Page 56 of Coming Up Roses

“Just give him some time. He’ll come around and either want to do it again, or he won’t. Which is unlikely because, like, you own a mirror, right? But, more importantly, go you. I’m happy you’re getting out of your head a little. A young, hot farmhand is exactly what you need.”

“Yeah, but what if he doesn’t want to do it again?”

“Like I said, unlikely. But if he doesn’t, I’m sure everythingwill be fine. From everything you’ve said about him, he’s pretty laidback, right?”

“Right.” Laidback is exactly the right word to describe Flynn. Laidback, fun, and really, really sweet.

“So even if he chooses not to take you to bed again, I don’t think he’ll freak out so much that your friendship can’t recover.”

I puff out a breath. “I suppose you’re right. He hasn’t done this kind of thing before. Maybe he’s just adjusting.”

“What kind of thing hasn’t he done before?”

I hesitate. I could tell her that he hasn’t done any of it before. But that’s Flynn’s business, not Emily’s. And I don’t want to tell her. I like that it’s just between us. “The friends with benefits thing,” I say instead.

“Oh, right, yeah well that can take some getting used to. He’ll get there though.” Her voice softens, all traces of vivacious humour gone. “It’ll be okay, Abi. Don’t let your head tell you otherwise. Flynn is your friend. Getting each other off isn’t going to ruin that, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper, wishing my voice was stronger, that I believed it more.

“Now, don’t you have a huge ass wedding to run today? Why are you freaking out on the phone to me?”

“I’d really rather you hadn’t reminded me of that,” I groan. Flynn had been a nice distraction from my job and all the things I have to stress about today.

“You’ll smash it, Abs. I know you will. You always do. And if you need a pe talk, you know where to find me.”

“That I do. Thanks Em.”

“Love you, Abi. Go slay that wedding, then screw the guy. Winning all around.”

I can’t help laughing along with her.

I’m not sure I’ll be doing either, but I’m not going to let the little voices in my head mess with me.

Not today anyway.

29

FLYNN

I shoveopen the door to Sugar and slam straight into someone’s solid back.

Who the fuck is standing right in the doorway with their back to it?

We both grunt at the impact and before I have the chance to curse the guy out for blocking the way, I have the foresight to glance up at him.

Oh. I’ve run headfirst into my brother.

I love Hunter—somewhere deep down inside he must love me too—but right now I am not in the headspace to deal with him. We have a strange relationship. We’d do anything for the other, he proved that when he gave up his chance at a life outside this town to stay home and look after me after our parents died.

But Hunter and I are not the same kind of person. He is … surly. And as much as his grumpy attitude to pretty much everything pisses me off, I can’t even hate him for it, since he gave up all the good things in his life for me.

Ugh. I hate it sometimes. Would our relationship have been better if he hadn’t become my legal guardian when he was eighteen? What guy fresh out of high school wants to suddenly be responsible for a fourteen-year-old shithead like I was? Like I still am.

“Hey,” Hunter grunts at me before I have a chance to think what the heck to say to him.

“We have a new tenant,” I blurt, which is not at all what I was expecting to say. I was hoping I’d just blank the fact that I just dropped Abigail off at my childhood home from my memory.

Hunter eyes me suspiciously. “Yes,” he says eventually.

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