“I am,” I confirmed.
“When did you get home?” he asked.
“Not long ago,” I said.
I saw hurt cover his face, and it was like a dagger to my heart, but he adjusted his expression almost as quickly and smiled. “Welcome home.”
“Thanks.” I pointed to nowhere in particular. “Um, I really need to go. So, ah, sorry. Good to see you both.”
I scurried away but didn’t miss the sound of Flash saying, “Chicken” under his breath.
Damn him.
* * *
Flash
“You find the shit?”Dad asked.
I nodded distractedly, my mind still on Tate. She’d changed. Not so much that people would notice, but to me, it was more than I liked. She was fuckin’ gorgeous. She was always pretty, but she’d filled out and grown up, and had a new ability to hide her feelings a little better. But I could tell I’d freaked her out and I hated that because she’d done something she’d never done before. She’d run away from me. However amusing her adorable ass strutting down the aisle might have been, the ramifications of her actions meant she was afraid of me and that both saddened me and pissed me off.
“Flash.”
“Yeah?” I answered, still looking at the empty space Tate had just occupied.
“Parker.”
“What?” I snapped, facing my father who raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry,” I grumbled.
“What the fuck did you do to Tate?”
I scowled. “I’m not entirely sure,” I admitted. “But I plan to find out.”
“Then let’s pay for this shit so you can do that.”
I nodded and we made our way to the checkouts. We passed the flower aisle, and Dad snagged a dozen roses on our way out.
A woman in a scooter glanced at him, then the flowers and tsked. “How bad were you?”
“Oh, no, ma’am, she’s just that good,” Dad replied, and I bit back a laugh.
The woman let out a quiet squeak and flushed as we continued on our way. The checkout gods smiled on us, and we were able to get out of the store relatively quickly, which meant my confrontation with one Tate Burke was eminent.
* * *
Tate
“Mom, I’m back!” I called, heading for the stairs. It was two hours since my run-in with cinnamon roll man and I had just started to calm down. I’d stopped off at the nail salon on the way home for some much-needed pampering, but I still just wanted to soak in a hot bath and wash Flash Wallace away.
“Honey, you have a guest,” Mom called back.
“What?” I frowned, setting my bag on the bench by the door. “Who?”
Flash walked out of the kitchen with a grin. “Me.”
Fuck.
“Doesn’t Flash look great?” Mom crooned.
