Page 5 of Kissing Nick
But then he swallows and nods. It seems like he’s about to tell me the reason.
But before he can answer, a loud crash pulls our attention away. I look over and see, with horror, that some kids have bumped into one of my shelves and knocked a bunch of my pottery to the ground.
Chapter Four
Nick
My protective instinct kicks in the instant I hear the crash. And when I look up and see the couple of teenage boys who knocked into Holly’s display and are now rushing away, I stand up and yell out.
“Hey!” my voice booms through the market. The two kids look over their shoulder as they run. But when they see me, they stop running. They look at each other and then look back at me.
Then they slowly make their way back, their heads hanging in shame.
“We’re sorry,” they mumble.
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” I say. I look over at Holly, who still looks in shock at what just happened.
“Sorry,” they both say to Holly.
Then one of them risks a look up at me. “It was an accident. We swear.”
“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have to pay for it,” I say.
“But…we don’t have enough money…” The two boys look at each other with panic in their faces.
“It’s okay, boys,” Holly says to the teens. “Just…be more careful. Okay?”
“Still think they should have to pay for it,” I mutter as they walk away. I look at the mess they’ve made. Broken pottery is everywhere. Holly grabs an empty box from under her table and then bends down to start picking up the pieces. I crouch down and help her collect the pieces, too.
I know I was convinced I had to be cold to Holly in order to handle being around her. But earlier today, I realized I simply couldn’t keep it up. She’s too sweet for that. And when we spent some time talking to each other over lunch…well, it made me realize how deep my desire for her truly is.
I’d be a fool to not do anything about it.
We finish picking up all the broken pieces of pottery. It’s so damn sad, seeing her artwork ruined like this. Looking into the box of broken pieces, determination swells in me. I can’t let all this hard work of hers go to waste.
“This might be a dumb question,” I say to Holly. “But is there any way you can salvage these pieces? Can you…I don’t know…patch them back together?”
I half expect Holly to laugh at the ridiculousness of my suggestion. But she doesn’t laugh. She thinks for a second, then her eyebrows raise hopefully.
“Actually…” she says, her gorgeous eyes lifting up to look into mine, “that’s a really good idea, Nick. Now that I think about it, there’s a Japanese art called Kintsugi, which is using gold to put broken pieces of pottery back together. It’s really beautiful. I’ve never tried it before, but…I mean…it’s worth a shot, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“I think I even have the supplies for it at home. I could try it tonight, and if it works, I could put those pieces back up for sale.”
“I’ll help you,” I say.
Her eyes focus on me more deeply. She looks surprised.
“You don’t have to do that. I couldn’t possibly ask—”
“Iwantto, Holly.” There’s no room for doubt in my voice.
A smile gently plays across Holly’s lips.
“Okay,” she says. “I guess…after we leave the market tonight…you can come over and help, if you really want to.”
The crowd picks up again in the afternoon. It’s even busier than the morning crowd. By the time the market closes that evening, Holly has sold well over half of the pottery she brought.