Me:Long story short, Lainey and Dean made out in his office last night. Wilder and Aspen accidentally interrupted. Dean told Lainey it would never happen again. Lainey was matched with Dean’s brother, Dawson, through Aspen’s mail-order bride dating service, and they’re going on a date tonight.
Ruby:Wow, okay, you’re right—I do need to be more on top of things.
Marigold:Speaking of being on top of things... Is Dawson there yet?
Marigold’s response hits me wrong, and I lash out at her, then instantly feel guilty about it.
Me:Why don’t you worry about who Warren’s on top of? I heard he’s looking for a date for Wilder and Aspen’s wedding.
Marigold:Son of a bitch, he'd better be asking me.
Lainey:Or you could ask him first.
Marigold:That’s not a bad idea.
We exchange goodbyes, and I think about how to fix my snippy comment to Marigold when the bells on top of my front door jingle, making me look up from my phone to see Dawson standing there.
He walks toward me, “We need to talk.”
two
Dawson
What was I thinking,agreeing to go on a date with Lainey when Esme is the one I really want? I was only helping Wilder and Aspen by filling out the dating questionnaire so the program would have more data to choose from when selecting potential matches.
Honestly, I wasn’t thinking when I agreed to the date. I knew my brother, Dean, was crazy about Lainey, and that she was crazy about him, too. I thought the date would be harmless—a fun way to hang out with my future sister-in-law that we could laugh about later.
My plan for the date was to talk about how great Dean was since he was doing a terrible job of expressing his feelings for Lainey on his own. Picking up roses for Lainey was an afterthought. But when I saw the hurt look on Esme’s face when I bought them, I knew I’d made a mistake. Thanks to Dean, he’s taking over my date with Lainey so I can fix things with Esme.
“Sure.” Esme tucks her phone into the pocket of her apron. “Did you see Dean’s roses for Lainey and decide you want something else to add to your arrangement for her?”
“What? No, I don’t want any more flowers for Lainey.” A customer walks in just as I’m about to explain everything to Esme.
“Hey, Esme.” Bale Blackwood, one of the town firefighters, walks up to the counter. “I got Rand to cover my shift tonight so I can surprise Clover.” The love on his face as he talks about his wife, Clover, makes me want that with Esme.
“Sure, I just received a shipment of gerbera daisies. I think she’ll love them.” Esme rushes to the back of the store without even glancing back my way.
“Hey, Dawson, how’s the spring logging coming along?" Bale makes small talk as he waits for the bouquet of flowers.
“Thanks to the mild winter, we are actually ahead of schedule,” I say, shifting my gaze to the back of the store to catch a glimpse of Esme.
Her bright, honey-blonde hair is like a beacon, inviting me to run my fingers through it. She must sense me staring as she finally glances over her shoulder directly at me. Her cornflower blue eyes widen in surprise as she catches me watching her.
“You might want to lock her down before someone else does,” Bale says, nodding to Esme as she turns her back to us to arrange the daisies, luckily, out of hearing range. “A lot of the single firefighters have their eyes on her.”
“Over my dead body. She’s mine," I snap.
“You might think that, but no one else seems to think that. Or if they did, once you said yes to dating Lainey, Esme was thought to be back on the market.”
Damn it. I thought I’d made it clear to all the single guys that Esme was mine. How could I have been so foolish to think the rumors of me dating Lainey wouldn’t spread?
“I’m not dating Lainey. I was just trying to push Dean into asking her out.”
“Looks like you’ve got some damage control to do.” Bale pats me on the back as Esme carries a beautiful bouquet of daisies to the counter. I step aside as Bale pays for his flowers and then heads out.
“Can we talk now?” I take a step closer to Esme.
She glances at the clock on the wall before responding. “Let me close up first.” I watch as she pulls the shade down on the front window, then turns the door lock and flips the sign to closed. “Aren’t you late for your date with Lainey?” She turns to face me.
