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Which was whythis—standing in front of her now with no idea how to fix the awkward tension between us—was all my fault.
Her mouth straightened into a hard line like she was trying to figure out what to say, then she nodded. “Okay, have fun shopping. Tell Paul I said hi.”
“I will.” My words were quiet. Pointless, really, since she’d already turned and sauntered away. I should have turned too, but man if I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her retreating form. Again, not a smart man.
“Hi, Will.”
I jumped like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, turning to find the town florist and resident gossip queen watching me with a rueful expression. “Hi, Ms. Hattie.”
“The peaches are looking awful ripe today, aren’t they?”
Stuttering, I blinked at her. “Th-the what?”
“The peaches, Will,” she said, gesturing at the mountain of golden fruit between us.
“Er, right. Ripe.”
“Hand me a bag, will you?” She pointed at the rack holding the plastic bags on my right.
I did as she asked, handing it over with a stilted smile. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, dear.”
“No problem.”
“Aria’s really excited to be planning her brother’s wedding,” Ms. Hattie said, nodding in the direction she’d gone a moment before. “But it’s going to be a lot of work for her. You know, with being the wedding plannerandthe maid of honor at the same time.”
I lifted my chin, remembering that Aria’s status as the maid of honor in Paul and Shelby’s wedding would mean lots more time with her. And since I was the best man, it would also mean having her on my arm as we walked down the aisle behind the bride and groom. That would be fun. Not.
Shrugging one shoulder, I took a produce bag for myself and opened it, not even sure what I planned to put inside. Definitely not peaches, though. “She’ll be all right. Aria’s a pro at multitasking.”
“That, she is. And she’s always been so capable. A real go-getter. Remember when she was in Girl Scouts and she sold more cookies than anyone else in her troop? She ran those cookie booths like a born businesswoman.”
I did remember. She’d been in fifth grade and I’d been in sixth. She’d charged up to me in her green Girl Scouts sash with a colorful order form and a bag of samples, insisting that I had to try some. After she’d hustled me out of every last dollar I’d earned mowing lawns in the neighborhood, I had my first inkling that Aria might not feel much like a little sister, after all. It was all downhill from there.
“Yep. She’s a force. So I’m sure this wedding stuff will be fine.”
Ms. Hattie sighed as she tied the bag of peaches and placed it in her cart. “It’s a wonder how she has time for a life with all of that work she does. I know June is the busiest wedding month of the year, but goodness. She must never sleep. And how she has time to date is beyond me.”
This brought me up short. “Date?”
“Yes, date. A gentleman came into my shop right before closing saying he had a date with her tonight.”
Swallowing past the jealousy that worked its way up my throat, I tried for casual. “Oh, cool. Good for her.”
“I guess. But I don’t think he stands a chance, between you and me.”
Knowing full well that there was no such thing asbetween you and mefor Ms. Hattie, I crossed my arms over my chest and chuckled. “You don’t think so?”
“Heavens, no. The man bought her daisies, Will.Daisies.”
I wasn’t as well versed in flowers as Ms. Hattie, but I could tell by her tone that daisies were a bad choice. And now that I thought about it, I guessed they didn’t strike me as the kind of flowers that would work for a date. Something you’d buy your grandma, maybe, but not a woman you were interested in.
“What about you?” she asked when I didn’t say anything. “Have you been seeing anyone special lately? We have some great sales on lilies this month. Nowthoseare romantic.”
I shook my head with a snort. “No one special, Ms. Hattie.”
In fact, I couldn’t remember ever thinking any of the women I dated were special. Fun, sure. Hot, always. But special? The word had never entered my mental vocabulary when it came to women. And that was just how I wanted it.
