Page 81 of Surprised By Her

“Oh,” I said. “I just figured since we hadn’t talked, and you had that whole thing with your engagement, I just didn’t know.”

Ryan squeezed my hand.

“I’m sorry for not bringing it up. I thought maybe it would put too much pressure on you. That was my mistake,” she said.

“What I’m hearing is that we’re both not very good at this,” I said with a laugh.

“Clearly,” she said. “The last person I dated was set up for me years ago by my parents.” Ryan made a face.

“I’m so glad my parents have never tried to set me up. Although, if they had known you, they would have set you up with me. You’re quite the catch, Ryan.”

She was more than a catch. She was the record-breaking fish that went viral because it was so huge.

“Good to know,” she said. “And I think you’re better at this than you think.”

“That’s very nice of you to say,” I said. Now didn’t seem like the time to bring up that I’d barely dated anyone before, so I didn’t tell her. Besides, dating was just that: dating. Dating for the summer, a thing that lots of normal people did. This didn’t have to be more than that. She wasn’t ready for commitment, as much as she said she wasn’t scared. Plus, she had a life to figure out and that wasn’t going to end up in Arrowbridge. Ryan had bigger and better things in store for her than me.

“What are you thinking about?” Ryan asked.

I picked up my champagne and finished it. “Whales,” I said.

“A private whale watch sounds amazing,” Sydney said. “That’s actually not a bad gift.”

“I think it was really expensive,” I said as we pulled coffee mugs to replenish the stock at Common Grounds, one of the shops where we sold on commission.

“Oh, I’m sure. Ryan has money to burn,” Sydney said, checking her list.

“I try not to think about it too much,” I said.

“Why not? If she’s going to spend it, might as well have her spend it on you,” she said. “Live it up.”

“I mean, I kind of am,” I said. “I feel like I shouldn’t enjoy it as much as I do.”

Sydney scoffed. “That’s bullshit. Spend that money, my friend. Enjoy yourself.”

“I’m working on it,” I said.

“Hey,” I said to Mia as I stepped up to the counter of the coffee shop. Normally I saw Lark, but she must have been on her break.

“Hey, nice to see you,” she said, giving me a sweet smile. Her red hair was in a long braid today, with little tendrils curling around her face.

“I’ve got new mugs,” I said, pointing to my car in the parking lot.

“Oh, of course,” Mia said, her face getting red. She went over to the back and stuck her head into the office. “Hey, Liam, can you give Everly a hand with the mugs?”

Layne’s brother, Liam, came out and gave me a big smile.

“Hey, Everly, how’s it going?”

“It’s going,” I said, which made him laugh.

“Hey, that’s good,” he said, and we headed out to my car. Liam took the biggest box and I carried the second one, holding my breath so I didn’t drop anything. Sydney wouldn’t fire me for dropping a box of mugs, but I wanted to be extra careful anyway. Eileen worked hard to make each one by hand, and I knew the labor that went into them.

Liam and I brought the mugs into the back and I checked on the stock and replenished and rearranged the display.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Lark said, coming back from her break and standing next to me at the display.

“Good, it’s going. How are you?” I asked.

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