“Five o’clock. Does that time work for you?”
“Yeah. Sure.” She blinked, and whatever trance had held her disappeared. “I mean, yes. I’ll be here.”
“See you then. And Sophie?”
She turned away from Joe. “Yes?”
“I can’t wait to see you.”
Click.She looked at the phone receiver for a minute. Shouldn’t his words excite her? A handsome, successful man was asking her out. She couldn’t ask for a more perfect launch back into the swing of dating. Instead, she felt a tiny bit uneasy.
“Hey, Sophie.”
She hung up the phone and turned to Joe, her guard backup. Thankfully when she looked at him this time, she felt nothing but annoyance. “Joe.”
His slightly crooked grin vanished. “Uh, I got your note.”
“Good.” She crossed her arms.
“You didn’t have to apologize.”
“I know.” She wasn’t going to give an inch with him. Just because her good Southern manners forced her to apologize didn’t mean she trusted him. Or even liked him.Then what was that feeling a few seconds ago?
“I need to apologize, though. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have butted into your business like that. You were right to be upset.”
Her tense shoulders relaxed a little. “Apology accepted,” she said, her tone less sharp.
“I liked the note card.” He touched the brim of his baseball cap, then thrust his hands behind his back again and started rocking on his heels. “What kind of flower was that?”
“A gerbera daisy.”
“Are they all red?”
She was surprised he was asking questions about flowers. Then again, he was probably making small talk, which she didn’t have time for.Because I have a date.She had a date! She glanced down at her work uniform, which consisted of her usual denim shirt, this time with a navy blue T-shirt underneath. She couldn’t go out with Landon looking like this.
“Did you want to buy something?” Sophie asked, the words shooting out in a rush as she tried to calm her nerves. Did she have time to run home and change? She glanced at the clock. If she left in five minutes, she’d be back just in time for Landon’s arrival. “If not, you can show yourself out.”
Joe stopped rocking. “You’re still mad at me?”
“I’m not mad.” Which was true. She was panicked, but not mad. “I have things to do, that’s all.”
The phone rang again, but Sophie ignored it.
“Don’t you need to get that?” Joe tilted his head in the direction of the phone.
“The girls in the back will answer it.” She tapped her foot. They would also have to close the shop for her, but they had done that before, so she wasn’t worried. What she wanted was for Joe to leave. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said, glancing at the clock again.
“What was it?”
“Do you want to purchase something?” She couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice.
“Well, I—”
“Sophie?”
She turned to see MacKenzie poke her head around the doorjamb to the back room. Her auburn ponytail hung over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“That was Mr. Ferry. He said he might be a few minutes late picking you up tonight.”
