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“So?”
“Caroline don’t you daresome! When you first started dating Josh I dissected every text he sent, even when it was only a thumbs up.”
I set the cookies on my kitchen counter then begin to pace back and forth. My little cottage has an open concept living area, so I can easily walk from my front door to my back door in a straight line.
“That thumbs up meant something and you know it,” she defends, then sighs. “Fine, he did go out of his way to do something extra for you. He could have just said he was sorry in passing.”
“Exactly. He also could have not apologized at all.”
“That would have been rude.”
“Yes, but he would have successfully pushed me away.”
Caroline snorts. “He’d have to do a lot more than that to get you to leave him alone. You’re practically in love with him.”
I gasp. “I amnot. I think he’s cute.”
“I believe your exact words after seeing him shirtless were: I want to marry him and have his perfect babies.”
My face heats and I lift my hand to my cheek to cool it down.
“You would have said the same thing.”
“Not the point. The point is that you’re infatuated with him and not doing anything about it.”
“What am I supposed to do? Go knock on his door and throw myself at him?”
“That would be a fun start to a relationship.” I roll my eyes. “But no, what you need to do is put yourself in his line of sight often. Also, it wouldn’t hurt if you flirted a little.”
“That would be a great plan if I was capable of flirting at all.”
“You’d be great at flirting if you stopped thinking so much.”
“So change the very essence of my being? I’ll get right on that.” We both laugh, but mine transforms into a groan. “Caroline, I can’t do this.”
“You don’t have to, there are plenty of guys out there. There’s always Kyle.” The reminder of my dating app match makes me scrunch my face up. We’ve been messaging back and forth all week. He’s nice and has made me laugh a few times with his messages, but he’s not Adrian.
“That’s true.”
“Don’t sound so excited,” she teases and I sigh.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t get so caught up in Adrian that I don’t give Kyle a chance. Even if Adrian looks like he was carved out of stone just for me.”
“That’s the spirit.”
An icy gust of air stings my face when I walk out onto my back deck before sunrise. Adrian has turned me into a morning person. All week I’ve shuffled out here with my hot tea and blankets, hoping to catch a glimpse of him and maybe have a short conversation.
The first three days he merely nodded to me, murmured good morning and disappeared into his cottage. Yesterday, however, he told me he enjoyed the tea I gave him. I told him I placed an order for the one he gave me. The exhilaration I felt from that minor interaction was pathetic. Yet, I’m out here again, chasing the high.
I take a sip of my chai tea right as he’s rounding the far side of the lake. It’s much too cold to do anything other than curl up and complain about it, which makes his dedication admirable. My mind wanders to my date for tonight, Kyle. Is he a runner? I haven’t asked him if he works out because that seems shallow and rude. Also, I’m afraid he might ask me ifIwork out and the answer would be embarrassing.
I agreed to meet him at Mama Peach’s Diner for dinner tonight. My plan is to walk there and then if he turns out to be a creep, I’ll run to Peaches and Cream and hide in Poppy’s back office. But I think it will go well. I hope it does anyway. Maybe Kyle will be my soulmate and I’ll forget about Adrian’s perfect abs and sexy scowl. Because he is still very closed off and it’s not looking good for us in the future relationship department.
Speaking of … Adrian jogs into his backyard, his breath making white clouds in front of his mouth. He nods to me and I lift my teacup in greeting.
“Good morning, Adrian,” I say with a smile.
“Good morning, Juliette.” He surprises me by walking up to my railing. The deck is up off the ground, high enough to require steps down, but not so high that Adrian can’t see over it. Though he is rather tall.
