“Ah! I like a challenge! And you owe me after I found you a boyfriend, even though I’ve been looking for one forever,” Gia said.
“Gross. It’s not likeyoucould have dated your cousin.”
“Still.” Gia paused. “Sucks there’s no pool—he could have seen me in a bikini all summer. Although maybe he still can—where does one buy a kiddie pool? Because Ineedto find a way to tear you away from yourfashionthis summer. You’re getting a little two-dimensional—like your drawings.”
“Ooh, savage.” I laughed. I already missed Gia, and we’d only been apart a day. She never failed to make me laugh. I could be a bit intense and focused at times, which was why we got along so well—we complemented each other. Gia sometimes needed a little push to keep the hustle in her life, and she reminded me to have fun sometimes.
“Ugh. Mom’s yelling for me,” Gia said. “She’s in full-on panic mode about what food we’re bringing up. She’s trying to figure out how to make a porchetta with no pork. I should go. Warm up that influencer hater for me, will ya? I’m going to need a country boy to corrupt.”
“Ha ha. Love you, G.”
“Love you, too, T.”
Smiling, I ended the call with Gia and opened the door.
“What the hell! Thirst Trap is now inmyyard?” said a familiar voice.
Ugh. Rowan Johnston was home from work. And hedidremember he hated me. Wonderful.
5
THAT JAW, THOUGH
Ugh. I was alone in the backyard with Rowan Johnston’s frown. And the rest of him, of course, but his disappointed scowl that I was in his precious garden was the defining feature of the space right now. Still wearing that ridiculousStar Warsflowery shirt and frayed shorts, and holding a metal shovel, he glared at me from beside the flower bed.
Ignoring him, I walked to the patio, sat on a sofa, and scrolled my Instagram. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm after seeing him.
Rowan huffed with displeasure. Finally, he spoke. “I should have known.Youare Shar’s niece. This is just adding to my already crappy day.”
“Wow,” I deadpanned. “Small-town hospitality is even more welcoming than I expected.” The sarcasm dripped from my voice.
He stabbed the shovel into the dirt, leaving it standing next to him. “Do you know how long it took me to clean up the manure from the gravel?”
Ididfeel kind of bad about that. I sighed. “Iamsorry I made that mess. That’s why I offered to clean it and to pay for it. But you and yoursidekick were incredibly rude. Whatever happened to ‘The customer is always right’?”
“You weren’t a customer! You weren’t going to buy anything. You’re aninfluencer. You think your presence alone is something we should be grateful for!”
He said the word “influencer” like some might say “street rat.” Whatever. I could’ve told him I was there with my mother—an actualpayingcustomer. Or that influencers are actually entrepreneurs—and it was super cool to be able to inspire people while making a bit of money from sponsorships. But I’d encountered his type before. He thought there was a negative correlation between a girl’s IQ and her Instagram follower count.
I turned my cheek and looked back at my phone. He grunted his displeasure again and went back to digging.
Juniper came out of her house with a box of cookies and headed toward the patio. “Oh, hey, Row. When’d you get here?”
“Five minutes ago,” he said, not looking up from his mound of dirt.
As Juniper sat across from me and offered me a cookie, Mom and Sharmin Aunty reappeared from my aunt’s house with more snacks. Indian chevdo and some chips and salsa.
“Rowan, did you meet Tahira?” Sharmin Aunty asked as she sat and motioned for us all to help ourselves to the snacks. “She’ll be working at the store with Juniper all summer.”
Mom sat next to me and handed me a small bowl.
Rowan sighed. “Leanne and I had thepleasureof meeting her at Wynter’s today.”
I glared at Rowan. I disliked the fact that we were stuck together as much as he did, but unlike him, I wouldn’t broadcast my displeasure to everyone.
But focusing on him, even like this, caused a problem. It made me notice that Rowan looked different in his own garden. His dark, wide-set eyes were darker. His cheekbones higher. His jawline sharper. Hisskin glowed more, and his lips seemed soft. I’d thought both he and his friend were pretty attractive when I first saw them, but right now? Rowan wasn’t just cute; he wasstunning. Exquisite. Even in that dumb shirt. If it weren’t for his personality, I wouldloveto photograph this guy. He was, like,model-levelgood looking.
Mmm, yes, I could see it. Smoldering eyes, disinterested glare, scowling mouth...wearing...my cropped gray men’s T-shirt with the leather epaulets? Matteo hadn’t looked right in it—my boyfriend was unfortunately short waisted. What shoes would I put on Rowan? Retro-style Jordans, or even black leather Pumas. Anything was better than those beat-up Chucks. What color were they originally, anyway? Blue? Gray?
