Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(104)
She lifted her hands in mock surrender, pantomiming locked lips. “He won’t hear it from me, but you’re making the right choice.”
Olive snorted. “Remind me of that when I’m in bed listening to a celestial sexcapade soundtrack through the wall.”
As if talking about the Guardian Angel had conjured him, Bax, Linc, and Adrian stepped out from the old unused storage barn. They’d spent the better part of the morning converting it into a homey place where families could sign themselves up for one-on-one visits with the adoptable animals.
“All finished, boss. What’s next on the list?” Bax’s gaze flicked to Olive.
The youngest triplet transferred all her attention to the travel mug in her hand, studying it as if it were an ancient magical text in need of deciphering.
“Terrance and Miguel are prepping Butternut and Squash to be moved to the other barn, so maybe we can bring down Bella and the puppies?”
“Ooh! Puppies!” Olive tore her attention away from her coffee and headed toward the front barn. “I volunteer to be on puppy paw-trol.”
“I’ll help.” Bax’s announcement earned him a slight huff from the youngest Maxwell, but it didn’t deter the angel in the least, Bax grinning wide as he kept pace with her.
“Setup is mostly winding down. All that’s left is to help Vi greet the late-arriving vendors and help them set up their stations if they need it. Otherwise, when the public starts showing, we’ll need at least two people guiding them into some semblance of a parking lot. Miguel said we can use the field in front of his place for that.”
“Greeting and parking. On it.” Linc nodded and he and Adrian sauntered off.
Rose stood in the fair’s hub and glanced around, a deep sigh rolling from her chest.
All the planning. All the details. And all the untangling of last-minute issues. Everything had finally come together in the end, and still her nerves got the best of her. It happened with every event, and this was no exception. Or maybe it was. Maybe she felt the nerves more acutely because to her, this sanctuary was a lot more than an animal sanctuary.
It had been her sanctuary.
She hadn’t realized it until she no longer had to wake up each morning and navigate the Belt Parkway to be there at the crack of dawn. But this place, these animals, and definitely the people, had burrowed into her heart.
That included Damian.
Over the last few days, every thought that wasn’t about the fair or the sanctuary was about him. She cringed thinking about all the extra time and head space Damian would have when the event was over, and for that reason, she didn’t want it to end.
“Rose!” Terrance waved eagerly, a beaming smile on his face as he walked Squash. Next to him, Miguel led Butternut. “This looks awesome!”
“It’s definitely coming together.”
Movement on Miguel’s right caught her attention. The second her gaze locked with Damian’s, her heart fluttered. Actually fluttered as if a swarm of butterflies had taken up residence.
Wearing his signature worn blue jeans and a pale blue button-down work shirt, he looked the same as he had any other day she’d spent at the sanctuary, and yet he looked even better. She stood, feet frozen to the ground as the three men and two horses approached.
Miguel broke the silence first, his gaze scanning the rows of food trucks already setting up shop. “This is way more than any of us could’ve ever dreamed up. I don’t know what to say, Rose. You’ve done an amazing job.”
Rose blushed. “I didn’t do anything the animals didn’t deserve. Olive and Bax are getting Bella and the pups, and the other two rescue organizations are settling their adoptees into the barn as we speak. If I had a crystal ball, it would tell us that a lot of furry critters are finding their forever homes today.”
“I’ll drink a seltzer to that.” Miguel chuckled.
Awkward silence hung heavy in the air as Terrance and Miguel bounced their gazes from Rose to Damian, like a visual Ping-Pong match. No one spoke. Or blinked. Damian stared at her, his face devoid of any emotion.
Miguel cleared his throat and patted Butternut’s neck. “Terrance, let’s get these two settled in the barn and then see who else needs a hand.”
They left her and Damian alone, and the second she got over her brief flare of panic, she fought the urge to summon up an excuse—good or not—to leave. But then she thought about her talk with Edie …
Nope.
Done running. Done with excuses. Done hiding.
“I was thinking,” Rose said at the same time Damian started, “I can’t believe…”
“You go ahead.” She gestured for him to begin.
“After you.”
She paused, waiting for him to go first.
His mouth twitched knowingly. “I can’t believe you planned all this … and that you showed up. Miguel told you I was floundering, didn’t he?”
“He may have mentioned it, but I kept on planning the fair even when you told me to drop it. I wasn’t about to let it—”
“Fail?” Damian snorted. “That’s exactly what would’ve happened if it had been left in my hands. I have no idea how you keep everything running smoothly, have all the answers, and deal with … people. My head damn nearly exploded a few times.”