“And your point, teacher?”
“You got a little bit bruised.”
“And scratched by the cat.”
Sara winced. “Maybe I shouldn’t have used that example.”
Reid gave her shoulder a brotherly shove. “I’m pulling your chain. I might have hated that cat, but you loved it and so a few scratches and bruises were worth it.”
“See, now we’re on the same page. Look, I don’t know if Addison is the right one for you. But don’t shut yourself off from the possibility. It’s obvious that you’re attracted to her and you care about her too. That’s a pretty good start.”
“Yeah . . .” He flicked his gaze away from her and fell silent.
“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Addison proposed this . . . thing.”
“What thing? Talk to me, Reid.”
Reid wasn’t sure he should tell Sara. After all, Addison seemed to have already reconsidered. Plus, it was kinda of weird talking about this with his sister. “Nothing. It was stupid, anyway.”
“Hey, it’s your twin you’re talking to. I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I promise. Not even Cody. I also won’t let up until you tell me, so you might as well save us some time and spill.”
Reid looked at Sara. “Addison wanted us to have this sort of no-strings-attached kind of deal. I told her I’d been off the market for a long time and was rusty at, well, the whole flirting or whatever bullshit. She wanted a sort-of pretend boyfriend, a rebound guy to keep her from making another big mistake. And she would be kind of my introduction back into dating.”
“And you said yes?”
“Sort of. But I haven’t heard a peep from her all week.”
“Did you call her?”
“Hell, no. I wanted to give her time to reconsider her stupid plan.”
“Wait. So you agreed but you think it’s stupid?”
“Hell, I don’t know, Sara. Yeah, sure it’s stupid, but I don’t know. It does have some merit, I guess.”
“Well, she probably thought you had backed out.”
“Oh crap. You think so?”
Sara nodded. “Um, yeah. Even in this day and age girls still wait for guys to call first.”
“So, what do you think of the plan?”
“I think both of you just need to quit being so scared. You don’t need any so-called plan. Just hang out. Get to know one another. It’s pretty simple when you get right down to it.”
Reid blew out a sigh. “What if she won’t do that? Should I agree? I mean, I don’t want to put my heart on the line for some game she wants to play so that no guys approach her.”
“Do you want other guys to approach her? It sure didn’t seem like you wanted her to hang out with Zack.”
“Zack is an ass.”
“You are avoiding the question even though I already know the answer.” She swung her legs back and forth while staring him down.
“So, what the hell do I do?”
“Reid, you’re going to put your heart on the line, no matter what the two of you call it. If you want to see where this is going with Addison, then agree to that nonsense. I think it’s just a thinly veiled reason for her to give herself permission to hang out with you, anyway. I’m sure she made a no-guys-for-a-while vow after the breakup.” Sara rolled her eyes. “Much better than my every-guy-for-a-while downward slide until I, thankfully and pretty quickly, came to my senses.”
“It was called me carrying you out of Two Keys in Lexington.”
“Whatever . . . We all have our ways to cope. Some ways are, you know, better than others. So . . . she’s willing to see you if she pretends it’s all for show, or whatever reason she’s come up with, so she can feel some sort of safety.”
“So, in other words, I should just do it and hope for the best?” Did he even want it to become something more?
Sara raised her hands in the air. “Geez, Reid, quit overthinking. Just roll with it.” She shooed her fingertips at him. “Now go get showered and all prettied up.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Reid nodded but sat there for a minute while mulling over what Sara told him. Little John came bounding his way and defied gravity by leaping up into the truck bed. Booker trotted over and looked longingly up at them, knowing there was no way he could jump up that high. When Reid laughed and patted his thighs in encouragement Booker actually tried, coming an impressive foot off of the ground before landing sideways and rolling over. He got up and gave Reid an I-totally-meant-to-do-that look.
“You know what, Booker, you old crazy hound?”
“Woof!” Booker jumped again, a tiny bit higher, and somehow came back down on all fours.
“You just inspired me. Go against the odds and give it your best shot. Is that what you’re sayin’?”
“Woof!”
Reid jumped down and scratched the old hound behind the ears. “Gotcha. Now I guess I’d better get cleaned up and try to make my amends. Beats me how I manage to get into hot water without even trying.”
After a long, steaming shower Reid towel-dried his hair and then added a little bit of gel, something he hadn’t bothered to do in a long time. He shaved his neck but decided to leave his five o’clock shadow, in hopes that Addison thought the stubble was sexy. He brushed, flossed, gargled, clipped his nails, and then splashed on some Acqua di Giò. With a sigh, he gave his reflection a critical once-over. Between his mother’s cooking, Wine and Diner, and Grammar’s Bakery, he’d put on some weight, but with farm work he’d bulked up rather than getting soft around the middle. He was tan from all of the time spent outdoors and his hair had lightened to a golden brown. The brackets of tension that had been present around his mouth had vanished. Reid had to admit that coming back to Cricket Creek and working on the farm agreed with him in more ways than one.
Usually a grab-it-and-go kind of guy, Reid put way more thought into what he was going to wear than he had in a very long time. He pulled out his favorite Lucky Brand jeans and tugged them on but then tried on four different shirts. “Quit being such a girl,” he grumbled, but part of the problem was that he filled out the shirts to the point of them being almost too tight across his shoulders and biceps. He thought a golf shirt would be too casual for the grand opening, so he finally settled on a light blue Western-cut shirt with dark blue piping and mother-of-pearl-covered snaps. He knew one thing: He sure as hell didn’t miss wearing a suit and tie.
Reid grimaced after looking at the digital clock on his nightstand. “How did it get to be past six thirty?” He would have to hustle to get to the shop before closing time. Sara was going to be pissed. After tugging on his best cowboy boots Reid hurried out of the cabin and jumped into his truck, wishing he’d drunk a beer while getting ready.
Sure enough, as Reid pulled into the parking lot everyone else appeared to be leaving. After he parked, Reid paused to reply to Sara’s half dozen messages asking where in there world he was. Reid replied that he was running late and would meet her at Sully’s after stopping in to say congratulations to Addison. He jogged over to the florist and quickly purchased a bouquet of spring flowers.
Reid entered From This Moment with three minutes to spare. A few people were milling around, making their way toward the entrance. With the bouquet in hand he looked around for Addison, and finally spotted her at the back of the shop, straightening up inventory. Her back was to him as she hung colorful dresses from a rack on wheels back to neat rows against the wall. Bridesmaid’s, he guessed, since the entire middle of the shop displayed wedding gowns.
Addison wore a sleeveless dress in burgundy, simple but elegant, nipped at her waist and flowing to just above the knee. Usually straight, her shiny dark hair hung in soft, loose curls halfway down her back. She wore black open-toed, high-heeled sandals that looked difficult to walk in, and, judging by her sudden glance down and grimace, not too comfortable.