just come inside and eat, and we don’t have to discuss the Fall Festival.”
“What? No.” She finally looks down at my hands and sees what I’m holding. “Is that from Rosebriar?”
I hold it up so she can get a good look at the bag. “It is. I thought since you didn’t come to my office, I could pick up something to eat while we talk. But if you’d rather I go—”
“Wait.” She bites her bottom lip then looks down at the bag of food again. She’s conflicted on kicking me out without having seeing what I’ve brought.
“It's a shame they’re only open one day a week and it’s such a long drive from here…” I shrug. “I can always take this home and—”
“Come in,” she snaps and pushes the door open. “Give me a second.”
“Take your time,” I call out after her as she hurries down the hall to what I can only assume is her bedroom. I definitely didn’t watch her ass bounce as she does it.
Once I’m inside her place, I put the food on the kitchen counter and glance around. The inside isn’t much better than the outside, but I can see she’s decorated the old building as best as she can. It’s clean and smells like apple cider, and somehow it feels cozy. She has a small living room with an open kitchen connected to it. There’s an old couch, piles of blankets, and a coffee table covered in books. Walking toward the hallway she darted down, I see there’s only one door. I’m assuming the bathroom is back there in her bedroom. Looking around the room, I check out all her framed photos and pictures of her when she was young. There’s one where she’s blowing out birthday candles on a cake that has a Barbie sticking out of it.
“Okay, what did you want to talk about?” she asks as she walks past me and into the kitchen.
She’s wearing a soft pink tracksuit, and her face is clean and fresh looking. Her hair is still wet, and I have the urge to lean into it and inhale her scent. I want to know where that sweet smell of apples is coming from.
“You want your traditional festival to take place, and I can see why. But I’ve got a few ideas for something new. We have a couple of towns around us that are close enough to come for the day, yet we don’t entice them to come.”
When I say the last few words, her eyes go to my mouth. Her cheeks blush, and I wonder if she’s thinking they sounded a lot dirtier than I intended them to. Oh well, sometimes there are happy accidents.
Valerie pulls down two plates from the cabinet and places them on the small bar. Even the plates are mismatched, with delicate flowers on them. I pull out the little stool she’s got next to the bar and sit down. She doesn’t look at me as she moves around the kitchen and serves the roasted chicken Rosebriar is famous for.
“How long have you lived in this apartment?” I ask.
“Since I got back home.”
“Hmm.” I nod. I already knew, that but it’s nice to confirm. “You didn’t want to move back home?”
“What?” She laughs and shakes her head. “No, I like my space.”
“And you’re an only child?” Again I know this, but I like hearing her talk.