“She has connections,” Joe said somberly. “Lots of them are people she talks to on the regular. Gina pounces on gossip.Remember the time she told everyone you were afraid of the dark?”
“We were in fourth grade.”
“She hasn’t changed, trust me.” Joe loved his sister, but he’d been thrilled when she announced she was moving from Maple Falls to Boise, Idaho, after meeting a potato farmer online. From all accounts she was happy, but she still had strong connections to Maple Falls, just like Joe did when he lived in Little Rock for ten years, teaching at Central High School and working as an assistant JV football coach. When the opening at his alma mater—tiny Maple Falls High School—appeared eight years ago, he jumped on it and never looked back.
“All right.” Travis leaned forward. “But, hey, congrats on finally joining the living.”
Joe frowned and used a white paper napkin to wipe the condensation off the glass of his double-thick banana shake. “I’m just going on a date, not coming back from the dead.”
“Same thing, in your case.”
As Travis scarfed down the rest of his pie, Joe pondered his friend’s statement. He’d been plenty satisfied with his teaching and coaching, plus working with youth camps in the summer. Being able to positively affect young lives was gratifying and rewarding. But lately something had been missing in his life. Companionship. He wasn’t sure why he’d changed his mind about staying single, but he had. Now he wished he’d kept that decision to himself.
“So, who’s the lucky girl?” Travis pointed his fork at Joe. “And I mean that. You’ve been Maple Falls’ most eligible bachelor for too long.”
“When did you suddenly turn into a girl?”
Travis smirked. “Being concerned about you isn’t girly. Look, I’ve known you all my life. You’ve always been a family man. I’m just sayin’, it’s time for you to have your own.”
“My last attempt didn’t turn out so well.”
“Because you married the wrong woman at the wrong time.”
Joe nodded. He and his ex, Jenna, had married right out of high school, ignoring everyone’s warnings, including Travis’s. The marriage lasted six months before Jenna asked for a divorce and moved to Florida. They hadn’t kept in touch, and that was seventeen years ago. But the failure had been long lasting.
“Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on her,” Travis said.
Joe shook his head. “Of course not.”
“Good. She was all wrong for you.”
“I know.” Joe slurped his shake. “And she’s in the past.”
“Right. So, I’ll ask you again, who’s the lucky woman?”
Joe took another sip of his shake, stalling as he thought about the woman he had finally decided to ask out—he glanced at the clock on the wall—in about half an hour. He figured she wouldn’t be too busy at work, but he didn’t want to ask her in private, because if she turned him down, she would have to be polite about it if they were in a public place.
Chicken.His hands were starting to get damp just thinking about saying the words,“Would you like to have coffee sometime?”Yeah, he was definitely lily-livered when it came to this dating thing.
He chalked up his nerves to being out of practice with women and anything that had to do with romance. Which was why he had chosen this particular woman for his return to the dating scene. He wouldn’t be too bent out of shape if sheturned him down. If she didn’t, he figured that going out for coffee would be their first and last date. But at least he would have had a date.
“Fine. I see you want to keep it to yourself.” Travis grabbed the bill off the table. “I’ve got to run and get Layla from ball practice. Plus, there’s a stack of English essays waiting to be graded.” He let out a long-suffering sigh as he got up from the table. “Hopefully this time at least half of my students remembered to write a topic sentence.”
“You’re not fooling me. You love your job. Even the grading essays part.”
Travis grinned, his white teeth contrasting with his mahogany skin. “I definitely do. Catch you tomorrow.”
As Travis left, Joe polished off his milkshake, now more milk than shake, and glanced at the clock again. He had about twenty minutes to kill, and when he spied one of his former students and her mother walking into the diner, he decided to visit with them a little bit. By four o’clock, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer. His nerves wouldn’t allow him to.
He put a tip on the table, then walked out of the diner... and headed for Petals and Posies.
Chapter 2
At 4:00 p.m., Sophie told Hayley and MacKenzie they could clock out. Normally the two women would stay until closing, five or five thirty depending on how busy the store was. They weren’t busy now, and Sophie knew the college students had finals at the end of the spring semester, which was next week. She wanted them to do well, and when she said they could leave, neither protested.
After the girls left, Sophie straightened up the store, then started sweeping the stray leaves, broken stems, and ribbon threads on the floor into a small pile behind the counter. When the front door chime sounded, she looked up, then forced herself not to stare as Landon strolled through the door, looking surprisingly casual in a light blue short-sleeved polo, khaki pants, and tan leather slip-on shoes. He also looked unsurprisingly handsome.
Not staring at Landon was an impossibility, especially when he flashed his charming grin at her. She leaned the broomagainst the wall but missed, and it clattered to the floor. She kicked it to the side and walked to the counter, hoping her smile matched his. She also hoped she didn’t look like an idiot.
