Page 45 of Petals and Plot Twists
Sophie
Honestly.Jake is so much prettier in person than he is in his photo.
Tall and broad—andthat smile. He could stop traffic with that smile. He’s wearing jeans and a nice button down over a white henley, the buttons at the top revealing a nice triangle of tan skin. I bet the nurseslove itwhen Dr. Jake is on rotation.
Which is why I should have been disappointed when the flower didn’t bloom.
I tried.Reallytried. Gave him a complete tour of the garden, visited every planter and spent five solid minutes standing next to the Japanese maple, my mystery flower climbing the trunk, just to make sure it knew we were there.
But it didn’t so much as tremble in the breeze.
Not when Jake complimented my garden or told me a story about one of his patients or showed me a picture of his puppy. I even tried touching him, thinking that might trigger something, but nothing happened.
Except the realization that touching Jake wasn’t even a little bit thrilling. No spark. No thrill. No flutters. I knew right then that the flower was right, and Jake is not the man for me.
Telling him wasn’t fun.
He seemed too nice to lie, so I went for the truth and just told him I tend to trust my gut and first impressions are huge, and I didn’t think we had any chemistry.
I could tell he was surprised, but then he surprisedme.
“Okay. What about this?” he said. “Just have dinner with me. My treat. If you still feel the same way after we eat, I won’t ask any questions.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, a woman has to eat, right? Worst case, we get a nice meal out of the deal, and we’ve each made a new friend.”
Ididneed to eat. And since I’m desperately in need of groceries, I would have had to order takeout had I just gone home. Or mooched off of Peter, which a girl can only do that so many times.
So here we are.
At dinner.
Talking and joking with a very easy vibe between us, and I feel like I reallyhavemade a new friend. This guy is amazing. A gentleman in every way. I want to start having kids just so he can be their doctor.
But I reallydon’tfeel that spark—something I feel empowered to acknowledge now that I have a little bit of magic to back me up.
“So, plants—that’s your job, right? Landscape architecture?” Jake asks as he spoons up a bite of his dessert.
“A little,” I say. “I’m more on the computer design side of landscape architecture. Italkabout plants at work a lot, but I don’t usually see them go in the ground. I guess that’s why I love having the rooftop garden. It’s like therapy.”
“I love that,” Jake says. “You turned it into a beautiful space.”
“Thanks.”
“And your friend, Peter?” he says next, and I lift my eyes to his. “He’sjusta friend?”
I smile and huff out a little laugh. “I know it seems weird that he hovered in the stairwell, but you were a stranger. He just wanted to make sure I was safe.”
“No, I liked that about him,” Jake says. “I would have done the same thing. It was more just the way he looked at you.”
I wrinkle my eyebrows. “How did he look at me?”
Jake’s expression turns wry. “Come on, Sophie. You know what I mean.”
I sigh because how many people are going to try to convince me that Peter likes me? “It’s definitely not like that,” I say, like it’s a reflex. Itisa reflex because I’ve been saying it for years. “We’ve just known each other for a long time. Since high school.”
“Yeah, he told me,” Jake says. “And I get it. I had a best friend like that, too.”
“Had?” I ask, and Jake winces.
“Uh, yeah. We finally got together after our freshman year of college, and it didn’t work out.”
