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I wasn’t in this for him, I was in it for me – for an easier way to meet my sister. Yes, he was a great guy. Charming and sweet, but he was older. Way older. Whereas he seemed to be interested in a possible relationship, like a ship at sea I was steering clear of anything rocky. And I wasn’t into anything messy and complicated, like every single relationship had as part of the whole romance package. I wasn’t looking for love, but I refused to turn down another romp in the hay. If that possibility presented itself again.
However, rather than give him bad news, I patted his shoulder. “We’re fine.”
His shoulders fell and with them so did the sadness off his face. “That’s a relief.”
I wanted to tell him the truth, but rather than open my mouth, I cowardly walked back around the counter and dropped the fresh-cut flowers into a tall glass of cool water.
Landon stepped off to the side when a customer approached. “Go ahead, I’m still deciding.”
“Thanks.” The guy stepped forward and gave me his order.
Eyes narrowed, Sylvia headed back into the kitchen while I packaged the man’s order, took his payment, and sent him on his way. I grabbed the coffee pot and refilled my regular’s empty cup before returning to the counter.
Landon leaned on the display case. “Since we’re all good, I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming with me to my brother’s bonfire party.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m hanging out with my girlfriends, especially since I did ditch them recently to go whale watching.”
A smirk filled his face. “I didn’t even tell you when the party is.”
“You said it was tonight.”
He shook his head, gazing up at me with playfulness in his eyes. “Nope. I just asked if you wanted to come.”
“Well, I obviously can’t tonight.” And when I got home, I needed to make instant plans with Erin or Summer just to cover my tracks.
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”
“Actually, yeah.” I ran through my fictional social calendar and grabbed a random day of the week. “Think the only night I have off is Sunday.”
“Seriously?” He cocked an eyebrow. The last time he did that, well, the party had just gotten started, and seeing it now, it relit that fire in my core. My body hadn’t forgotten.
“Seriously.”
“Perfect, because the bonfire is Sunday afternoon.”
Three days’ time.
“What, really?” I had no escape. Slowly, I tapped my chin and made it seem like I was giving it deep thought when what I was trying to do was come up with a reason why I couldn’t be there.
“So what excuse do you have now?”
I scoffed and stepped back from the counter as the overhead bells signalled another incoming customer. “Hi, welcome to Sylvia’s.”
Under Landon’s watchful stare, I took care of the customer and gave them a friendly wave before returning my focus to Landon. Who hadn’t moved. At all. He stood firmly in his spot, arms across his chest, waiting for the excuse I couldn’t come up with.
With a sigh, I huffed back over, remembering the reason for flirting with Landon to begin with. I needed to keep my eye on the end goal. “You said your brother’s going to be there?”
“Yes.”
That sealed it. “And all your friends?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Well, I think it’s a little soon to hang out witheveryone. I mean, we’re not even going out or anything.”
“And if I called you my girlfriend, would that make it easier for you to say yes?”
“Not at all. I just…” Damn. Talk about being put on the spot. “It’s family. Outsiders don’t mesh well with that kind of synergy.” And I would know. “Besides, it seems really quick. That’s all.”
