Chapter 1 #2
The man looks up from his phone. For a moment, I hesitate, but I’m in need. I mean, at times like this, any port in a storm, right? I have exactly two seconds to size him up before I launch myself toward him, which bonus: he is delicious.
I watch as his hazel eyes go wide, sunlight catching the green and gold in them like they can’t decide what color they want to be.
“What—?”
I don’t give him time to process it. Fingers crossed he’s brushed his teeth.
I close the remaining space, grab the front of his shirt, and press a kiss to his lips. It’s quick and decisive. It’s also absolutely unplanned.
I pull away, far enough to meet his eyes, my hand still resting against his chest like it belongs there. Like this is familiar. Like this is something we’ve done a hundred times instead of it being our first and only kiss. Ever.
“Sorry I’m late,” I murmur, hoping he can read the look in my eyes. I mean, he’s frozen in place, so that’s good…right?
Behind me, I can feel my walking buddy’s presence stall.
“Oh.” Bri-Brent-whoever-he-is says it somewhere between confused and mildly horrified. “Oh, so…this is…where you needed to get to?”
I turn, still standing very close to my newly acquired fake boyfriend.
“Yeah,” I say, offering an apologetic smile that I do not feel. “Sorry. This is my boyfriend. We—um—we’ve got to go.”
There’s a beat.
A long one.
“Right,” he says, nodding a little too quickly. “Okay. Yeah. I—uh—hope everything…clears up.”
I stare at him. “I could say the same.”
He winces.
“Not like—your—um—situation. I just meant—anyway.” He looks at his feet, before nodding his head. “Okay. Bye then.”
And then he’s gone.
I wait until he’s at least half a block away before I drop my hand and step back.
“Thank you,” I say immediately, exhaling for what feels like the first time in twenty minutes. “Also, I am so sorry.”
The man in front of me—still looking like his brain hasn’t quite caught up with reality—takes a small step back.
“Why did you do that?” he asks, his eyes still wide as he runs his fingers through thick dark brown hair. Poor guy, his expression still registers his shock. Fair, but also…ouch.
“I know,” I say quickly, lifting a hand. “I should have asked first. Consent, personal space, all of that—I completely understand. But I was being followed. Well, not followed-followed, but like…socially followed—and I panicked and you were there and—”
I stop.
Because now I sound like a person who should not be allowed near other people.
“I’m really sorry,” I finish, a little more quietly.
“I know you…” He studies me for a second, something unreadable flickering across his face—
“Vivian?”
The voice comes from behind him. It’s bright. Familiar. My head snaps up because I know that voice.
There, stepping out of the building like this entire moment has been orchestrated by a rom-com deity with excellent timing, is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I have never been so happy to see my best friend Lucy’s twin in all of my life.
“Oh my gosh,” he says, grinning. “I thought that was you.”
“Liam,” I say, his name falling out of my mouth in a rush. “I just had the worst experience at a coffee shop ever.”
“Only to have your lips land on Ty’s?” he asks, his eyes sparkling. “I was in the lobby and saw the whole thing, you minx.”
“’Twas a necessity. We’re lucky I didn’t borrow your hockey stick to defend myself.” I turn to Ty, who’s still looking at me like I accosted him unfairly. “I really am sorry.”
“It’s fine, I’m just shocked.” Ty rubs his lips, his eyes rocking from Liam to me and back again.
“It’s not like you two haven’t met,” Liam says, laughing as he elbows Ty in the ribs. “Vivian’s family owns the jewelry store—Sullivan’s Fine Jewelry. It’s right near Leaf & Letter. Juliette’s shop.”
Ty’s gaze flicks back to me, sharper now. Like something just clicked into place.
“Juliette?” he repeats.
Liam looks at him like he’s kidding. “Yeah, Juliette. Sawyer’s better half.”
Ty blinks once, then nods slowly, like he’s putting the pieces together.
“Right,” he says. “The plant shop.”
“Yeah, the plant shop,” Liam confirms. “The one Sawyer got sent to for that whole community outreach thing.”
I can’t help the small smile that pulls at my mouth. “Community thing” is one way to put it. More like forced proximity, public embarrassment, and a man who didn’t know a pothos from a philodendron being dropped into a plant store and told to behave.
“Worked out for him,” Liam adds with a shrug. “Guy went in for PR damage control and came out coupled up with the owner of the store.”
“As you would,” I say lightly, but in jest. “Where’s Lucy?”
“With a friend,” Liam says. “She’s helping her get a record shop up and running. Lucy’s gone all in.”
“That sounds like her,” I say, smiling.
We talk for a minute about the shop and Lucy being exactly the kind of person who would drop everything to help someone get settled—and I nod along, trying to get my heart rate back down to something reasonable.
It almost works, until I glance at Ty, and then immediately wish I hadn’t. Because now I’m noticing things I definitely did not need to notice.
Like how put together and casually handsome he is without trying. The way he’s standing there, a little guarded, still clearly processing what just happened. The fact that I kissed him. On purpose. In public.
Fantastic.
Then, my gaze drops before I can stop it.
His arms. Solid. Defined in that unfair, of-course-he-looks-like-that kind of way.
Exactly the kind of build I’ve always liked, which my noticing now is deeply inconvenient timing.
The curves of his biceps are barely contained, stretching his T-shirt and leaving next to nothing up to my imagination, and that does something to a woman.
Then his jaw—clean, sharp, the kind that makes you want to run your fingers along it just to see if it feels as solid as it looks.
I drag my eyes back up. Because wow.
I haven’t really looked at another man in a long time. Not like this. Not with interest. And now that I am—
I could have done a lot worse.
“Anyway,” Liam says as he waves his keys in the air. “We need to get going. Ready, man?”
Ty nods, his eyes still locked on me as he follows Liam to a car parked on the street. I clear my throat and shift my weight, pulling myself back on track and walking with them.
“I should go,” I say, brushing my hands together lightly. “This was supposed to be my quiet day.” I glance at Ty once more, shooting him a quick, apologetic look. “Sorry. Again.”
He studies me for a beat, like he’s deciding what to do with me.
“Next time,” he says, voice even, already reaching for the door of the car parked just behind him, “maybe lead with the explanation.”
Heat creeps up my neck. Oof. “You have a point,” I admit.
One corner of his mouth lifts—barely, but enough. And then he ducks into the car.
Liam huffs out a laugh beside me. “Well. That’s one way to make an impression.”
“Please don’t make this a thing,” I mutter.
“Oh, it’s already a thing.”
“I know where your bodies are buried, Liam.” I point a finger at him. “Stop talking, or I start.”
I turn before he can say anything else, stepping back onto the sidewalk, reclaiming what’s left of my day. Honestly, doesn’t everyone’s Monday start with kissing a man who’s technically a stranger—but not really—and also happens to be a very good-looking hockey player?
I square my shoulders and keep walking. It’s fine.
Everything is fine.
I’ve got a book to finish, a quiet afternoon to salvage, and absolutely no intention of thinking about—
I stop mid-step, pressing my lips together as I glance back. Just once.
When I do, I’m not at all surprised to find him watching me from the front seat of Liam’s car. Liam’s talking, but Ty isn’t listening.
He’s looking at me.
And there’s something there—something I can’t quite name yet, but I feel it all the way down to my toes.
I turn away before I can think too hard about it.
Because that?
That feels like the beginning of something.
And it is not fungal.