He was right, Liam loved the designs and agreed they should get started right away. The weeks seem to be flying by as they all worked closely together. The M7 team started outside the store first and replaced the tattered awning.
As soon as the awning went up he began to see life return to the store. He loved hearing all of the customers talk about the improvements. He especially loved seeing the children's eyes light up when the electric trains ran around the tracks.
Each day he made a special breakfast run to Granny's. It was the least he could do for the team. It made the guys want to start early and that just made the project move along that much faster.
Emma's connections to the suppliers was so helpful. He never realized how much work went into a project like this. He was in complete awe of her. She was so calm and collected. He was going to make sure to send Mrs. Nolan a special chocolate bouquet for suggesting Emma in the first place.
He kept their relationship professional, as much as he wished it were more. She had the kindest heart of anyone he'd ever met. In all the time they'd spent together she hadn't mentioned Walsh so he never brought him up. He often wondered what Emma saw in him. Walsh just seemed so vanilla in comparison to her. It could be jealousy or arrogance but he just felt like he would make Emma happier than Walsh ever could.
It was the week before the Grand Re-Opening and Website launch. Emma had been to the store almost daily and he was getting used to having her around.
That morning he went and did the usual run to Granny's. M7 would be there to finalize their work and complete the project. It was imperative that the work be finished because they needed to stock all the new inventory. When he arrived Granny had it ready for him along with some thank you cinnamon buns for all the business over the past few weeks.
He arrived at the store at his usual time. The M7 crew was standing at their truck waiting to greet him but he noticed that Emma was absent. He opened the door and everyone bound inside to begin work. The guys did the noisiest work before and after hours even though the customers didn't seem to mind.
He was engrossed in helping the guys when Emma finally showed up. She had her hair pulled back into a pony tail and she didn't seem to have her usual glow.
"Good Morning Emma."
"Good Morning. Sorry I'm late."
"Is everything alright?"
"What? Oh sorry, I didn't sleep well last night. I must have picked up a bug or ate something bad."
His eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you alright now? If you need to go home I understand. I can handle things."
"Yes, I'm ok but thank you. Is it ok if I use the office to take care of a few things?"
"Of course. Whatever you need."
She smiled. "Thanks."
He felt horrible that she came in today after having such a rough night. He quickly ran down to Granny's and picked up a cup of tea for her. When he got back to the office he found Emma sleeping soundly in his chair.
He set the cup of tea down on the desk and grabbed his fuzzy blanket from the corner. He'd spent many a night in that office as did his grandfather. He draped it over her as quietly as he could so as not to wake her.
She was a vision while she slept. He desperately wanted to press a kiss to her forehead but refrained from doing anything stupid. He slipped out of the room quietly and shut the door. As soon as he emerged from the office Leroy put him back to work.
A few hours later he made his way back to the office to check in on her. She was looking over her computer with the blanket draped over her shoulders. "Hey, thanks for the blanket and the tea. I'm feeling much better."
"That's great. I'm glad it helped. The guys are almost finished."
"I can't believe how fast time flew by on this project."
"I know. It's been a lot of fun working with you."
She looked up and smiled. "I feel the same. I've been getting used to seeing you every day."
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do without your smiling face around here.
"Well, we'll just have to make plans some time outside of work."
He cocked his head to the side. "You asking me out?"
"Well, I've been hoping you'd ask me but since you haven't yes. I'm asking you out." She grinned.
He smiled and moved closer to the desk. "I was just being respectful. I mean what about Walsh?"
She laughed out loud. "Walsh?"
"Yes, Walsh. I thought he was your boyfriend."
"No, no, it was nothing like that. He's a nice guy and he kept asking me out. I finally agreed because if I didn't my mother would have gotten on my case about bringing someone. Let's just say we parted as friends. Is that why you haven't asked me? "
"Well, yes. I was also really enjoying our time together. If you said no I was afraid it would have made things awkward. "
She stood and walked towards him still draped in his blanket. She placed her hand on his shoulder." So what do you say? Will you go out with me?"
He brushed his fingers over her cheek. "Of course but only if you let me plan the date."