Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AVERY
“Hi! Welcome to McMurphy’s Home and Garden. Can I help you find something?” I sound shrill and too-cheery, and I can’t stop.
Why is Ty here?
Lunch with Larissa, finish the rest of my workday, practice dance with Ty. Sleep. That’s my agenda for the day. Why does he have to go and interrupt it? Running into the last guy I’m supposed to be seen in a room with was not in the plans.
I scan the space looking for Mary. I wonder if she’s lurking nearby, but the blood pounding in my ears won’t let me focus on anything but the fact that Ty Brewster is gawking at me.
And he looks amused. Something about that ticks me off a little.
And then I immediately feel bad for getting so angry about…
what? He’s a free man. Ty can come and go as he pleases.
As he stares at me, hands shoved deep in his pockets, I can’t help but wonder if he’s here for me. A hopeful flutter starts in my belly, working its way up, up, up, until it settles in my cheeks. My skin heats. He cocks his head but doesn’t say a word.
“What are you doing here?” I try to keep my voice low and my tone light.
Like he’s any other customer. I scan my surroundings.
Only a couple of people mill through the store, and neither of them are staring in an accusatory way.
Though one seems to recognize him if their awestruck expression is any indicator.
Fantastic.
Ty leans in, lowering his voice too. “I’m following you.”
I gasp.
He laughs. “No, I was, well—”
“That’s him,” some dusty old voice speaks up.
I turn to see Mary approaching us, cane in hand, a finger pointing in our direction.
“He’s the one that forgot his money.” She sniffs hard before continuing. “Give this monstrosity his change then take your lunch break.”
Ty looks from me to her.
“What?” I ask her.
She nudges him in the toe with her cane. “The guy with the tattoos who left too much money when he sprang for all those orchids a few weeks ago. This is him.”
Ty and I stare at each other, both of us rooted in place as Mary watches expectantly. I swear his cheeks flush.
“You two just gonna stare or what?” Her beady eyes sweep over Ty’s tall frame back to me.
I’m not sure what she’s expecting, but my nerves do what they always do. They ramp up double time and fly from my mouth in an avalanche of words.
I stick out a hand. “I’m Avery. Nice to meet you. So orchids, huh? Mrs. McMurphy typically carries quite the selection, but we are a little low on stock right now.”
Ty tilts his head, taking my hand and shaking it.
“I’m too old for this. I don’t got time to wait on introductions.” Mary pffts and hobbles away, calling over her shoulder as she does. “Avery, tell tattoos his change will be in an envelope on the counter.”
When she’s out of earshot, Ty drops my hand and leans in. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? How many jobs do you have?”
“Not enough, apparently, or I wouldn’t be crashing with you.” I try to keep my voice down. “Are you here for more orchids because you murdered yours?”
“You noticed?”
“I tend to them in the living room, like, every day, Ty. I’m a little insulted that you thought you could just replace them and I wouldn’t notice.”
Something buzzes in my pocket, and it’s only then that I remember I made plans for my lunch break today.
With Larissa.
Who is picking me up.
Who is currently calling me because she’s here. And we’re still standing right by the door.
“Geez freaking Louise, Ty. Why did you have to show up right now?” I hold up a finger and answer my phone. “Hi, Rissa— Wait, you’re coming in? For what? No. I can bring it out. I’m on my way out now. Don’t—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Larissa walks in the front door, spotting me first before her eyes immediately land on Ty. Then her full lips part, her cheeks blanching.
“I said I was on my way out,” I breathe.
Larissa pries her eyes from Ty, and they bulge as they bore into me. “I don’t see any potting soil in your hands. You said you were bringing it out.”
“I’m having Mary hold the soil behind the counter. You don’t need to repot your stuff just yet. It could wait another day or two.”
She stares at me, a sculpted brow arched in giddy annoyance. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you when you were with a customer.”
“Oh, you didn’t.” I panic, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door that’s mere inches away. “Mary! This guy needs help! I’m leaving for my lunch now!”
I don’t wait for her—or Ty—to respond, I just march out the door.
“Wait,” Larissa calls from behind me.
I turn to face her, her dark eyes still wide.
“Don’t you know who that was?” she finishes.
I shrug, yanking on her door handle that is definitely not unlocked yet. “Who? The guy? Oh. Yeah. Kings player, right?”
She sits into her hip as she unlocks the small black car and slides into the driver’s seat. “A player? Yeah, just Ty Brewster. Our strong safety. No big deal.”
The car revs to a start, and she pulls out of the lot. It takes me a block to come up with a reply. “Yeah. Ty said his mom is super into orchids and he wanted to pick some up for her.”
“That’s… really sweet.”
I eye her without turning my head. “Seems like a good guy, doesn’t he?”
“I guess. Hard to get to know him when we literally aren’t allowed, right?”
If Ty were any other guy, I’d be interrogating Larissa about every little thing she picked up on in that millisecond interaction at McMurphy’s, and it’s killing me that I can’t get her input.
Death would be a mercy compared to the agony growing inside me that I can’t tell her how cute it is that he sometimes hums to himself while cooking or how he hides his smile when Dollyboy drops toys at his feet.
“It’s so funny how serious he tries to be all the time,” I blurt.
A deafening silence ensues, but I can’t fill it because I’m still in shock that I actually let that leave my mouth. It wouldn’t be the first time my ADHD turned on me.
“I guess he seems a little serious. I wouldn’t really know,” Larissa says, her thick lashes fluttering as she tilts her head. “Would you?”
My thoughts ping-pong—hard and fast, every one of them louder than the last. My shrill laugh cuts through the crossfire. “No. No. He just seemed really stoic or uptight or something when he was asking for help at the shop.”
“You sure?”
I nod so hard I think my head might pop off.
“You know, Ave, it’s okay to look. Like if they’re on the field, and you accidentally make eye contact—” Her brown shoulders lift to her ears— “It’s not a big deal. We’re in close quarters on game days. Just don’t let it go any further than that. Like meeting up or—”
“Meeting up? Please tell me you don’t think Ty and I were purposely meeting up at McMurphy’s.” It’s like I’ve been socked in the stomach. What does she know? What has she seen? “He was asking about plants, Larissa. We didn’t plan it.”
“As your friend, I have to say that. Because I know how much this all means to you,” she adds.
When my breaths come back to me, they’re shallow and few and far between. “Thanks, but I was just doing my job.”
“Okay, but the way he was looking at you though—girl, it seemed like he might be interested in more than the plants.”
My stomach flips. He was giving me a look?
“He is super hot though.” She continues, smiling at me before pulling her eyes back to the road. “And he smelled so good. I wouldn’t blame you.”
“Well, we definitely didn’t mean to run into each other.” It feels good to say at least one thing that’s a full-truth.
I know she means well, but the air feels loaded, like she’s still waiting for me to add something. Confess something. So I flip the conversation to her favorite subject: her boyfriend.
“Where’s Josh?” I ask.
“Dropping some stuff off at Ryan’s, actually. He helped make marketing materials for that trivia night that’s coming up at The Malted Mule.”
“Oops. I forgot about that. When is it again?”
“Next week, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go because—”
“We have to.” I turn to face her, hoping my eyes reflect the kind of excitement I should be feeling for the guy I’m supposed to be interested in. The guy who wouldn’t derail my entire life. “I told Ryan we would, remember?”
A smile sprawls Larissa’s contoured cheeks. “I love trivia.”
“Same,” I say, leaning into the cool glass of the window. “What are you going to wear?”
“Maybe a dress?” She shakes her head. “Or shorts? I’m still getting used to this California weather. Indiana is so much different in September. ”
“I’m wearing a skirt,” I say confidently.
Because I know how I look in a skirt. I look good. At least that’s what I’ve been told time and time again by any man that’s ever been interested in me. Why not use the legs I’ve worked so hard for to my advantage?
If Ryan’s distracted by them, maybe it’ll help me get distracted by him for once.