Page 126 of The Problem with Dating

“Thank you for your assistance, Mrs. Levels. Have a puptastic day,” Yara sang, handing her the receipt.

Mrs. Levels hurried out of the shop, and the moment she was gone, Yara skipped over to me and struck a pose. “Did you see that? Did you see me tell her off?”

“I did. Bravo.” I held out the containers. “I had some leftovers from lunch. I figured you might want something to eat.”

“Careful, Alex. If you keep feeding me, I might want you to be my real boyfriend.”

That wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” I asked.

“No plans.”

“Good. I planned a date for us. I need you to pretend with me at seven.”

Her eyes sparkled with the same joy her lips found. “I would love to pretend with you.”

CHAPTER39

Yara

He planned a date for us, then texted me to wear something I didn’t care about getting messy. When he texted the address, I knew exactly where he was taking me on said date. Pat’s Pottery.

When I arrived, he stood outside with a bouquet of dahlia and peonies. My heart beat faster and faster as I approached him.

“Hi, Goldie.”

“Hi, Mr. Black.”

He took a step closer and held the flowers out to me. “For you.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Alex. Thank you. They are beautiful.”

“What kind of fake boyfriend would I be if I didn’t get you flowers?”

I laughed a little. “I never had a real boyfriend, or husband, get me flowers before. Cole’s mother would always order flowers for me, though, and say they were from him.”

He grimaced a little and brushed his palm against his chin. “No offense, but I don’t think you’ve ever been in a real relationship.”

“I don’t know if that statement should make me laugh or cry,” I joked.

He placed one hand on my back and held the door to Pat’s Pottery studio for me to walk inside. The second I entered, I gasped, seeing the room lit with candles and romantic music playing. The space had a table set up with a huge charcuterie spread—much more than Ritz crackers and cream cheese.

“Oh my goodness, Alex. You did all of this?”

“Yeah. I rented out the studio for the night.”

“What? How? Pat is very serious about getting as many guests in as possible on the weekends. How did you talk her into doing this?”

“Well, I tried flirting with her, but that technique seems to only work with the West sisters. So I offered to partner with her shop and do catering for her big parties.”

“Look at you, making deals and partnerships with the small-town crew.”

“Your golden retriever energy is rubbing off on me.” He took my flowers and placed them in a vase he’d already had set up on the table. He then rolled up his sleeves as he grabbed aprons for us both. “I will say, though, Pat pretty much made the other water dishes I gave you, so you’ll have to guide me through this.”

My eyes widened. “We’re making water dishes?”

“Of course we are. We have to replace the one that the stupid black cat shattered a few weeks ago. Plus, Feliz needs a nice custom dish from the queen of water dishes.”

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