Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Rose

It's obvious Phillip was hard at work after dropping me home yesterday. He's already cut two of the panels and will be moving on to the next two today, but first we're having a quick video call with Aria to update her on our progress.

As promised, Phillip has moved one of his dining chairs out to the workshop for me and I hop up to hold the door open for him as he brings in another one for himself. We decided to call Aria from out here instead of the living room so she could actually see how we're doing so far.

"Get over here, she won't be able to see you unless we're closer together," I tell Phillip, waving him towards me. I think he's trying to be respectful of my space after yesterday's accidental boob-graze but the camera on my tablet won't pick up both of us when we're this far apart. He obediently scoots his chair closer to mine and I immediately regret suggesting he move closer when a wave of his addictive pine and mint scent hits me. What is that? Is it his shower gel or something uniquely Phillip ?

"Ready?" he asks and I realise I've been caught staring. Cheeks heating, I avoid his gaze and make the call.

"Hi!" Aria greets us both enthusiastically. "How's it going over there?"

"It's going?—"

"Phillip's already?—"

"Oh, sorry. You go," he says.

"No, you should start. You've done most of the work so far." I motion for him to continue.

"That's not true, you helped a lot yesterday." He twists to face me, the movement pushing his muscular thigh into mine. My heart skips a beat but Phillip doesn't seem to notice the contact at all. The man is totally unaffected by me. I blame Aria for putting the thought into my head that he might feel differently. Now I'm getting flustered by a few accidental touches while Phillip's completely unruffled. At least he seems oblivious to the effect he has on me, thank God. "If it wasn't for you, it would have taken me all day to do all four outlines. No way would I have had the chance to cut anything yet," he assures me softly, expression earnest.

Aria clears her throat pointedly and I jump, having forgotten she was there. Unsure of when I lowered it in the first place, I lift the tablet back up to face-height so she can see both of us again.

"It sounds like you've made some progress then?" Aria prompts, tone threaded with amusement. So glad she's finding this funny. I look to Phillip indicating he should be the one to fill her in. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat before diving in. There's not much to tell just yet, so after he's provided a quick update, we stand up and I flip the camera to show Aria the wall behind us where the two panels Phillip has already cut are leaning.

"Are those the first two pieces?"

"Yeah, I'll get the other two cut today, then I can start putting everything together."

"Sounds great. We'll do another call to check in soon but I'll leave you to it for now."

We say our goodbyes and when I end the call the silence of the workshop feels… not uncomfortable, but heavy somehow. The tension dissipates when Phillip puts his music on and I'm able to take a full breath again.

Since I'm not helping with the cutting, I move my chair over to what is quickly becoming ‘my side' of the room and settle in with my tablet and stylus at the ready. I may as well use this time to draft up some concept ideas to see if I can come up with anything worth painting. I'll never get back to producing my own work unless I put in the work.

After a while, my attention drifts over to Phillip. Seeing him work, sleeves rolled up, humming along to the music, so confident in his abilities… It's distracting. Every so often our eyes meet for a fraction of a second, but we're both quick to look away and act like it never happened. At least it's Friday. I'll have plenty of time to get my head on straight over the weekend. Come Monday morning any feelings I might have will be well and truly banished and I can go back to thinking of him like I would any other colleague. No distractions.

I decide to stop in at Snug to visit Violet on my way home. When I step inside, the cosy atmosphere instantly puts me at ease. It's after five but Violet stays open later than most coffee shops to cater to the large number of students in Riverbend. Sure enough, there are a few individuals dotted around the coffee shop, settled in for the long-haul with their laptops and notebooks spread out before them.

It's too late in the day for me to have a coffee, so I order a hot chocolate then take a seat, pleased to find my usual spot is available. Violet wasn't at the counter, but a few minutes later I spot her coming out from the back with a fresh box of napkins. A wide grin spreads across her face when she notices me and she immediately changes course to join me at my table.

"This is a lovely surprise. How are you doing?"

"I'm OK. Busy with this new project for Aria but we're off to a good start. Have you been busy today?"

"We're always busy, you know that, but that's how I like it. I'd get into too much mischief if this place didn't keep me occupied." She winks. "I'm glad to hear the project's going well. The young man you're working with seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. He stopped by at the start of the week, he was very polite."

"Yeah, he's a good guy," I admit. "Thank you for telling him my coffee order by the way."

"And why was he getting you coffee so early on a Monday morning?" She wiggles her eyebrows and I chuckle.

"Not for anything as interesting as what you're implying. We were meeting over at Bridgewater shopping park to get supplies and he was kind enough to bring coffee to help mitigate the pain of the early start, that's all."

"Well, that's still a lovely gesture."

"It was. Now enough about Phillip. Tell me what those grandchildren of yours have been getting up to this week."

After a quick glance to check none of her customers need anything, Violet eagerly starts filling me in on all her family's gossip.

Stepping out into the cool evening air I leave the happy glow of Snug behind and begin the short walk home. My heart feels lighter than it did before, catching up with Violet always lifts my spirits. Her earlier comments about Phillip niggle at the back of my mind now I'm no longer distracted by tales of her grandchildren and I sigh, annoyed that my plan to emotionally distance myself from Phillip is already failing.

Shaking off the irritation at myself, I walk faster. It doesn't matter. I have a whole Phillip-free weekend ahead of me to get my head right. Who cares what Violet and Aria say? They're not the ones stuck working with him. It's in everyone's best interest for me to put the project first and ignore the confusing feelings I've been having, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.