Daisy
*gif of a little boy crossing his arms and pouting*
Sore subject, Mags.
Landry and I will stop on the way and pick up something homemade. And who cares what I’m bringing when we all know Mari’s making her famous pecan divinity candy, right?
Iris
Wait, so you’re bringing the hungry doctor?
Please tell us he’s not just hungry …
Daisy
He doesn’t care much for my cooking, I’m afraid.
Magnolia
Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. Why don’t we practice baking while you’re home?
Violet
Hey, congratulations on not fornicating, Daisy! Well done!
I snort after that last message and put my phone away. Then I take one last look around Loren’s classroom before I stuff the last of my things in my school tote and head for the door. By the time I return from the break, I’ll have my very own space. Mrs. Joanie has been prepping me to take over for the past couple of months, and Claire helped me set up a date between Christmas and New Year’s for my certification test. I should be giddy with excitement for this new venture, yet I can’t seem to channel any of my usual enthusiasm.
Maybe it’s because I’m afraid I can’t pull it off. Even Mrs. Joanie’s instruction doesn’t seem to be enough to turn me into a good cook. But I’ll get by with the few basic recipes she’s been teaching me during our planning time.
I don’t even think it’s a fear of failure.
If I’m afraid of anything, it’s that the start of this new job means the end of my arrangement with Landry.
Somewhere along the way, he must have planted a small seed of hope. We arrived at a point in which we’d shared too many flirty exchanges, moments of vulnerability, and stolen glances for my heart to accept that we could never be more than friends. So, in all Daisy fashion, I started tending to that seed.
Then Landry kissed me again, leaving me defenseless as that flower bloomed overnight, just before he crushed it underfoot.
Silly me, thinking it would mean something to him.
No, scratch that. I’m only silly for hoping he’d acknowledge what’s so obviously grown between us. But deny it all he wants, there’s more to us than friendship.
I flinch as I step outside and raise my arm to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight. It’s only a few days before Christmas, after all. Plenty of time left to run the air conditioner in South Louisiana.
My eyes adjust to the light, so I drop my hand. And the first thing I see is Landry grinning at me from the front seat of his Jeep.
I’m supposed to be mad at him, but I can’t help the way he always reawakens those butterflies in my stomach. I smile back at him and pick up my pace, and he leans over to open my door for me.
“Hey,” I greet him as I slide into the seat.
“Hey.” His smile grows wider, as if he’s relieved to see me. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. There’s just something about him that makes me think I’ll never feel the same way about anyone else as long as I live.
I clear my throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in a hurry.”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “I’m not.”
So he opened my door because he simply couldn’t wait a second longer to be near me?
I’m not crazy, right? I can’t be reading too much into our interactions. Maybe my feelings for him are more developed, but he’s got to want?—
