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“Of course, it was. We know how to show someone a good time.” He winks. Freaking winks at me, and my eyes grow wide. But Kyle, bless his idiot soul, seems to be oblivious to the underlying flirty tone to Denver’s words.
My idiot brother finally looks over and waves his phone at us. “Griff says to meet out front in fifteen. Are you gonna be ready?”
Foxxy doesn’t let his gaze drop from me as he nods. “Yep. Are you joining us, Pix?”
“N-no,” I stammer.
“Too bad.”
I look away first, turning to Kyle. “Where are your keys?”
He hands them over. “I gotta take a whiz. See ya in a bit, Foxxy.” Then he turns and jogs up the stairs, leaving me alone with Denver.
“Pixie.”
That one word, said with what sounds a lot like yearning, registers in my ears. Slowly, I lift my gaze to meet his.
“Can I see you sometime soon? Maybe once Kyle goes home?”
Oh god. Am I strong enough to not want to jump his bones if we see each other again? Just being near him like this has me feeling warm all over.
I quickly push that feeling aside. It can’t happen. After all, I can’t avoid seeing them. It’s not that big of a town, and my brother is their friend.
“Sure.” I nod quickly.
His answering smile is blinding. “Awesome. I gotta go, but I’ll call you to set something up.” He flashes me a wink, then turns and jogs away.
A buzzing sensation settles somewhere in my chest. I’m not entirely sure if it’s anticipation, or nerves.
Both. It’s probably both.
26
OLIVIA
It’s normal to be nervous before meeting up with one of the two men who rocked my entire world off its axis—twice. Right?
Asking for a friend, of course.
I blow out another wobbly breath as I sit in my car just down the street from Dot’s Diner, where Denver suggested we meet for breakfast today.
“It’s just breakfast. Nothing serious ever happens over breakfast,” I mutter to myself for the tenth time.
Up ahead, on the sidewalk, I see him walking quickly toward the diner, his hands full, carrying a white box and a bouquet of daisies.
He brought me flowers.
My heart does a backflip in my chest. Nope, still not going to let myself think about what it might mean. I hurry to get out of my car, and his eyes light up as soon as he sees me. “Pixie!” He picks up his pace until he’s almost jogging to meet me.
“Hey.” He grins at me when we’re finally face-to-face. “You came.”
I shift on my feet, those early nerves back and stronger than ever. “Yeah, I came.” He doesn’t say anything, just continues smiling at me until I can’t help but smile back, his happiness infectious. It chases away my nerves.
“Oh. These are for you.” He thrusts the bouquet of daisies at me. “I know they’re not lichen, but I thought they were pretty, and they’re plants, and you love plants, so…” He trails off, then ducks his head. “That sounds kinda dumb, doesn’t it?”
“No, not dumb. Sweet. No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
His head lifts, shock widening his dark eyes. “What? Never?”
