Free Gypsy Beach by Jillian Neal Page B

trying
desperately to build her a sanctuary and a stronghold out of his
body.
    An hour later, they were pulling onto the
main drag into Wilmington. He had a few friends that ran several
contractor supply houses and appliance shops up there that would
still give him credit. The fact that his client was with him and
had money wouldn’t hurt either.
    “Ryan! Oh, my gosh! Look!”
    He barely managed to halt the truck before
Sienna was flinging open the door.
    “Whoa, baby. Careful!” He tried to catch her
so she wouldn’t fall, and it slipped out without him intending to
say it.
    “Come on!” She didn’t seem to care. She leapt
out onto the sidewalk and raced towards a sprawling sidewalk art
and antique show. Chuckling and shaking his head, he found a
parking place and located her quickly in the crowd.
    He was astonished as he watched her work the
booths.
    “Do you think you could make these into stair
spindly things?” She pointed to a pile of long iron pieces, some
old fireplace tools, and a few scrolling pieces just made for
design alone. “Wouldn’t it be cool if they were all different?” The
hope that played in the fire in her eyes set fierce determination
in his heart.
    “Sure, I can do that. No problem. That would
look really cool.” Making her custom balusters for the long,
winding staircase wouldn’t be a problem. He was overwhelmed with
her creativity.
    “Yay,” she threw her arms around his neck,
and he drank in her body. He couldn’t let her go. He wrapped her up
in his arms and let the warm tide wash through him. Her exuberant
hug brought life back to his weary veins. He inhaled deeply of that
heady summer scent of her. It cleansed the choking reality from his
lungs. Unable to stop himself, he squeezed her tighter, cradling
her head as she buried her face against his chest. Her body melted
into his embrace. A slight sigh of contentment made its way to his
ears through the crowd. For a brief moment, everything in his
entire world felt bearable, but she seemed to force herself to pull
away.
    His eyes sought hers in frightened
desperation. He wasn’t certain which one of them had gone too far.
He braced for impact, but she gave him one of those broad, beaming
grins of complete acceptance instead. Finally allowing himself to
simply slip into a younger version of himself, if only for a few
hours, he took her hand. “Come on. I’ll help them to load the
pieces into the back of my truck.”
    Ryan talked her out of a few pieces of
furniture that he didn’t think would fit in the house or in her
budget, and helped her negotiate for the ones that would. They
found an old apron sink and a massive and ancient clawfoot tub that
he assured her he could refinish and install for her. She was
having a ball, and that was all that mattered.
    When she located rolls of vintage wallpaper
for the kitchen her excitement was palpable. “You know, most of the
time I strip wallpaper out, nowadays. You’re sure you want this
hung?”
    “Are you kidding me? This is perfect! Can you
really hang it for me?”
    Ryan scoffed. “Of course, and you’re right,
it is perfect.”
    He kept running tallies of her purchases in
his head and made certain that she was going to have enough left
over, even if he had to cut his wages.
    They ate a late lunch at an eclectic burrito
place that was outstanding, and talked endlessly about nothing of
any real importance.
    By 4:00 they were standing in the entrance of
the contractor appliance store.
    “Hey man, I thought they buried you back in
Hotlanta, but I guess you did make it out alive?” James Ellington,
as slimy a salesman as you could come by, sauntered over. Ryan
rolled his eyes. No one that actually lived inside the city limits
of Atlanta referred to it as ‘Hotlanta,’ and James was taking a
very long visual inventory of Sienna.
    She shrank closer to Ryan when James arched
his eyebrow in appreciation of her slender body. Grinding his
teeth, Ryan narrowed his eyes in a