Chapter Six
Ryan was going to lose his fucking mind. He’d just caught Trent up on the ropes course smoking a joint when he was supposed to be repairing a line damaged by a fallen tree limb after last night’s thunderstorm. And Emma…Emma…was on her hands and knees in the dirt potting plants and gossiping with Mandy about the men she’d contacted last night on fucking Tinder.
There was no logical explanation for the fact that he felt like a goddamn Neanderthal at the thought of her going on a date with someone else. No explanation except that he was a damn fool because he was so hot for Emma he could barely see straight when he was around her, yet he’d been the idiot who insisted they remain just friends.
“Lookin’ good,” he said, stopping a few feet away from where they were busy planting some kind of purple and yellow flower in the beds Emma had built around the front perimeter of Off-the-Grid’s office building.
Emma looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you like them?”
“Yeah. They look great.” They definitely brightened up the side of the building, but not nearly as much as Emma’s presence did.
“So what did you think of Todd Pierce?” Mandy asked, sitting forward on her knees.
“Who?” Ryan asked, drawing a blank.
Mandy rolled her eyes dramatically. “Emma said she sent his photo to both of us. She’s thinking about asking him out. What do you think?”
Ryan bristled, remembering the photo of the ponytailed loser on the cheap foreign bike she’d texted to him last night. “I think…”The only motorcycle she ought to be riding is mine.“I think that guy looks like bad news.”
Emma gave him a dirty look. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Dammit all. He ought to be cheering her on because, if she started dating someone else, it would let him off the hook for turning her down. He went inside to his office and typed the loser’s name into the search engine. A mug shot popped up from the local news website. Todd Pierce had been arrested last week for drunk and disorderly at the Rusty Bucket, a bar in nearby Silver Springs.
* * *
Emma and Mandy washed up and headed into town to the deli for lunch.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do after Lucas and Mary retire?” Emma asked while they waited for their sandwiches.
Mandy had worked at Artful Blooms for about three years. Before that, she’d taught Zumba at the fitness center. Before that? Emma wasn’t sure, but Mandy was definitely a Jill of many trades. “Not sure. I might see if any of the other landscape firms in the area are hiring. I really do enjoy it.”
“I hope you find something.”
“I will,” Mandy said, looking unconcerned. “Let me see your phone.”
“Why?” Emma asked as she typed in the code and handed it over.
“I’m checking out some more hot guys for you.” Mandy pulled up Tinder and started swiping photos.
“Hey!” Emma made a grab for the phone.
“Chill. I have good taste. If I pick someone you don’t like, just ignore them.”
“Hmph.” Emma sat back with a sigh. Well, maybe she’d have better luck letting someone else pick out her next date anyway. It wasn’t as if she’d done a very good job on her own so far.
“Ooh, I like him. Ireallylike him.” Mandy held the phone out so that Emma could see. A rugged-looking man with longish hair and intense blue eyes was on the screen.
And yeah…he was hot. Not someone Emma would have ever picked out for herself, but…“Definitely. Swipe right.”
“Oh.” Mandy’s eyes widened, and she held up the phone. “He had already liked you so you’re an instant match.”
“Are you serious?” Emma snatched the phone out of her friend’s hand. Sure enough, Rugged Hot Guy—real name Joe Relka—showed as a match on the screen. A button below his picture invited her to start up a chat with him.
“You going to ask him out?”
“No way. Not yet anyway.” Emma clicked through the photos in his profile. In addition to his close-up, there was a snapshot of him hamming for the camera out in the woods, pointing over his shoulder toward a black bear visible in the background. “Okay, I’ll send him a message. What should I say?”
“Ask him if he still has all his fingers and toes.”
