She frowned, her eyes filling with confusion. “To ask me on a date?”
“Yes.” He put his hands behind his back and began rocking on his heels, a habit that showed up when he was nervous. And the nerves were hitting him like a tidal wave slamming into a tiki hut. He hadn’t been this ill at ease a few minutes ago. Why was he anxious now? When she slowly nodded, he stopped rocking, his unease turning to happiness.
“I see,” she said, still nodding. Then she pointed to the door. “Get out.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Get out of my store. And don’t bother ever coming back.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but clamped it shut, then turned and left, his nose filled with the scent of dozens of different flowers as he hurried past the displays. Strange he would notice that now. When he stepped outside, he made sure to move away from the front door and windows before face-palming himself.
“Stupid, stupid.” He’d not only made Sophie mad but also managed to get kicked out of a flower shop of all places. And he was upset that she was upset. Really upset. He glanced back at the store and saw that she had turned off the light for the electric red Open sign.
There was nothing left for him to do but walk away. So he did, regretting how he’d handled the entire situation. His first jump into the dating scene had ended up in a giant belly flop.
But there was one thing he didn’t regret—tanking her date with Landon. He hoped the smarmy lawyer wouldn’t ask her out a second time.
Chapter 3
“I can’t believe he did that.”
Sophie nodded as April handed her a cup of chamomile tea. As soon as she drove away from Petals and Posies, she’d called her best friend, who immediately told her to come over. When Sophie arrived, she discovered that April had sent her husband, Darren, out for the evening. Now she and April were in the couple’s modest den, sipping chamomile tea and snacking on sugar cookies.
Sophie was feeling a little better, but not enough to let go of her anger at Joe. “Trust me, he did,” she said, brushing a crumb off the corner of her mouth.
April shook her head and curled her feet under her as she leaned against a gray-and-white checkered throw pillow. “He seems like such a nice guy. Why would he act like a jerk?”
Shrugging, Sophie took a sip of her tea. “I have no idea. He’s never set foot in Petals before, at least as far as I know. And it’s not like we talk or anything.”
“But he asked you out.” April’s thick brown eyebrows lifted. “And you’re not surprised by that?”
“Of course I am. I go from not having a date in forever to two men asking me out at the same time.” She stilled, the reality of her words hitting her. She’d been so mad at Joe for lying about their date that she hadn’t fully realized he had asked her to dinner. She frowned. “I’m confused.”
“So am I,” April mumbled.
“One thing is for sure, though. Joe does not like Landon.”
April nodded. “That’s obvious.” She sat up straight and looked at Sophie head-on. “But the bigger question is—what would you have said to Landon if Joe hadn’t butted his nose in your business?”
Butterflies suddenly ramped up in her stomach. “I don’t know. I was so shocked that he asked me.”
Grinning, April said, “Then you would have said yes.”
“Maybe?” Sophie set down her mug. “It was so sudden. I didn’t have time to think it over.”
“You meanoverthinkit over.” April’s grin faded into an annoyed frown. “Don’t tell me you would have turned him down because it was too spontaneous.”
The thought had crossed her mind. She didn’t like surprises, which was another reason she was mad at Joe. But then again, when Landon asked her to dinner, she’d gotten that giddy feeling she hadn’t experienced since high school when Peter Lewis, the captain of the basketball team, had asked her to senior prom. Of course, those feelings faded quickly when she found out he asked her as a favor to her sister, Lis, who was on the cheerleading squad. Still, she and Peter had enjoyed the prom, even though there was nothing romantic between them.
“Good grief, you’re overthinking as we speak.” April moved from the love seat where she’d been sitting and plopped herself next to Sophie on the couch. “The next time a man asks you out, you say yes. Do you hear me?”
“Except for Joe.” She scowled. “I will never,evergo out with him.”
“Never say never.”
April’s singsong tone irritated her. “I can’t believe he asked me out,” Sophie muttered. “The nerve—after what he’d just done?”
“I guess he really wanted to go out with you.” She tapped Sophie’s arm playfully. “Not that I blame him. You’re a real catch.”
