“Send her our best,” Noah said.
It sounded like “Go fuck yourself.”
He kept his arm around my waist, his fingers splayed on the round pudge of my belly, while the customer stepped away from the table. I pointed toward the jars with the deep purple gingham fabric skirting the lid, each tied with twine. “Four more blackberries.”
“You have me beat by three,” he said, “but we have another hour until closing time. It’s anyone’s game.”
“Have you figured out what you’re playing for?” I shifted out of his hold and shot him a cheeky grin. “I know what I’m choosing.”
He ran his gaze over my long, gauzy sundress. It was like a bedsheet with straps, completely shapeless and far more comfortable than flattering. I resisted the urge to fidget or prop my hands on my hips to create the illusion of an hourglass figure hiding under the billows of fabric.
“I have a few ideas. What have you decided?”
“Well, since I’ve already had a quartet of ice cream scoopers in to set up my classroom, I could use some help tending to Lollie’s tulip field. I don’t even know where to begin.” I gave in to the desire to futz with my dress. “Thanks for sending the helpers, by the way.”
“Did they take care of everything? They weren’t supposed to leave until it was finished.”
I peered at him. “Is that legal?”
“Legal enough,” he replied.
“They did a great job. Thank you. Seriously. It was a big help. I hope they got their Friday night off.”
He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He did that a lot. I couldn’t tell if it was a nervous habit or if he really needed a good rubdown. Not that I was offering anything like that. Just…an observation.
“They got their Friday night.” He shot a sidelong glance in my direction. “I heard you fed them pizza.”
“Of course I fed them pizza! They moved all the furniture in my classroom! The girls organized the shelves and started my bulletin boards. They were there for three full hours. And they’re growing kids.”
Noah laughed. “I’m glad they did a decent job but don’t let Schultzy fool you. He’s not growing. He’s just a bottomless pit.”
“The girls put away an entire pizza between them.”
“Also bottomless pits. Camille will take a spoon to the empty ice cream containers and scrape out the last bites at the end of the night. She won’t throw away one of those five-gallon barrels until it’s scraped clean.”
We shared a smile before I said, “I appreciate it, Noah. It was a huge help. Thank you.”
“It was no trouble.” He seemed poised to continue but then he breathed out a curse and rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome to interrupt the conversation to come with goat cheese and Provence,” he muttered.
I followed his gaze toward a man in outrageously bright plaid shorts and a blazing yellow polo that might’ve been the actual sun. The man was headed straight toward us. “Why? What’s happening?”
“Regional chamber of commerce,” Noah said under his breath. “He lives in Friendship too. Always has some new initiative to get off the ground or an event in need of sponsors. Never has it adequately staffed or funded. Not great at taking no for an answer.” He glanced at my iced coffee. An inch of water from the melted ice sat on top of the cold brew. “Tell me you’ve had more than a pudding cup today.”
“That’s not for you to worry about.” I waved him back to his end of the table as another customer approached.
I did my best to listen to Noah’s conversation with the polo shirt while helping another small wave of customers. I was almost at the end of my blackberry thyme supply. Victory was in sight.
“I’m proposing a summer street fair,” Sunshine Polo said. “Early in the season. June, most likely. But I need big-name involvement to get it off the ground.”
“Sounds great,” Noah said, his arms folded over his chest and his jaw rigid. “You can connect with my marketing crew for—”
“You can’t pawn me off on the little girl who runs your social media accounts, Barden. You know that’s not how your father handled things—and for damn good reason.”
I was certain I heard knuckles crack though it might’ve been molars.
“Marina is a marketing pro. She’s better at all of this stuff than I am and she has the patience for it, which is a gift I don’t possess.”
Sunshine Polo seemed to ignore all of this. “Now, if I could get ahold of the boys with the oysters—”
