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Fox nodded.
I rolled my eyes. “You could at leastfeignthat I’m wrong and you enjoyed my company.”
His lips quirked. “Thank you for helping me plant, doc.”
I did a mock curtsy. “You’re very welcome.”
Even though I didn’t want to go back home yet, it felt like it was time. “Well, I guess I should get going…”
Fox nodded again.
I hesitated a few more seconds, thinking maybe he’d say I shouldn’t run off so soon. But of course, this was Fox. “Okay, then. You have a good night, I guess.”
After I took a few steps, he sighed. “Do you want a beer?”
I turned with a smile. “Do you really want me to join you, or are you being nice because I called you out about not wanting me to plant with you?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Do you want a beer or not?”
I shrugged. Screw it.“Sure.”
CHAPTER 14
Everything is Just Ducky
Josie
“So your mom is so tiny,” I said. “And you probably have to duck and turn sideways to walk into some rooms. Were you a big baby?”
“Eight-and-a-half pounds. My brother was ten.”
“Wow. Ten pounds. Is he bigger than you now?”
“He passed away years ago.”
I shut my eyes. “I’m sorry. Your mom mentioned that she’d lost a son. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s fine. It was a long time ago.”
“I say the exact same thing when people offer condolences about my father’s passing—that it was a long time ago. I guess I want them to feel better about bringing him up.”
Fox looked into my eyes. “It also nips the conversation in the bud.”
I smiled. “Got it. Moving on…” I sipped my beer. “Your mom called you sweet more than once. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s not a word I would’ve used to describe you.”
“Mothers are prejudiced.”
“Maybe. But I don’t think that’s it. I think deep down there is a sweet guy in there. You just don’t want people to meet him, for some reason.”
“Or you’re making up another fantasy in your head, like the one you held on to all these years about this town being some mythical place where everyone walks around smiling.”
“Today I went to a party thrown in my honor at the house of a woman who was a complete stranger a week ago. Everyone smiled and had a great time. I think you’re the one who makes up things in his head. Why don’t you want this place to be as great as it is?”
Fox raised his beer to his lips. “High expectations usually lead to disappointment.”
“Jeez. You’re a bag of positivity. Maybe you could print that slogan on the nametags kindergarteners wear on the first day of school. That would shut down all optimism from the get go.”
His lip twitched. “Cute.”
