Page 13 of Single Teddy
Ruby
OMG Wes. I can’t believe you.
Ruby
You better have died. There’s no other excuse I’ll take for not telling me. WTF?
It was funny but justifiable. After all, it wasn’t every day that I announced to anyone I was in love. My track record with dating was abysmal at best and not for lack of trying. But this past year,I’d all but given up, choosing instead to focus all my energy and efforts on getting my mortgage approved and my home set up.
And since I was still not done with my home, there was absolutely no reason or excuse to jump back into the island’s pathetic dating pool.
So, of course, curiosity was killing Ruby. It would have done the same to me if I’d gotten a text message from her declaring she was in love. Although, in all fairness, Ruby wasn’t as dating shy as I was.
Once school was done, students were picked up, including Bear by his hot uncle, and the classroom was reset, I finally turned to my phone.
Wesley
I’m on my way.
I left the school, unlocked my bike, and took the scenic route of Mayberry Holm and down to the coast.
Holm Sweet Holm was busy, but then again, it always was during the summer months and festival season. Every rack and shelf was being perused by a tourist, keeping Ruby’s employees busy and giving my sister the freedom to step forward, put one hand on her hip, and use the other to smack me in the head.
“That’s for being such a dick and not replying to me.”
“Ouch! Flipping hell, Rubes. You’d think I sacrificed you to the sea gods. I was busy. And that hurt.”
She shrugged.
“You’ll get over it. Now tell me what, where, how, and most importantly, who!”
I dismounted my bike and rubbed my head where she’d smacked me, only to get a stare-down, an eye roll, and a sigh.
“Can you get away for a second?”
Ruby huffed and brushed her hair back.
“I’m the boss, aren’t I?” she said before turning around to tell one of her temps she’d be right back.
“Well, technically, Mom is the boss,” I said.
I regretted it.
My poor head would be sore after today.
Mom opened Holm Sweet Holm three decades ago and had managed it through four kids and a whole lot of family drama. But she’d finally had enough and decided to take to writing crime novels and accounting as a job while Ruby ran the family business.
“You need to stop hitting me,” I whined, and she chuckled.
“I know. I’m sorry. Here. Want me to kiss it better?” She pursed her lips and leaned closer, trying to plant a smacker on me, but I ducked out of her way and almost toppled over with the bike on top of me.
“Gosh. I’m such a klutz today,” I muttered, straightening and walking along the bay. “Anyway…bubble tea?”
“Pfft, what do you think?” she asked, and we walked to the bubble tea shop three doors down.
The place was heaving. A stark difference from how low traffic had been a year ago. But since then everyone had fallen in love with Bubble Bubble, and most importantly, its owner, Hwan.
It didn’t hurt that he was an internet celebrity. His funny and instructive videos were a hot commodity on his social media pages, especially after Thanksgiving last year when he live-streamed a criminal gang trying to destroy his business. Since then, everyone wanted a slice of Hwan goodness and, of course, a slice of the man who had saved him and become his handsome beau.
