Delicate

Chapter 31

"Check the clasp." He instructs with the most excitement I'd ever seen his display.

Picking the bracelet up carefully, I turn it as I bring it closer for me to see. The blurred image not doing enough for me, so I set the box down before letting my fingers run over the shiny treasure. It takes me a moment to recognize the dip of the outline to be a music note, the gesture making me smile widely as I look up at Blue.

"I love it," I state without hesitation. "I love it. I love it. I love it."

"Something tells me that you love it." Blue mocks with a laugh that I follow easily as I open it. "Let me." He says before coming around to put the bracelet on for me, being extra careful to not let his skin touch mine.

I hold my wrist up with a toothy grin, chest full of happiness as the gift that meant more to me than Blue could ever realize. A gift I'd be sure to where always, to remember not only him but the shop and the joy it brought it to me.

"Thank you, Blue," I say, voice shaking in the most telling way. "Thank you not only for this but for everything you did for me over these last few months. Things you honestly didn't have to, but mean something to me."

Blue cheeks heat gently as he scratches his head, in the way I realized he busied his hands when he was refraining from hugging me. I try to ignore the anger that sparked at myself for not being able to give him so much as a hug, even now when we were parting.

"You just keep in touch and I'll be happy." He says before going back around the counter. "If I don't hear from you at least twice a month, I'm calling the police."

I laugh at this, belly tightening as my mind pulls an image of Blue on the phone reporting my disappearance. It wasn't hard to imagine at all and quieted an aching part of me that knew that he wasn't joking. A part of me that appreciated the care he displayed without being forced to, one that wasn't fabricated for show but was real.

"I'll see you again whenever I come back for the rest of my things or even just pop in town," I promise as I let my fingers run over the bracelet. "And I'll be sure to keep in touch."

"You better," Blue says as he fights with himself to climb the swirly chair I'd come to love. "Now get out of here before you start crying."

"I'll miss you too Blue," I say with a chuckle as I stuff my pockets with the envelope and box.

I send him one last smile that I knew hed he able to read, one that poured out all the love and gratitude inside of me that was all for him.

A smile that spoke the words I couldn't quite vocalize myself, because voicing them cut much deeper than thinking them.

With that, I take a quick glance of the store before turning and leaving, stepping out of one phase of my life into a new one.

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I lean against my front door with a small huff, happy to shut out the rest of the world for the time being.

Today marked my last day in Wolfhedge, a name that now made a whole lot more sense, and so there was a lot of running around to do.

"Finally!" I hear Damon groan from the kitchen that was pouring out the best aromas.

I slip off my shoes and coat, resting my bags on the couch on my way over to my favorite person in this world.

Damon stood tall with a dishcloth strapped over his back, the white fabric sitting comfortably over his v-line shirt that fit him just right in all his perfect places.

My eyes trail his form as he keeps a tight grip on the saucepan with one hand while the other spins the stir fry, his muscles flexing as he did so.