Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls #3) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,73

clothes and smaller stuff, but now she does mostly blankets for a few of the churches in town who hand them out to people in need in the community.” Lucas’s cheerful face darkened a smidge. “Mom’s got arthritis in her hands. It’s harder for her to knit now. She used to do really intricate looking things, but she says now that she can really only do the easy stuff, it’s gentler on her hands.”

“Okay,” Cora said. “Well, if that’s the case, then she probably uses bigger needles and a bulkier yarn. Blankets knit up faster with the bigger needles and bulkier yarn. It’s over here.”

Addison trailed after Cora and Lucas to the back of the store to the bulky yarn section. She stopped a few feet away, her fingers trailing lightly over a basket full of angora yarn and watched as Cora and Lucas perused the wall of yarn.

“What’s her favourite colour?” Cora asked. She was standing a little closer than necessary to Lucas, and Addison hid her grin when Cora let her hand rest on Lucas’s arm and thrust her small chest out just the tiniest bit. She was working the flirting hard, and Addison secretly cheered her on. Cora was a lovely woman and her fun and flirty nature was the perfect fit to Lucas’s personality.

“Hey, Addison.”

Addison smiled at Emma when she joined her. Emma was wearing a pair of dark green capris and a t-shirt with an image of two large balls of yarn and the phrase, ‘I like big balls’ across her ample chest.

“How are you, Emma?”

“Good, thanks.” Emma eyed Lucas’s ass before lowering her voice. “Who’s that tall drink of water?”

“Lucas Wright. He just moved here from New Cassel but he’s originally from Willington. He works for that wealthy video game guy. I can’t remember his name. The one who’s opening up a company here in the Falls.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “Isaac Stark? He works for Isaac Stark of Stark Enterprises?”

“Yes. Why do you look like that?” Addison said.

Emma’s eyes were wide, and a flush of excitement had darkened the birthmark on her face. “I am seriously addicted to his Shadow Series games. They’re freaking amazing.”

“You play video games?” Addison said.

“I do. I’ve loved them since I was a kid,” Emma said. Her fingers traced the birthmark on her neck. “I knew Stark was starting up an offshoot of his company here but didn’t realize it was so soon.”

“Well, technically it doesn’t start until September first, I think,” Addison said. “Lucas moved here early because he has a month’s worth of holidays to take.”

Emma was staring at Lucas’s ass again and Addison nudged her. “He’s single.”

“Good for him.” Emma’s fingers moved from her neck to wander over the birthmark on her face. “From the looks of it, if Cora has her way, he won’t be single for long.”

“Not if you get in there and impress him with your yarn knowledge. He’s looking for a gift for his mom,” Addison said.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Girl, I saw his face when you guys came into the store. A man as pretty as he is would never be interested in someone who looks like me.”

Before Addison could argue, Lucas and Cora turned around. Lucas smiled at Emma. “Hi there.”

“Lucas, this is Emma Richardson. She owns Twisted Stitches. Emma, this is Lucas Wright. He just moved here from New Cassel,” Addison said.

“Nice to meet you,” Lucas said. His gaze fell to Emma’s chest before he glanced up at her face again.

Addison realized she desperately wanted Lucas to flirt with Emma the same way he flirted with every other woman he met. She didn’t know Emma all that well, but she knew life wasn’t easy for her.

Please, Lucas. Please flirt with her.

He didn’t disappoint.

With the same flirty smile he’d given Cora, Lucas said, “I like your shirt, Emma.”

“Thanks,” Emma said.

He held up the two large balls of yarn he was holding. “I happen to have a couple of really big balls myself.”

“Lucky you,” Emma said in a brisk and almost cold tone that immediately deflated Addison’s hopes that she and Lucas might hit it off.

“Emma?” A silver-haired woman wearing a caftan dress and fanning herself with a pattern book walked out of an aisle. “Do you still have time to look at that pattern I brought?”

“Sure,” Emma said. “Nice to meet you, Lucas. Bye, Addison.”

“Bye, Emma.”

“She seems nice,” Lucas said after Emma had walked away.

Cora was frowning slightly. “She’s not usually like that. She must be having a bad day. Sorry,