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I turned to walk away, wincing at my ridiculous parting line.I’ll be back?Who was I, the Terminator? But it would be even less cool to turn around and ask for a do-over, so I strode through the lobby, preparing to spend the next six hours practically vibrating with enthusiasm. This was going to be good. So good.
* * *
Istepped into Ms. Hattie’s shop, the smell bursting through my nose like I was wearing an oxygen mask stuffed with flowers. The walls were lined with refrigerated cases, a rainbow of floral arrangements in various vases and black bins lining the shelves inside. There was a table in the middle with Ms. Hattie’s weekly specials scrawled in white cursive on a blackboard. Bouquets of different sizes covered the table, all of them bright and sunny mixtures of baby blue and yellow flowers.
My gaze traveled to the counter to greet the shop’s busybody owner with a grin, but then it fell from my lips with a thud. Paul. Instead of Ms. Hattie, it was Paul who stood in front of me, a confused smile on his face. Man, this was a small town. Recovering quickly, I let out a chuckle and crossed the room, holding out my hand for him to shake.
“What’s up, trouble?” I greeted him as he pumped my hand.
“Oh, I’m trouble? Don’t tell me that motorcycle I heard out front belongs to you.”
I flicked a glance at the door I’d entered through, knowing my bike was parked just outside and to the right. “Yep. She’s mine.”
“You’re a trip. So, what, we’re ending the carpool thing before I even move out?”
“Ah, don’t look so sad. You can call Shelby on your drive and talk about how much you love each other.”
Ms. Hattie came out of the back room with a large bouquet, her feet stuttering slightly when she saw me. She smiled widely, like a lion looking at its prey. “Well, well, well. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you in here, Will Paxton. Did you find someone special, after all?”
I gulped. Telling Paul that I loved his sister, that she was my someone special—as strange as those words sounded even in my mind—was not supposed to go like this. I planned to tell Aria first. She deserved that. Whatever his response was to my confession couldn’t have any impact on what happened between us. She’d been right the other night. She deserved better.
But I hated the idea of continuing to lie. She’d been right about that, too.
Squaring my shoulders, I jammed my hands in my pockets. “Maybe.”
Paul’s mouth popped. “I’m not gonna lie, bro, when you walked in here, I pretty much assumed you were buying flowers for my mom or something. You’re buying them for adate?”
“Don’t look so shocked,” I said with a pained chuckle. Man, he really didn’t think highly of me, did he?
“Can you blame me? You once said that flowers, and I quote, ‘promised more than you had to give.’”
My eyes bounced between Ms. Hattie and my best friend, tiny beads of sweat threatening to form on my brow. “Man, they’re just flowers. Chill out.”
“Whatever you say,” he replied with a laugh, turning back to Ms. Hattie and pulling out his wallet. “Thanks for making up a special thing for Shel, Ms. Hattie. She’s gonna love it.”
“I’m sure she will,” she replied, “because they’re fromyou.”
I rolled my eyes with a grin. “Don’t give him a big head, Ms. Hattie.”
“Too late, dear.” She winked, ringing up his flowers.
Paul took the bouquet from the counter, raising a brow at me. “Are you really not going to tell me who she is?”
My mind raced. It was on the tip of my tongue to say he didn’t know her. Another lie. I hadn’t even realized how dishonest I’d been with him—with myself, too, and with Aria—until she’d called me out on it. But now that she had, I wanted nothing to do with that. I didn’t want to be a liar. I didn’t want to betray the people I cared about. So, what could I say that would placate him without getting into this right now?
I let my lips stretch into a begrudging smile and shrugged. “I’m gonna tell you. But not right now.”
Paul’s laser-focused gaze searched my face, then he shook his head. “This is weird. You’re being weird. But whatever man.”
He gave Ms. Hattie a wave and thanked her again, shaking his head again as he headed for the door. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I’d dodged a bullet for now, but once Aria and I got everything squared away, I knew I needed to make this conversation happen. And soon.
Paul opened the door and stepped out, then came back in with a furrowed brow. “Bro, what are you going to do with the flowers while you’re on your bike? Stuff them in your saddle bag?”
My heart sank. Crap. I was bad at this. Flowers were a terrible idea. I looked at Ms. Hattie, hoping my expression was the plea for help that I wanted it to be. She closed her eyes with a small lift to her lips. Yep, she thought I was a moron, too.
“Don’t worry about it, Will,” she said with a wave of her plump hand. “I’ve got you.”
I pointed at her and turned back to Paul. “She’s got me.”
