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She looks over, and I look back. I’ve never given much thought to eye color before, especially not brown ones, but on her, I can’t imagine anything else. Her brows draw down in a way that lets me know she didn’t like my answer, but her eyes tell me her feelings are hurt.
Shit.
“And what do you have against plants?” she snaps, her hands falling to her hips.
“Nothing.”
“Then why didn’t you take mine?”
“I don’t know.”
When really I do know. Everyone has neighbors. I just wasn’t prepared for my new one to look like her. I figured a nice older couple or a young family would be moving in, not this twentysomething bombshell who’s created a mental distraction for me.
“Well, that’s a dumb answer.”
I let out a sigh.
“Literally, your job is trees. It’s not like you have an aversion to green things. And a plant is nice. It’s not one of those things you eat or drink, and then it’s gone. You can appreciate the sentimentality of where it came from and who gave it to you.”
I don’t argue with her because she’s not wrong.
I should have taken the plant.
“For what it’s worth, the plant is safe and sound in the house. I didn’t leave it out there or throw it away.”
She looks at me and then looks away. “Maybe you have a few redeeming qualities after all.”
“Hey, man. How did it go with Jessica?” Cole asks. He’s standing just inside the barn to greet whoever may come in. He too is wearing a button-down with the orchard logo.
I glance at Goldie, and she blushes. I understand what it is like to go places and suddenly become the center of attention. It’s happened enough during my lifetime back in Charlotte.
“It went well,” I tell him as he comes to stand next to us. He’s smiling at us like he knows a secret that we don’t know, and his eyes skip back and forth between the two of us. I clear my throat.
“Cole, this is Cora. Cora, this is Cole.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he says, taking a step forward to shake her hand. He’s got this nervous edge to him, and I can’t tell if it’s because of the cricket chirper or because of who she is.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she replies kindly.
Inwardly, I groan. She is kind. Kind to everyone but me. Then again, I deserve that.
“Cole and I work together here at Red Barn.” I know a lot of business owners like to clout their title, but Cole has always gone above and beyond. Although technically, he does work for me, he’s poured himself into the place, and it feels more appropriate to say he works with me. “He mainly focuses on parts of the business that I have no interest in, like marketing.”
“Oh, that’s great. I’ve looked at the website and the social media pages for the orchard. They look really good,” she tells him.
And the idiot beams.
“Thank you,” he says.
“I’m going to show her around. You can head up to the front for a bit if you want.”
“Sounds good. I want to see if Amelia is here yet, too. Amelia is my wife.” He smiles again like he’s telling her he won the lottery. I can’t imagine being that in love with someone. Truthfully, I can’t imagine being in love at all. I’ve been down that road once, and in the end, I couldn’t change directions fast enough.
I clap him on the shoulder, and he says goodbye as he jogs off.
“He seems nice,” she taunts, watching him leave.
He is nice. The best. And he puts up with me.
