Page 34 of Petals and Plot Twists
“I know. Iknow,” Allison says. “But?—”
“Nope,” I say. “No buts. And no using Peter as an excuse to stay. You’re going to move to South Carolina, meet a gorgeous, rich Southern gentleman, then you can come back to Serendipity Springs for vacation and rub your happiness in Chase’s smarmy face.”
This finally makes Allison laugh. “I like the sound of this plan.”
I open the coffee shop door for Allison, then follow her inside. Cookie’s Coffee House doesn’t quite compare to Serendipi-Tea, but it makes a mean cappuccino, and they make the best oatmeal cookies in the city, so it was always a favorite hangout spot when I was in high school.
“So,” Allison says as we step into line, “will you tell any of the men in your dating experiment about the handholding that happened earlier?”
I roll my eyes. “Stop it with the handholding talk. You’re turning it into something it wasn’t.”
I think.
Something itprobablywasn’t?
Something I think I’d like to do again, despite my better judgement.
“Besides, what do you know about my dating experiment?”
“Nothing at all. Peter mentioned it, but he didn’t give me specifics,” Allison says. “You should tell me everything. I’m already intrigued.”
As skeptical as Peter is himself, I doubt he mentioned the love flower as a part of my experiment, so I give Allison a modified version of the truth, mentioning the dating app, and my determination to date with a little more intention. I even give her a quick rundown of the newest guy I matched with—a pediatrician named Jake who, at least inside the app, seems like an actual possibility.
“We haven’t made plans to get together or anything—his schedule is insanely busy—but we’ve been talking back and forth, getting to know each other, and he seems really great.” Allison must pick up on the slight phoniness to my tone because she offers me a pained smile before saying, “I can’t decide if you’re trying to convincemethat Jake is great or yourself.”
“He’s great,” I say. “Of course he’s great.”
“Okay,” Allison says. “Well, if that’s the case, then I hope it goes well.”
When it’s my turn to order, I order two cookies, one for me and one for Peter, tucking his into the outside pocket of my purse.
Allison eyes the plastic-wrapped treat and shoots me a knowing look.
“What?” I ask. “I buy Peter a cookie every time I’m here.”
“You do, don’t you?”
“Because we’refriends,” I say.
“Mm-hmm,” she says, but her tone doesn’t sound at all like she believes me. “That’s why he’s staying at your place right now.”
“Because the wiring at his place is all messed up. And. We’re.Friends,”I say, enunciating each word.
The barista behind the counter finishes our drinks and hands them over to Allison, who passes mine to me. “A friend who you think is hot,” she says.
“I do not,” I say, but that doesn’t stop my brain from conjuring an image of Peter in his running clothes. I try to shove the image away, but it’s too late. I can already feel the heat climbing up my neck, flushing my face, making my cheeks bright red.
Allison smirks. “That’s what I thought.”
Peter is in the driveway when we get back, loading bins of LEGO bricks into the back of his SUV.
“Are they all going to fit?” I ask as I step up beside him.
“Barely,” he says. “But I still don’t think they’ll all fit in the basement.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I say. “Between your place and mine. Speaking of your place, any word on the wiring?”
Peter runs a hand through his hair. “I just got a text from Steve, actually. He says the electricians just finished up this afternoon.”
