Forest Edwards is always running. Either literally, because of his dog, Fletch; running to escape his tiring work life; or, well, running away from the possibilities of love.
But when Natalie Dayholt, together with her dog, Bailey, waltzed into his...
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SHE WAS GOING to lose her mind. Natalie decided that she was absolutely, definitely and totally going to go bonkers. And it was all because of a certain someone.
Frustrated with herself, she splashed cold water on her face repeatedly, staring at her own reflection in the mirror.
"Are you okay, dear?" Natalie jumped at the sudden voice behind her. She looked into the mirror, staring confusedly as a lady — possibly in her mid fifties — walked up to the sink beside her. Natalie stared for a little while longer, and a flash of recognition crossed her features.
It was the very same person she'd met at the cooking school while she was registering for it just now. Come to think about it, Forest seemed to know this lady quite well, and Natalie suspected that she was quite possibly the teacher of the class itself.
"Oh, uh, I'm fine, thank you." Natalie mumbled awkwardly, offering her a small smile.
"You registered for the cooking classes with Forest just now, didn't you?" The lady asked, grinning as she introduced herself. "I'm really glad you thought to join. You can call me Elizabeth."
"Yes." Natalie replied demurely, smiling as she stared awkwardly back. "I'm Natalie." Natalie was never too good at making small talk or keeping conversations going with people she didn't know, so this felt all too awkward for her.
"You know, your face is really red. Is it due to the colder weather recently?" Elizabeth pressed on concernedly as her eyebrows furrowed together in scrutiny, "because my daughter's cheeks get really pink when it's cold. Don't worry though, it's a nice shade. Looks just like a healthy complexion —"
"Wait, the weather?" Natalie repeated. Thank god, she realised, she could pass her damned blush off with the perfect excuse that the weather was too cold. "That's... perfect."
The lady paused, pursing her lips thoughtfully as she stared at Natalie, "yes, perfect."
Elizabeth then clasped her hands together, "do I speak too much? My husband once told me that I talk way too much. He suggested I start teaching classes instead so I can just interact with people, my students, without it being too... random."
Natalie chuckled, "I see. It's alright, I am going to be your student soon."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded encouragingly. The younger girl blinked, staring at herself in the mirror again, shutting her eyes in resignation. "Unfortunately it's not because of the weather," she mumbled under her breath, more so to herself than to the lady beside.
"Wait." Elizabeth caught her words, giving Natalie a knowing smile. "Ah, so you are the one!" The small eye wrinkles formed on her face as she nodded happily. "I'm glad, it must be a certain someone, then."
