I’m about to greet one more when I spot who is sitting there.It’s Mrs. Buckley. The owner of the only flower shop in Lovers and one of the top people on Dutton’s list.
Showtime.
I think.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Buckley.” I slow to a stop at her table. She’s with Mr. Buckley, and his grin is so big, it’s making my cheeks hurt just looking at him.
“Brooke,” Mrs. Buckley replies curtly and looks away.
Oh, she’s upset with me. This … was not the direction Dutton and I thought this would go.
“How is your day today?” I ask.
“It’s fine,” she answers, and her husband nudges her arm with his elbow.
“Dear, just ask her what you came to ask her.”
I glance between the two as I wait.
She takes a deep breath.
“Are the rumors true?” she says quietly, but it’s easy to hear when the rest of the bakery is still silent with everyone watching me.
It seems they all want to hear the answer from me personally.
I look up to see if anyone else from the Dutton list is in the room, because I may as well address them all properly if so, but there is only Mrs. Buckley.
Of course, if I say yes, I need to be sure the rumor hasn’t spiraled out of control first.
You can never be too sure in small towns.
“What rumor is that?”
She groans as if the next words to fall from her lips are causing her actual pain.
“That you had that boy at your house last night and the two of you are”—she glares at her husband, clearly needing something from him to go on—“friends.”
I smile softly, despite wanting to shoot my fist into the air and celebrate that the rumor mill is, for once, spot on.
The increase in business for me is an added plus.
Because I want Mrs. Buckley in particular to feel like she’s special, I lean down as if my answer is meant only for her.
“It’s true, but it’s new. Like most people in this town, Dutton and I don’t have the best past.”
“Then why do it?” she whispers back.
“Because he’s not the same boy he used to be.” I shrug. “And the man he is now is a lot more careful about the choices he makes, and I find his protectiveness of those he cares about oddly endearing."
A completely true statement if I’m being honest.
I was a little thrown off by his reaction to me being on a dating app.
It got me thinking last night after he left, and it’s why I told Tony that I'd like to get to know him more through messaging before we actually meet. It helps that he’s not from Lovers, so I won’t chance running into him.
Mrs. Buckley nods but doesn’t say a word.
She gives me nothing to confirm whether I’ve changed her mind about Dutton. Not that I assumed one conversation could, but the seed has been planted.
