Page 21 of Fix Me Up

“Gold Hill Investments,” says Cooper. Or Carter. I can’t tell them apart.

I should have guessed where they were from.

“Did y’all run out of room to build more parking lots up there or what?” I ask.

The guys chuckle and take it in stride.

The hairs on my neck stand up because I can feel Summer and Harmony glaring at me.

I don’t know what their problem is because it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask when a set of wealthy twins from out of town is making moves on my date—hovering over Daisy, offering her a napkin, and bringing her more samples.

“Actually,” says the one whose tie is a millimeter looser than his twin’s, “we’ve been interested in investing in Fate for a while now. We see a lot of growth potential here.”

Daisy pipes up with, “That’s so interesting. That’s exactly what I saw when my friend begged me to start a medical practice here.”

And now the square-jawed twins are interested in Daisy’s medical practice. That’s all we need, for them to dangle some incentives in front of our only doctor, recruiting her away from the town that actually needs her.

Harmony pulls me aside with a request for help. “Hey, Owen. I need some heavy lifting in the back.”

I don’t know what comes over me then, but I touch Daisy’s lower back to get her attention. She turns to me with a bright smile.

“Harmony needs help with something. I’ll be right back, sweetheart.” And then I kiss her on the lips in front of Cooper and Carter for two whole seconds longer than the quick, dry kiss from the other day.

When I pull back, her gaze is shocked and heated at the same time. Daisy blushes and runs her fingers through her hair. “Don’t take too long…snookums.”

Snookums? That’s not gonna fly with me. Yeah, I think I’d better not take too long because her glassy eyes tell me she might be a little drunk on fro-yo.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” Harmony hisses.

I look around the perfectly appointed kitchen in the back of the shop and see nothing that needs my assistance. “So, you don’t need my help?”

“You are blowing it!” Harmony looks ready to murder me.

“I’m doing the best I can! I haven’t been on a date in a while. Not since I met…you know… Graham’s mom.”

I think of Graham, who’s sleeping over at our mom’s house tonight so I can go on a date. I promised Mom I could pick him up around 11, or earlier if things went sideways. But she’d insisted on a sleepover, saying it would be good for me to take a little break. “Just make sure you have condoms this time,” she’d said, making me cringe before shoving me out the door.

It seems all the women in my family are concerned about my date performance.

Harmony makes an exasperated noise that sounds like our mother when I was running late for football practice as a kid. “Not that! You’re being rude to Cooper.”

“He’s from Gold Hill. It’s kind of the rules around here.”

She crosses her arms. “And don’t you think it’s better to use Gold Hill money than our own money to fund the yogurt shop? Think about it.”

The wheels turn. “So, you’re not using your savings?”

She scoffs. “Some of it, yes. But for the bulk of the work and outfitting the kitchen? Sorry, buddy, but scrimping and saving doesn’t cut it.”

Maybe she’s right. And maybe my strategy for the garden center is entirely wrong. I never thought about using a rich connection to help me out.

But then again, is that what I want? Someone else waiting around for a return on their investment, trying to horn in on every decision?

“Hold on a minute, Harmony. How do you even know these guys? Why would you go across the river and give some out-of-towner a stake in your home-grown company? How do you know they won’t try to get you to sell it off to a big corporation?”

Harmony rolls her eyes. “You have got to get off your high horse about this rivalry. Nobody can cite a single historical fact to explain it.”

“It’s tradition,” I say, knowing how obtuse I sound.

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