Page 28 of Tattered Edges

“Diane!”

Laughing, she challenged, “Am I wrong?”

I wasn’t a liar any more than I was a harlot, so I kept my mouth shut. She had a point, even if I didn’t want to acknowledge or admit it. I’d been taking the easy route for a while. It wasn’t that I was opposed to dating or relationships, I simply hadn’t been in the mood for that sort of roller coaster ride. It so often ended in disappointment and was hardly ever worth it.

“Listen,” said Diane, interrupting my thoughts. “You just got over there. Don’t think so hard about it. Go. Enjoy the game. Be yourself. Let the rest take care of itself.”

She was right. There was no need to put any pressure on an already complicated situation. The whole reason I accepted the invitation to his place was in hopes ofsimplifyingmatters. The more interactions we had, the further in the past our kiss would dwell. The more distant that memory became, the easier it would be for us to reset and become whatever we were meant to be.

“You make a good point. But does that mean youwon’thelp me figure out what I should wear?”

“Oh, no, I’m not heartless. What did you have in mind?”

We stayed on the phone until it was nine o’clock and I had to get ready for the day. She said goodbye, I said goodnight, and I hopped in the shower, feeling like a fuller version of myself after our chat.

Since I’d shampooed and conditioned the day before, I was in and out of the shower in no time. Fortunately, I wore my shoulder-length hair straight most days, which meant I didn’t need to stress over the fact that I didn’t have a curling iron with the correct outlet plug. I wasn’t taking any more chances with my hair tools. After a few passes with a brush, I moved onto my makeup before I got dressed.

As Diane and I had discussed, I was keeping my attire fairly simple for the day. I wore a plain white tee tucked into my high-waisted, fitted, dark-washed jeans with a flared leg. I then donned my Manchester United jacket, wearing it open. Finally, I classed the look up a bit with a pair of black ankle booties with a chunky heel—shoes I was sure I could wear all day. At a quarter to ten, I was ready and headed down to the store. I found Victoria was already there.

“Good morning,” she greeted. She was near the back of the store, dusting the shelves with a feather duster. “I see the shop’s all in order, so it must have gone well yesterday. I knew you needn’t be worried.”

“Yeah. Business was fine, and I managed to get through that stack of books that needed to be inventoried. There was a small incident before I opened, though,” I confessed.

I explained about my hair dryer and how I didn’t want to bother her on her day off. When I told her I’d practically dragged Rory out of bed, her eyes grew wide in intrigue.

“Lucky girl, getting a glimpse of the man without a shirt. Something tells me that right there was worth the trouble. He’s quite the looker, isn’t he? Even if I’ve never seen him smile.”

“He is a bit broody,” I said amusedly, trying to keep the image of him with sexy bed-head shoved in a dark corner of my mind.

“Brilliant, but broody. That’s about right,” she insisted, moving to the next set of shelves. “Nothing like his grandfather. Jack was a boisterous, friendly fellow who knew no stranger. Sometimes I’d pop into the pub just for the excuse to chat with the old man. He could be cheeky, that one. He always knew how to cheer a girl up. Anyway, Rory does a fine job of keeping The King’s Steed with the times, and he’s a kind man if not a cheery one. Then again, with a face like he’s got, he can get away with it.” She paused, glanced at me from over her shoulder, and waggled her eyebrows as she muttered teasingly, “I wouldn’t mind shagging him on the regular.”

I hummed a laugh but didn’t mention how I felt similarly. Instead, I told her, “I’m going to his place to watch the Man-U match later. I guess he’s having a few friends over, and I got an invite. Which reminds me, I’ll have to leave here around five-fifteen. Hope you don’t mind closing up without me.”

She stopped what she was doing to face me directly. “You’re going to his flat? You lucky,luckygirl. I’d pay to see how that man lives. Is he sweet on you?”

I laughed, because the thought of that scowling man beingsweeton anyone seemed unlikely. Not to mention, it felt like he agreed to my coming over a little reluctantly. It was Graham who had been so enthusiastic over the idea. “No. It’s not like that. He wasn’t really the one to invite me. I stopped into the pub last night and his friend was there. When I asked about a good place to watch the match, he was the one who insisted I come over.”

“In any case, you’re getting an inside look attheRory Collins.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I playfully narrowed my eyes at her and asked, “Areyousweet on him?”

“On Rory? Oh, heavens no,” she insisted with a hilarious cackle. “He’s certainly easy on the eyes, and there’s an air of mystery about him that I find quite intriguing, but he’s not my type.”

“Hot?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Sure, there’s that. But like I said, I’ve never seen the man smile. Not that I think he’s depressed or anything. It’s just how he is. All work and no play. You’ll be seeing him in a different light though, won’t you? I’ll be expecting all the goss on our outing tomorrow.”

I wasn’t quite ready to admit what it meant, but hearing her explain her lack of interest filled me with relief.

Feeling more relaxed I teased, “I’ll be sure to take notes.”

Duringaparticularlyslowhour at the shop, I left my post behind the register and walked over to the grocery store to pick up some chocolate biscuits and a bag of chips. As a first-time guest in his home, I didn’t want to show up to Rory’s doorstep empty handed.

On my way back to Tattered Edges, I stopped at the coffee shop and got a latte for myself and a tea for Victoria. They helped us power through the rest of the afternoon.

Turned out, while Saturday was, indeed, our busiest day—that wasn’t saying much. I was really going to have to start making some changes to help draw in more customers.

When five-fifteen rolled around, I said goodnight to Victoria, grabbed the snacks I’d procured earlier, and headed to Rory’s through the back exit of my building. While I was looking forward to the match, I was more excited about the prospect of getting to spend the evening with new people. I was old enough to know making friends as an adult was quite possibly the hardest part of being an adult. Being a foreigner in a new city only added to that particular challenge. Yet, while my family didn’t seem keen on spending any time with me, life appeared to be creating a bit of balance with an awesome co-worker, a hot neighbor, and his invitingbest mate.

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