Page 5 of Romantic

“No! Do you know how many guys flirt with her? J.J. says random guests invite her to dinner or drinks all the time, and I’ve seen it happen when she’s working at the cafe. You can’t expect her to wait forever.”

The rest of the drive I’m silent, lost in thought. Could Pepper be right? Could Annie really be interested in dating me? There have been moments that I thought maybe . . . she certainly delights in teasing me. But Annie is naturally warm and friendly with everyone she meets. I can’t be sure that she’s interested in me.

We pull up outside Bumble Cottage in the late afternoon. Annie’s in the garden, the lowering sun highlighting her red curls so they glow like fire. She’s wearing a white tank top and a blue billowy skirt that moves like water as she runs up to Pepper.

“You’re here! Now the party can really begin!” She takes both of Pepper’s hands, and they twirl around laughing. “Nice hair . . .” She says admiring the double Dutch braids in Pepper’s hair, tied with pink bows. “And Brandon . . .” Her green eyes dart to mine. “Look at you. You dressed up.”

I glance briefly at my clothes, shorts and a short sleeve linen button down. Annie walks over and taps the top button. “I only ever see you in t-shirts. I wasn’t sure you even knew how to use buttons.” I roll my eyes. “But seriously, you look nice.” Her finger remains pressed against my sternum. I’m doing everything I can to appear unfazed by her touch.

“I try,” I mumble.

“And you succeeded. Did you trim your beard?” Her hand flies up to my face. Her fingers resting on my cheek sends my whole body on high alert. She clasps her hands together in a dramatic gesture. I can breathe now that she’s not touching me. “I know what I want for my birthday. Brandon,” she says my name with a playful entreaty. “Would you please, please, pretty please let me put flowers in your beard?”

“I already got you a gift,” I say, knowing full well that, yes, I will cave and let Annie put flowers in my beard.

“It will be fun.” No, it will be sweet torture.

“Yes! It could match my crown,” adds Pepper.

Annie picks a flower from the garden and slips it in my breast pocket. “This will do for now.” She pats my chest. Is Annie flirting with me? That extra touch definitely seemed intentional. Is Pepper right? Could Annie really want to date me? The thought fills me with terrifying hope.

Half-dazed, I follow her and Pepper as they run ahead to the cottage. I leave Annie’s birthday gifts on the coffee table in the front room, then meet Annie and Pepper in the kitchen, where they’re busy selecting flowers for their flower crowns. Annie’s mom, Maggie, is dredging meat in flour for her famous fried chicken, while her older sister, Elinor, puts the finishing touches on the birthday cake. “You made it!” she says to me as she places a berry on the cake. “How long are you staying?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow morning. Pepper has school.”

“I wanted to ditch,” says Pepper.

“You miss enough school,” I say. I worry that I take Pepper out of school too much. I travel a lot, and I like to take my daughter with me, but there’s a fine line between staying connected with Pepper and promoting truancy. It’s exactly the sort of thing that would be nice to discuss with a partner

Drying her freshly washed hands, Maggie walks over to me and gives me a big hug. “So glad you could make it.” Her red curls flecked with silver are piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Someday Annie’s hair will probably look like that. I hope I’m around to see it go gray.

“Wouldn’t miss this.” I hand Maggie a box of chocolates.

“What, for me?” she asks, delightedly eyeing the handcrafted truffles.

“You did give birth to Annie. You deserve at least some of the celebration today.”

“You’re too sweet,” Maggie says with real pleasure as she opens the box. “Mmm . . . good. Thank you!” she says around the chocolate she popped in her mouth.

“That’s really thoughtful,” Annie says from the other end of the room where she and Pepper are assembling flower crowns on the kitchen table. “I’ve got to remember that next year and give mom flowers.”

“I considered flowers,” I say. “But I figured this place is always teeming with them.” Annie has an amazing flower garden and supplies all the flowers at the resort. She has a real gift with flowers. It would be hard to buy an arrangement as pretty as the ones she makes.

“True . . .” says Annie. “The chocolates were a good idea. But you can never have too many flowers.”

“Duly noted.” I’m tempted to ask Annie what her favorite flower is, but I’m feeling uncomfortably exposed right now. I’m unravelling over Pepper’s suggestion that I ask Annie out tonight. I can’t stop thinking about it, and my thoughts are so loud and relentless, it’s hard to believe that not everyone in the room can hear them. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“Yes! please!” says Annie. “Could you get the folding table out of the carriage house?”

“No problem.”

“Set it up in the flower garden in the front. Won’t it be lovely, eating while surrounded by flowers?”

“You can never have too many flowers,” I repeat back her words, and she smiles ecstatically. Annie has a gift for enjoying life. I was reluctant to have her tag along with us last summer, but I soon learned that everything is more fun with Annie. She’s up for almost any adventure and rarely complains. It’s hard to take beauty for granted when you’re with her because she sees it everywhere. She exclaims over the way light hits a rock, the pattern in a shadow, or morning dew on a spiderweb. She literally hugs trees and celebrates each hidden wildflower as if it was created just for her.

I told myself after our first outing that Annie Greenwood was a little too extra. At the time, I couldn’t admit to myself that I liked her. But I found myself looking forward to each outing with her and not minding when Pepper asked if Annie could stay to watch a movie. It was the perfect arrangement, I told myself. Pepper was getting all the attention of a mother-like figure, and I didn’t have to deal with the messy emotions of dating. Of course, even then I was falling in love with Annie. How could I help it?

I flick on the lights in the barnlike garage. My eyes land on Edward’s pristine Aston Martin. He sold his other cars and his row house in San Francisco to help start our development company. Our primary focus is on designing high-end resorts that still have character and charm, and our first project is Norland Park. The rundown resort has been in Edward’s family for years but has real potential. We’re betting that the next generation of travelers are more interested in unique experiences with a real sense of community than in generic luxury.