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“Right. We both know you have a little crush on him. I don’t know why you haven’t just gone for it.”
I look at her, dazed. Gone for it? Me? I don’t go for things, especially dates.
“I can see you overthinking it. Why don’t you just ask him out?” She reaches for the bag on the counter between us, pulling out a danish before handing it to me.
“I don’t know how you can ask me that so casually.”
She takes a bite of the danish and tilts her head, observing me while she chews. “I don’t know how to approach that other than casually. You like him. He’s single. Ask him.”
“It’s not that simple, Skylar,” I huff, taking a bite of my danish, letting the sweet and tart flavour distract me from having to explain to my friend why I can’t just walk up to a man and ask him out.
“Well, it would have been easier if you had shown up at the barbecue,” she ribs. The smile on her face letting me know I didn’t upset her by not coming, which is good. I never meant to upset anyone.
“I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m not the type of girl that can just walk up to a guy and ask them out. That’s not me.”
“And you’re not going to get very far if you just sit back and wait for things to happen to you, either.”
“Says the girl who literally woke up married to the love of her life without realizing you’d done it.”
“I know how Dyllan and I got together was…unconventional, but that doesn’t mean we both didn’t take risks in getting to where we are today. Yes, I may have disliked him a little when we first met…”
“A little?” I interrupt.
“But,” she continues, narrowing her eyes at me, “that doesn’t mean that once we realized we had gotten married after drinking too much, we didn’t have to push through and go outside of our comfort zones to be where we are now.”
“But Mitch doesn’t even know I exist.”
“Rachel, this is Logan Creek. No one goes unnoticed. But also, he knows who you are. He perked up when we brought your name up last night.”
“He did?” Now she has piqued my interest. I want to know what was said. What did he say? What was his reaction? So many thoughts rush through my mind; the speed only rivalled by my overactive heart.
“Yes, he did. So, the question now is, what are you going to do about it?”
I take another bite of my danish, not knowing how to respond to that.
“I’ll leave it alone—for now,” she concedes. “Mitch isn’t the only reason I stopped by. I wanted to do a final confirmation for the Martinez wedding at the brewery next weekend.”
Thankful for the change in subject, I pop the rest of the danish in my mouth and grab my tablet, pulling up the details of the order. We spend the next half an hour discussing flowers and arrangements, making sure we’re on the same page, which we almost always are.
One great thing about living in a small town is when you’re friends with the only event planner in town, you get to spend a lot of time together. Our business meetings usually turn into coffee dates or grabbing lunch at the diner. Sometimes it’s just like this with the two of us hanging out in the floral shop.
It’s later in the afternoon, so I haven’t been too busy, which allows us time to catch up.
She doesn’t bring Mitch up again but stops as she’s about to walk out the door, giving me a sad look. “I don’t mean to harp on you, but please just think about what I said about taking a chance.”
The bell over the door rings as she walks out, leaving me alone with my flowers and a Lee Brice song playing on the radio. Folding my arms on top of the counter, I lower my head and rest it on top of them.
What am I going to do?
3
MITCH
Working the opening shift at a bar has never been my favourite. It’s too quiet. Too bright.
I love working late. The crowded bar rooms and thumping music are more my style. The rush of never-ending drink orders and tasks that need to be done. Nights like that are when I run on adrenaline from the moment I walk in until the moment I leave. The endless rush keeps me going and makes me look forward to the next night.
The opening shift? Not so much. The quiet in the room right now feels louder to me than any crowd on Saturday night. The quiet means that I have time to think, which isn’t something I want to do right now.
