“Damn it, sorry, I…I am very used to getting what I want and it has become clear to me,” I lower my voice, “and probably everyone in town, what I want is, well, you.”
I look up and Harper snorts.
I think? Did she just snort at me?
“Well,lucky me!”
“I…this isn’t coming out right at all, I—”
She starts to back away, “But I’m not a pot of land.”
Plot, Sweetheart, it’s plot.
…Again with the Sweetheart?!
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts and embarrassment, and this whole entire conversation.
“Right, of course not, I just…will you? Go to dinner with me? Please?”
“No,” she says again.
“No? But…”
She gives me a small smile. Like…like she’s pitying me? The hell? I’m Aiden Vanderwell.
“I’ll negotiate,” I try, feeling my ears turn pink at the edges.
I’m blushing? Bloody embarrassing!
“I’m not a business deal either. Thank you, but, I, really, um, I have a buzzer going off,” she lies. There’s no buzzer.
“You don’t want one night off? A break from taking care of this whole town, your father. A nice meal where someone else takes care of you? You won’t have to think, cook, plan, clean up, you—”
She’s turning away, shaking her head, trying to flee.
“With a, just a friend, then?” I call out, sounding desperate and hating myself for every syllable.
Her voice is squeaky as she basically runs to the kitchen, murmuring a quiet, “No, thank you.”
What.
The.
Hell.
I breathe for a moment through, what is this? Mortification? My first time to have an offer flat-rejected to my face. First time I’ve been in this position, helpless, no levers to pull, no room for negotiation. And, I remember as I turn with my box of baked goods, with an audience.
Fantastic.
I start to step away from…this entire shitshow, when Steven calls out.
“You forgot to pay, Aid!”
“Yeah, no friends and family discount remember,” Maxine says, not bothering to hide her glee.
I clear my throat, “Right.”
In an unusual moment of absolute silence, save the soft acoustic cafe music playing overhead, I take out my wallet, card facing out. I tap.
