“Congratulations, Jones. You win this time.” There was a tightness to his voice which surprised her a little.
“Yeah, I did.” April wanted to gloat, to rub it in Luke’s face as she’d always done at high school when she’d beaten him at, well, anything. But at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was only thanks to Luke that she’d succeeded. “I mean, I guess I should also be saying thanks to you, Pointer. You really didn’t have to put me in contact with Adam. I’d have figured something out.”
Luke said nothing in response, just hummed slightly to signal he’d heard her as the elevator reached the first floor, and the doors slid open. He stepped out and April quickly followed him as he headed for the exit. Once they were back out in the fresh air, they seemed to fall into step alongside each other.
“You know, it’s usually polite to acknowledge someone when they thank you, Pointer.” April couldn’t resist the little jab.
“Sorry, Jones.” April had expected his voice to be defiant, but there was a softness as he spoke which caused her to glance up at his face. She saw a fleeting but unmistakable look of worry pass across his features, and she stopped abruptly. He came to a halt a few paces later, turning round to face her.
“Luke, are you OK?” The question was out before she could stop herself. She didn’t know why she cared, exactly, but she couldn’t just let him walk off looking so unsettled.
“Of course I am, Jones.” His voice was resolute, as if he didn’t want April to probe any farther, but she wasn’t going to let it go that easily.
“Really?” She stepped toward him, half expecting him to step back, but he stayed rooted to the spot, eyes scanning her face quizzically. “Look, I know I just beat you in there but it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened. I’ve never seen you so …” She cast around for the right word. “Sobotheredby me winning before.”
Luke heaved a sigh, his eyes wandering up to the sky for a second as he put one hand into his pocket. “Honestly, April, it’s nothing to do with you winning, really. I’m just not looking forward to having to call my client and tell them that we can’t carry on with their project, even if it’s only a temporary pause in construction for now. The guy’s a real asshole to deal with and it’s notexactly going to be a comfortable conversation.” Luke shrugged as he finished talking, his eyes now fixed on April’s once more. April’s mouth opened slightly, but she found herself at a momentary loss for words.
“Luke, I … I hadn’t even thought …” She realized that she’d been so fixated on winning, on saving her store, that she hadn’t spared a thought for what this meant for Luke and his business. “I’m sorry,” she finished weakly.
“It isn’t your fault, April. I had a feeling there was something shady going on with the survey they did—I’d never even heard of the guy they got to come and complete the site inspection, which is rare around here. I know everyone in the business who works in this area, so there were already some alarm bells. To be honest, I’m kind of mad at myself for not digging into it some more. That could’ve done some serious damage to my reputation …” His voice trailed off, and he rubbed a hand across his face in frustration.
“Hey, don’t worry about that now.” April grabbed his hand as it dropped, and she felt that small spark fizz up her arm. Her voice was gentle as she went on. “I reckon you helping me out was your way of trying to right the situation. There’s no other reason you’d have helped me win, right, Pointer?” She squeezed his hand, and he smiled a little at her feeble attempt at a joke. “And now you’ll know to be extra cautious in the future, too. So it’s all good.”
Luke met her eyes with a curious look in his own, andApril felt her heartbeat pick up speed in her chest. She needed to get back to the store, but for some inexplicable reason she wanted to make sure Luke was OK before she left him.
“I guess you’ve got a point,” Luke said, a small smirk now playing around his lips. “I’d never have let you beat me without a very good reason.”
“That’s more like it,” April said, half rolling her eyes in exasperation at how quickly Luke managed to snap back into his old, cocky self. “Right, I’ve got a store to clean up and it sounds like you have a pretty nasty conversation to get out the way.”
April turned to leave, but Luke didn’t let go of her hand, instead pulling her back around to face him. They were now standing inches apart, and as she breathed in his woodsy aftershave again she felt her pulse quicken. Snippets of their stolen moments together from the last few weeks raced through her mind as he held her gaze: the feeling of his lips, firm and soft as they’d kissed in his car for the first time; the afternoon in her mom’s kitchen, his breath against her thighs as his hands wandered over her; the night under the streetlamp as he’d pressed kisses along her jaw, his eyes burning with want as he’d taken in her face. Looking at him now, she saw a flash of that same desire in his eyes, and she fought to keep her breathing steady.
He leaned down until his mouth was inches from her ear and whispered huskily, “Thank you, Jones. I’m notsure what I did to deserve your kindness, but I really appreciate it.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, before dropping her hand and walking off without another word, leaving April feeling ever so slightly dazed and incredibly confused.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
April was just finishing off polishing the store windows when her phone vibrated for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. Before she’d even pulled it out of her back pocket, she knew whose name would be at the top of her notifications. Sure enough, Tyler was calling her for the fourth time since she’d arrived at the store. She’d gotten there pretty early, determined to make sure it was all cleaned and ready for the stock delivery the following afternoon, and it seemed like Tyler had somehow got the memo and was trying his hardest to disrupt her work.
When she let it ring through, she immediately got a follow-up text that was somehow both pleading and furious as he begged her to talk to him and then detailed all the ways she was being unreasonable by not giving him a second chance. April rolled her eyes as she shoved the phone back into her pocket before going in search of the vacuum.
Pushing Tyler to the back of her mind, she instead let her thoughts drift to the Spring Flower Festival as another surge of excitement shot through her. She hadmet up with Izzy and Emma the night before and had spent most of the time discussing what the festival was going to look like, as well as celebrating April’s victory over Luke. They had refined the competition idea a little, to make it clear that the decorations had to be spring-themed, but hopefully it would mean a boost in business from residents coming to check out the displays and vote for their favorite, as well as providing an opportunity each year for a new business selected by the winner to receive support from both the council and the community. Izzy was now busy spreading the news to both businesses and residents alike, and April was hopeful that the town would get behind the festival in full force.
There was something—or, more accurately, someone—else who’d been on her mind a lot since the day before. Luke’s gentle kiss to her temple, his worry about his own business and his thanks when she’d comforted him swirled in her mind as she ran the vacuum across the floor. She couldn’t tell precisely when it had happened, but there was no denying it now: her feelings toward Luke had definitely moved away from dislike, toward something altogether softer. No matter how many times she ran through the list of all of Luke’s arrogant ways, she still couldn’t stop the smile that crept across her face or the warmth that spread through her chest at the mere thought of him. Emma and Izzy were going to have an absolute field day if they found out, she thought ruefully.
Once the dirt from the floor was all cleaned up, April looked around the store contentedly. The green walls were vibrant and inviting, and the flower decorations Emma had painted brought an extra touch of brightness to the space. She couldn’t wait to see it with all the real flowers, too, and she almost had to pinch herself as she realized that she’d get the chance tomorrow. She was soclosenow.
She decided to treat herself to a strawberry matcha from Coffee Affair before carrying on with the clean-up. After all, it had been a pretty long week. Surely she’d earned herself a little treat?
April took a slight detour back to the store after retrieving her drink, heading past the wishing fountain where the board for voting was already being set up ready for the event’s launch in two weeks’ time. Izzy was directing some council members to help with positioning the boxes that voting tokens would be placed in. April walked over to her friend.
“How thehelldid you manage to find a board for the voting already, Iz?” April sounded surprised but she had expected this to some degree. Once Izzy had a task to complete, there was no stopping her.
“Oh, we had it in a storage unit, so I got the boys here to dig it out,” Izzy said absent-mindedly, scrolling through emails on her phone. “Walston had me do a huge survey of what the council had in storage to see if there was anything we could trash a few years back, but I said we should hold on to this just in case. Andlook, I was right! It’s literally perfect for the flower festival voting! We’ll write the business names in those squares once the participants are confirmed”—she pointed to the small squares that ran along the top of the board—“and then residents can put their voting tokens in those slots under the business names, and they’ll be collected in the plastic boxes underneath.”
“It’ll be so exciting to watch the votes literally pouring in,” April said, and Izzy nodded her agreement.
After watching the board being set up for a few more minutes, April said bye to Izzy, not wanting to interrupt her hard work. Marveling at her friend’s efficiency, April crossed the green space where an outdoor tai chi class was taking place and inhaled deeply as she walked under the line of blossom trees that provided some cover from the sun. The magnolia trees had slowly begun to bloom, and the sweet perfume April associated with the town had grown stronger as pink petals floated in the air and covered the ground.
The shop was looking good and wasn’t at risk of being ruined by construction anymore, her mom had started sleeping in her own bed again, and the sun was shining. Life was good, and April wasn’t sure when she’d last felt quite so at peace. She sipped her strawberry matcha as she opened the door to her store and took in the space in the glow of the morning sunlight.
