Page 10 of Hats off to Love

No thanks.

“Poor Stokes,” she mumbles with big Bambi eyes as I come out of the back still feeling stung by her suggesting this.

“Poor Stokes? Poor me! Do you not remember the time he told me I was like a stray dog that just wouldn’t go away and was always begging for his scraps? There’s nothing like being compared to a homeless, starving, dirty animal.”

“Rosie, he was eighteen. Boys say dumb things when they are eighteen. And besides, you know he’s all bark and no bite.”

I want to tell her Stokes is not. He’s very particular about his choice of words and who and when he decides to share them. She may think he’s all bark, but that day I felt his teeth as they pierced my soul. It really hurts being made to feel like you don’t belong.

After my mother and I went to live at the farm, Birdie decided it would be a good idea for me to attend Stokes and Molly’s private school. Of course she footed the bill, not that she minded, but every day I would slip into the required uniform, make my way to their house, and wait for us to be driven to school.

I felt like I was living in an alternate universe, and although Stokes rarely said anything to me, his gaze and deep scowl made his feelings on the matter known. He didn’t want me there. Even now, there’s his ever-present disdain and the way he looks down at me. While I’m over it and really couldn’t care less, he still knows I know exactly how he feels.

“Well, I don’t particularly like barking dogs. I much prefer them quiet, compliant, fluffy, and snuggly.” All of which Stokes is not.

She giggles, and I’m saved by the bell as her soon-to-be client walks in.

5

Today, the city is rainy and business is slow. I didn’t expect much for a Monday, but with the cold late-winter air—spring doesn’t start for a few more days—it’s left people feeling verklempt with unwanted winter blues. When a touch of spring peeks its way out from behind the clouds, people are ready and completely over dark and gloomy days like today.

“What is it about Thai restaurants that are so good?” Molly asks.

I snuck out of the shop to meet her for a quick lunch. It’s not that I think customers will flood in during the thirty minutes I choose to take a break, but it always leaves me just a little anxious.

Then again . . . lunch.

“I don’t know, but this place is my favorite.” My eyes slide shut, and I breathe in the delicious scent of curry.

A waitress comes over, recognizes us, smiles, and says, “The usual?”

We both smile back and say, “Yep.”

Totally my kind of place, and the fact that it’s just two blocks away makes this the perfect spot.

Picking up her phone, Molly smiles at something she sees and then looks across the table at me. “When was the last time you went on a date?” she asks me tentatively.

Umm…

Horror flits across my expression, and I ask her the same. “When’s the last time you went on one?”

“Saturday.” Her smile widens.

“What!” I whisper and lean closer to her. “You didn’t tell me.”

“I know. He’s the friend of a client, and I wasn’t sure. I first went out with him like a month ago. It was kind of like a blind date, and at the time there wasn’t much to say, so…” She trails off, grinning from ear to ear.

“But now?”

“But now, I’m thinking there’s a lot to say.”

“Oh my.” I lean back in the booth to look at her very happy face.

“Oh my, indeed.” She blushes. “Which is why I want you to go out with someone, too. We could double date, and it would be so fun. We’ve never done that before, and well, now’s the perfect time.”

“You do realize you are wanting the impossible right now, right? The only thing I plan on doing for the next six weeks is focusing on my shop. That’s it. That’s all I’ve planned for, and it’s all I want to do. I mean really, when and where do you expect me to meet someone?”

“What if you already know him?” she asks.