Chapter 19 Ryder
RYDER
Telling Eve I have a crush on her was not exactly a part of today’s planned activities, but apparently we’re throwing the plan right out the window.
Whenever she gets that look in her eye like she’s sizing me up, I get this urge to prove myself to her, and I think I’m done with trying to pass it off as anything other than liking her.
We’re grown adults, we’ve kissed, and we’ve now established that I’m her type. Her family’s type, apparently.
It’s about time we stopped pretending this is all about the land. Sure, I came here with the intention of eventually getting her to agree to an easement, but somewhere along the way, it became about getting her approval in general. About getting her to like not just my plan, but me.
She’s still staring at me, her lips parted and her eyes wide. I know she likes me too, but it goes against everything she’s been taught in life.
But I wasn’t joking when I said I’d be here.
Sana’s been bugging me about coming back to the office soon—she’s essentially doing my job in addition to her own—but something tells me I need to stay here until we get a plan in place.
I’ll stop in at home for a few days next week to check in with her and make sure things are going okay, but I’m going to be right back here the second we sign off for the day.
There have been a few times in my life when I’ve been drawn to Sunflower Hill—when I was in college and missed the hominess of Gam’s house, or after my father died and I had a mini existential crisis about whether I wanted to take over his business for good.
And I’m not sure I’m feeling a draw toward home specifically, but I am feeling something.
Something that I’m pretty sure has everything to do with the sunflower girl who seemingly can’t decide whether to kiss me or kill me.
I bite my lip, deciding it’s probably best to move on from this conversation, if only for the fact that Evie seems frozen in place. “We should probably pick a nice bouquet for my grandmother.”
Eve blinks, her eyes drifting all across my face as she turns to the sunflowers around us.
“Um, right. Of course. Yes, let’s get a good one for her.
” She clears her throat, letting out a shaky breath.
She pulls a particularly tall stalk down toward us and clips it, handing me the flower.
“You want to clip on a diagonal. Look for flowers that look like they’re just about to open. They’ll last the longest in water.”
I nod, following her directions and selecting a few that look just like the one she started with. I hold the stalk steady and she clips with her adult shears, so I’m spared using the kid scissors.
“These are going to look so pretty,” she says, holding up the few we collected and brushing her fingers over the closed petals.
“Look at the edges here. This one is going to be darker, almost a red. Oh, it’s going to be so gorgeous.
We should get another darker one for her, really fill out the colors. ”
I nod, glancing around until I find one with similar coloring. “How about this one?” I pull on the stem, holding it between us.
“Oh yes, that’s going to look so good. Nice job.”
My whole body warms with those two words of praise from Eve’s mouth.
I hold the stem so she can cut, and as I hand her the final flower, our fingers brush.
I expect her to move away, jump or run or something, but she stays put, her eyes following the touch like she’s just examining the whole interaction. Her eyes flick up to mine as she gathers the flowers in a bunch, arranging them just so for my grandmother.
“What do you think?” she asks, admiring the final product.
I make sure my eyes don’t drift from hers when I speak. “Beautiful.”
The faintest pink spreads across her cheeks as she turns, continuing along the pathway. “I hope she likes them.”
“They were picked with love. She’ll adore them.”
Eve side-eyes me.
“What?”
She shrugs, shaking her head as we continue along the path.
As we get further into the sunflowers, we pass small trails that lead to clearings with picnic tables and Adirondack chairs where a few families are sitting and eating lunch.
We step to the side as a few small kids run wild among the sunflowers, parents shouting after them to slow down and stay respectful of others.
The path narrows as we get deeper in, and when we turn a sharp corner and nearly collide with another couple, Eve takes a sudden step in front of me. Without thinking, I stop short, resting a hand on her hip while they pass us with polite smiles.
When they’re gone, she doesn’t move right away, her head turning slightly toward me like maybe she’s thinking this is the time to repeat that kiss we started last time we were lost among the sunflowers.
Not that I’m thinking about that.
Not at all.
I clear my throat, taking a step back from her, and her foot lifts ever so slightly like she’s considering turning toward me. Maybe resting her hand on my chest like she did when we kissed.
But she takes a step forward instead, glancing over her shoulder as if to make sure I’m following her.
I’m quick to fall into step with her again and anxious to come upon another narrow portion of the path so she’ll step in front of me again—or maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll gesture for me to go first so I don’t touch her like a total dolt.
But as we walk, the path narrowing and widening and all sorts of people meandering through the flowers and forcing us to one side or the other, her arm brushes mine more often than I’d expect it to, like maybe she’s searching to repeat that touch just like I am.
She doesn’t hesitate to step in front of me, like she’s daring me to do it again, but I don’t—except for the time I trip over a raised root and my hand just finds her hip like it’s naturally magnetized to it.
“You okay?” she asks, resting her hand on my arm as if to steady me.
I pause a second before I nod, because I like having her hand there. “Thanks to you.”
She rolls her eyes, promptly turning and heading for the exit, which I'm disappointed to see we’re quickly approaching. “Last chance for any more sunflowers.”
“I think you’ve got all I need,” I say, and when she turns back toward me, her eyebrows raised and a wild look in her eye, I nod to the sunflowers in her hand. “That bouquet is perfect for her.”
She nods as she directs us toward the exit again, and I drop my scissors in the bucket at the end of the trail as we leave the privacy of the sunflowers and head down the dirt road back to Gam.
And I’m so busy trying not to look at Eve that I don’t even realize when her arm flies out in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I grab her, afraid I’m going to bowl her over.
“Do you see what I see?” she asks, and I follow her line of sight to my grandmother’s bench in the distance.
Next to her is a man roughly her age, dressed in muddy overalls that remind me of Eve’s.
He smiles at her, laughing easily at something she says.
Gam has her hand on his forearm, totally at ease. “Is Gam… flirting with Vic?”
“No,” I say, because Gam? Flirting? No way. Uh-uh. “She hasn’t so much as glanced at a man since my grandfather died twenty years ago.”
Eve looks back at me, and I become very aware of her forearm against my abdomen, holding me in place. My hand, which has found its way right back to that spot on her hip.
“Well, I think Gam found a man worth glancing at.”
Eve takes a small step toward them, pausing when she realizes my hand is moving with her. She grabs my arm, tugging me along. “Come on, let’s see what they’re chatting about.”
Reluctantly, I follow her over.
Gam waves when she sees us, her face lighting up with laughter. “There you two are!” She pats Vic’s arm. “Look who I ran into! Vic has been working here since I was a girl, back when your grandmother and I used to hang out! I never thought I’d see him again!”
Vic grins, standing and nodding quickly to her when he sees us approaching. “Well, it was really nice to see you Nora, but I’d better get back to work now that my boss has caught me slacking off.”
Eve goes rigid. “No!” She glances around as if she’s searching for something. “Oh, I know! Why don’t you two go have a cup of tea in the cafe?” She gestures in that direction. “You guys seemed like you were having a nice time catching up, I’d hate to interrupt that.”
Vic glances at Gam as if waiting for her determination, and my heart catches at the hopeful expression on his face.
And I find myself silently begging Gam to please go have a cup of tea with this man.
She shrugs. “Well, alright then,” she says, turning to Eve. “Would you mind keeping my grandson occupied until after our tea?”
And my devilish grandmother winks.
Eve pauses, then nods. “Of course. I’ll have him take over for Vic while you guys catch up. I’ve got another hour before my next tour and Ryder seems like he could use a little hard labor.” She elbows me lightly. “So please, take as long as you’d like.”
Vic laughs, standing and offering my grandmother an arm. “Wouldn’t want you to push those hips further than you’re comfortable with,” he explains.
I let out a long breath, relieved that he’s cognizant of her albeit temporary slowness.
She waves him off as she takes his arm and they redirect for the gift shop. “Sure we would.”
Vic’s laughter rings out around us, and while I’m happy she’s rediscovering an old connection, I do my best to push that hip comment out of my mind.
Eve and I watch them until they enter the gift shop, then Eve turns to me, crinkling her nose. “You look so conflicted and it’s absolutely wonderful.” She takes off in the opposite direction, gesturing for me to follow her. “Come on, I can make us some tea at the house and we can sit on the porch.”