Page 38 of It's a Brewtiful Day
“Follow my arm.”
He moved behind me, put his hands on my waist and his chin on my shoulder. I prayed that being so close to him he couldn’t feel the pounding of my heart or hear the clipped intakes of air as I reminded myself to breathe like a normal person.
I pointed out the direction of where the animal was. “Do you see it? It’s on the other side of the street. It just walked in front of the gate of the house.”
“Oh, yeah, now I see it.” His breath tickled my ear, and his low, throaty voice warmed me from the inside out.
I dropped my arm and clasped my hands together in front of me. Should I have reached for his hands? Should I have pulled them more around my waist so he could hold me tight against his chest? Did he want to do those things too and was waiting for a sign?
The massive mammal slowly lumbered away from the house and crossed the street, heading toward the main roads. Its rack of antlers had to be at least four, if not five, feet across. And the height was staggering too. The wildlife that roamed through Jasper was impressive.
“Wow, you have great eyesight.”
“Cassie accuses me of being hypersensitive, but it’s like a sixth sense to see that movement.”
“Then you are definitely on watch for anyone walking the streets.”
“I’ll keep my eyes peeled.” And keep them trained on Elliot, since he was ridiculously easy to stare at.
I turned to him, scrolling over his face and up into his eyes. He held my gaze with his and swept my messy hair off my face so I could see him moreclearly. Truth was, that had already happened. Ihadbeen seeing Elliot in a new light all evening.
My bottom lip rolled between my teeth.
My heart raced, my palms became sweaty, and I was feeling a whole rack of fresh emotions. Every single one was an exciting rush. I could stay in that moment forever.
However, even though I had my back turned to the window, I saw a flash of lightning and my mood shifted. I went ramrod straight, my heart racing for an entirely new set of reasons. Swallowing down a tidbit-sized of trepidation, I wiped my hands on my leggings.
Locking his focus on me, he tightened his hold on my shoulders.
A low rumbling of thunder growled in the far distance, far enough away that I hoped it stayed away from where we were.
Elliot’s hands smoothed down my arms until he reached my hands. He squeezed them gently. “I think it’s far enough away to not bother us.”
“You heard it too?”
“Yeah, but it was faint.” He never unlocked his gaze and his fingers entwined through mine. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I just want to drown out the sound.”
“Are you more frightened by the thunder or the flash of light?”
I swallowed and then took in a sharp inhale of air. “Both. I don’t like it when it cracks, I don’t likethe rumbles either, but the ones that snap … those kill a small part of me.”
“I’ll make sure nothing kills you.” The concern in his voice outweighed the ache in my heart.
It was said so sweetly I wanted to believe him with every fiber of my being, but I didn’t know how we were going to avoid hearing it if it roared across town again.
“I have an idea.” Like a lightbulb went off over his head, he raised a hand in the air and walked toward the display cases. I didn’t want to let go of his comforting hand, all warm and soft, so I followed, matching him step for step.
When we were behind the counter, I released my hold on him as he dug around under the counter. “Aha, found it.”
The metal bowl pinged and popped when he dropped it on the counter; it was loud enough that I wanted to cover my ears.
“You thought slamming that against the surfaces would be better?” It was ridiculous enough I wanted to laugh.
“No, but that’s not actually a bad idea.” He rubbed his chin. “Something to keep in mind if things get loud and noisy.” He grabbed the bowl with one hand and slipped his hand down my arm, stopping at my hand. Locked together, he pulled me back to the main dining area. “I got it for this.”
He set the metal bowl on the bar-height table near the window and turned on his phone. After asecond, music started playing.