“What’re you going to do?” I wondered if Flynn had been in touch with any of his old buddies from high school. Not that he’d had that many, now that I thought of it; he’d been friendly with guys from the football team, but they never hung out beyond practice. I’d been his best friend, and he’d been mine. Other than Alex, who was equally loyal to us both. As though I’d summoned him, Flynn spoke his name.
“Alex is in town, and he asked if I wanted to go check out Mason Wallace’s new place. Guess I’ll do that.” He studied me, his expression blank. “How about you? What do you do with yourself when Bridget’s with me?”
“Go to bed early.” I managed a smile. “I’ve actually taken a few long baths, which is something I haven’t had the time to do until lately. Oh, and I read an actual book. One for grown-ups.”
Behind me, I heard a car pull in. Flynn’s eyes flickered over my head and then back down to me. “Well, looks like you have customers. And I’d better go fetch our daughter.”
“Thanks. Have fun tonight.” I took another step away and gave him a quick wave.
“Will do. You, too. Enjoy your, ah, bath.” He made it sound so much dirtier that it was. “See you tomorrow afternoon around five?”
“Sure. I’ll see you then.” I moved back behind the register and pretended not to watch him go. Once he was out of sight, I took out my phone and began to text.
Hey, best friend. Are you in town?
Alex didn’t respond for a few minutes, and I wondered what was going on with him. Finally, the phone beeped.
I’m on my way. Almost there. News travels fast. Or someone’s been talking to lover boy.
I rolled my eyes.Yeah, right. Were you going to tell me?
Of course, doofus. I was going to come by this afternoon. Okay?
Alex never called me before he came to town. Why should this weekend be any different? Why was I making this such a big deal?
Okay, sure. See you in about ten.
Cassie came back out, carrying a wooden crate. “Is it safe to come out yet?”
“What’re you talking about? Of course it’s safe.” I glanced at the gray-haired woman who was poking at tomatoes. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt anything hot and heavy. And the way Flynn was looking at you . . .” Her eyes widened. “Definitely hot.”
“You’re a delusional child.” I shook my head and took the crate out of her hands. “Give me that. I’ll stack while you—” I jerked my chin in the direction of our customer. “Handle the floor.”
I pulled the top off the box and began unloading the vegetables with hands that weren’t quite steady yet. I hated that Flynn still had that kind of power over me. Not that I thought he knew it . . . I didn’t think he wanted to hurt me. Not on purpose. But I had a hunch that what for him might be a casual stroll down memory lane would be for me a treacherous dash off the edge of a very steep cliff.
I finished with the asparagus and carried the crate to the back. As I turned around to head back into the stand, I heard a familiar voice that made me grin.
“Cassandra Deymeyer, you young vixen. Why were you born too late?”
Cassie giggled, and I rolled my eyes. “Alex, stop dangling sugar in front of the jail bait. And Cass, I think the customer’s ready to check out. Can you handle that, please?”
She sighed. “You hog all the uber-babes who come here, you know that? Fine. I’ll go.”
I shook my head as she slipped past me, and Alex cocked his head. “All the uber-babes? Were there other uber-babes here today? Should I feel threatened?”
I swatted his arm. “She was drooling over Flynn when he stopped by. I’m getting a little worried . . . Cassie used to be the most level-headed teenager I knew. Now she’s a big ball of hormones.”
“We’ve all been there, done that. She’ll survive. So will you. Now would you like to tell me why Flynn was here earlier?”
“We had to discuss some Bridget stuff.” I couldn’t quite meet Alex’s eye, and of course he noticed.
“Was that all? The pretty pink creeping up your neck says different.”
“I don’t know, Alex.” I leaned against the side of the sliding wall. “When Flynn came back to town, all I could think about was him finding out about Bridget. After I told him, it was all about how angry he was, how hurt. Now things have kind of . . . leveled out. And sometimes he says things. I’m not sure what it means. Today he looked at me . . . almost like he used to.”
“Remind me why that’s so bad and scary, Ali Baba.” Alex’s voice was gentle.
