My arms buried under a mountain of packages, I straightened up and swept my gaze along the street. No cars. Just my truck. All the spots outside the post office were empty, too.
“Where are you parked?” I asked her.
“I, um, well…” There she was, biting down on that pink lip again. “I don’t have a car…yet.”
How the hell was she getting around? On foot? Over my dead body. “How did you get here from Hobart?”
“The…bus…”
“What about all your stuff?”
“Oh, you know…” She waved her hand about like this conversation wasn’t a big deal. “I didn’t want to haul all my junk from the mainland when I moved.” The nervous laugh that followed didn’t convince me, either. “My cottage came furnished… Sort of…”
My eyebrow crept up. She was acting more than a little skittish. Was it me? Was I being awkward again? Goddammit. I wanted Lola to tip her chin up at me and bless me with another smile. Or let out another one of her airy laughs. I liked those the best. Pure heaven.
“I’ll drop you home,” I said, turning to head for my truck.
Lola’s hand darted out to grab one of her packages. “No. It’s okay. I can manage,” she insisted. “I know you’re busy.”
I took the box back and carefully balanced it on top of the pile. Ignoring the bruising sky, I said, “I’ve got time.” Not much, though.
Lola fidgeted with the hem of her cardigan. “Are you sure?” She whispered her address to her shoes. “I don’t want you to go out of your way.”
“That’s on my way.”
“Really?”
Not really. “Really.”
Stumbling through another insistence that it was no trouble to drop her home seemed to settle it—or maybe Lola was just too nice to say no. Either way, she kept close behind me, her silence the same quiet relief it always was. I moved slow, careful not to jostle her precious cargo, and grabbed the discarded bag of groceries on the way. When I opened the passenger door, Lola’s fingers curled over my forearm.
Surprised, my heart already hammering, I dropped my gaze to stare at that soft touch.
Oh, those little hands…
Blue eyes blinked up at me. “Thanks, Aiden.”
Tongue-tied, I nodded. Truthfully, I almost died.
The pretty curve of her lips cracked my chest wide open and knocked out any wind left in my lungs. But instead of feeling like my life was a one-way trip to hell, for the first time in a long time, I didn’t want to jump off the merry-go-round anymore.
I wanted her on it with me.
3
She Didn’t See His Attempt at Flirting
Lola
Early morning sun peekedunder the front door. The tag on my dress had nearly made it out with me, but I’d yanked it off just in time, grabbed my bag, and reached for the knob.
My phone buzzed.
Please… Not yet…
I blinked at the message lighting up the screen.
Mum
