“Did you leave her a bouquet three nights ago?”
Brandon flushed. “Well, yeah. A whole bunch had bloomed, so I brought a nice bouquet.”
“Where have you been getting them?” Serenity asked.
“From the high school. We’ve been growing them in the greenhouse,” he said. “They take a while to blossom, but I’ve been keeping an eye on them during the break. I have a key to the greenhouse. All of a sudden, there were so many pretty ones, so I brought you a bouquet and left it on your porch.”
Serenity’s gaze softened. “And you didn’t burn them?”
Brandon scratched his head and wiped the remaining moisture off his face. “No. Did somebody burn my flowers?”
“Yeah,” Rory said. “Have you seen anybody around lately who might have done that?”
“No,” Brandon answered. “I would’ve told you if some weirdo was out here burning things.”
That made sense. As much as Rory would love for Brandon to be the person who’d broken into the hardware store and had been making prank calls, his gut told him it wasn’t the kid.
Brandon turned toward Serenity. “I’m really sorry if I scared you. I was just trying to brighten your day and maybe get you to see me in a different way.”
Predictably, Serenity, who always led with her heart, leaned over and patted Brandon’s hand. “It’s okay, Brandon. Next time you’re interested in somebody, though, be straightforward. Tell them right out who you are and what you’re like. Okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed. “Is there a—?”
She shook her head. “No, there’s no chance. You and I will always be friends, though.”
“All right.” Brandon cut a look at the woman sleeping softly on the sofa. “What about—?”
“No,” Rory said abruptly. “Everybody in this room is too old for you. Now hop your ass back to your house. Tell your grandma what you’ve been up to, and starting tomorrow, learn to take a more direct approach with women.” Now that he was back in town, Rory needed to help this kid out. “Also, to make this mess up to us, you’re going to help my brother and me rebuild a Mustang in your spare time. Got it?”
Brandon stood, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “That’s fair. Thanks, Rory.”
“You bet.”
Brandon walked around the sofa and stopped at the door to look back at Hana. “She has some serious moves, man. Can you fight like that?”
“I’m the one who taught her,” Rory said.
The kid grinned and hopped outside.
Serenity watched him go. “Can you believe that?”
“Yeah.” Rory grinned. “I was once a kid who had a crush.”
Without waiting for a response, he walked around the sofa, scooped her out of her chair, and lifted her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m making sure you’re safely in bed where you can sleep in a little bit, and then I’m going to investigate,” he said, taking the stairs two at a time to her bedroom before moving inside.
He flicked on the light and looked around. In the soft glow of the morning, he studied her space. Her bedspread was light pink, her furnishings beige, and her throw pillows sequined and sparkly. He set her down, and his gaze caught on an open notebook on her vanity. It revealed several wedding dresses, all with sequins and diamonds. She’d put little hearts around them.
“These are gorgeous,” he said.
“Oh.” She blushed crimson. “I was just playing around.”
He looked at her. “This isn’t what your wedding dress looked like.”
“I know. Mine was much more practical.”
