Page 12 of Petals and Plot Twists
“They’re close?”
“So close. They genuinely like to hang out together. I think he feels like he’s supposed to be happy for them, so he’s not letting himself besad,and that’s making him all weird and stuff.”
Willa lifts an eyebrow. “Why did you just blush when you saidweird and stuff?”
I lift my hands to my cheeks. “I did not blush.”
“Yes, you did,” she says back. “And now it’s getting worse, so there’s definitely something you aren’t telling me.”
I roll my eyes. “No, there isn’t.”
“Sophie. Spill it,” Willa says, her tone leaving zero room for argument.
I huff out a breath. “It really is nothing. It’s just—we hung out on Saturday night, and Peter was—I don’t know. He was super clingy. Sitting closer than he usually sits. Touching me more.” I reach for another cookie. “Not that I minded. You know me. I’m happy hugging total strangers. But Peter isn’t like that, so it just felt…odd.”
“You and Peter never touch?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No, it’s not like that. We do. But it felt more intentional somehow? I’m usually the one who initiates, but he totally was. Giving me foot rubs, putting his arm around me. Plus, he asked me to go with him to pick up the rest of his LEGO collection. That’s a thing he would usually want to do by himself.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he prefers to do most things by himself.”
Willa laughs. “You guys really are polar opposites.”
“That’s why he’s so good for me,” I say. “He makes me slow down and be still. And I remind him he doesn’t actually hate people and socializing can be fun.”
Willa opens her breakfast sandwich and takes a big bite. “Oh, gosh, this is amazing,” she says through a mouthful of food. “Tell Peter thank you for making you order protein.” She swallows, then takes a sip of her latte before saying, “So, I’m guessing by your earlier blush that you know what I’m going to ask you, right?”
I dig into my own breakfast sandwich, because she’s right, and I’ll happily delay her question as long as possible. The sandwich really is delicious, and I let out a little moan, surrendering to the momentary distraction, then chase the bite with a sip of my latte.
“You can ask,” I finally say, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give you a different answer.”
“Come on,” Willa says. “You guys seriously have so much chemistry. I just don’t buy that you’veneverthought about dating him.”
I breathe out a sigh. Willa and I have this conversation every few months, usually when I’ve had a bad date and feel like complaining about the sad selection of men in Serendipity Springs. Her argument every single time is that I could save myself a lot of trouble by dating the guy who already loves me.
Which…Peter and Idosay I love you to each other. But only in a friend way. It would be colossally weird for him to actually catch feelings.
Wouldn’t it?
“It just doesn’t work that way,” I say, pushing my uncertainty away and reaching for my tried-and-true argument yet again. “He’s my best friend. We’ve always been best friends. It would be stupid to mess that up.”
“It just doesn’t work that way?” she repeats as she rolls her eyes. “Says who? Maybe he’s acting a little differently because he’s into you, and you’re just being stubborn.”
My heart rate increases the slightest bit as I think about how good Peter smelled on Saturday night. About the weight of his arm around my shoulders, the gentle press of his thumbs into my tired feet.
Ten years of friendship, and Peter has never given me a foot rub before.
“That is absolutely not what’s happening,” I say, but even I can hear the uncertainty in my voice.
“What makes you so sure?” she asks.
“The fact that I am absolutely not Peter’s type.”
“Does Peter even have a type?” Willa asks. “I’ve literally never seen him dating anyone.”
“He dated this woman in college,” I say. “Penelope. She was bookish and quiet and very put together.”
