Page 32 of Walk on the Wilde Side
"I've got a shop full of kids," I remind him.
Dane shrugs. "I'm sure they don't know what I'm talking about."
Zander laughs. "Holy shit, he actually believes that," he says to the kids. They laugh. I can feel tension coming off Dane in hot waves. I have no idea how the two men are working on the same plot of land without killing each other. It's obvious they are oil and water.
Mona hands Zander his sandwich, and I breathe a sigh of relief when he says goodbye to Rio and walks out.
"Does he come in here a lot?" Dane's harsh tone cuts through my relief and brings back the tension.
"Who? Zander? Yes, he comes in two or three times a week for a sandwich. One of my most loyal customers."
"I'll bet," he mutters wryly.
"I'm sorry about the flowers," I say briskly to change the topic. Not that this is a better one.
Dane frowns. "Most women would love to get a bouquet of red roses."
"I'm sure you're right, as long as they don't have allergies. Again, it was very thoughtful, Dane, but I'm running a sandwich shop. I can't very well stand behind the counter sneezing and wiping my nose."
A group of customers, more chatty teens, walk in.
Dane shakes his head. "Seems to me all your customers are snot-nosed brats anyway, but yeah, you'd better get back to sandwich making." He says it with enough derision to let me know he doesn't think much of my business. One moment I'm thinking that this relationship could possibly head in a promising direction, and the next moment I'm questioning my decision to ever date the man in the first place. He came in happy and talking of anniversaries, but seeing Zander turned his mood sour.
"Maybe we should skip tonight," I say. It seems reasonable considering the scowl he's wearing.
His eyes widen. "What? No. I've got everything planned." He softens his tone. "Look, sorry, it's just that guy—he always gets my hackles up. I'm counting down the days till they're done digging the dirt on my project."
"I'm sure Zander is doing the same." Zander isn't here to defend himself, so I feel the need to step in. "You're sure then? About tonight?" I'm feeling more than apprehensive about it, and it's not just because he's in a bad mood. My intuition is once again telling me that this night isn't going to go as planned. "Look, we could move it to?—"
"No, please come," he says abruptly, then cools it down. "Like I said, I've got it all planned. We'll have a nice evening."
I nod. "I've got to get back behind the counter. I'll see you later." I breathe another sigh of relief when Dane leaves.
It's easy enough to forget about the unpleasant visit while feeding a lot of hungry, energetic teens. By the time lunch hour is over, Mona and I are ready for a break. "Why don't you take an hour for lunch, Mona? You earned it today."
Mona laughs. "I'm trying to remember if I was ever that silly and loud and giggly."
I hold back a smile because she still exhibits plenty of those traits. "I think we all go through that stage. I'm going to do some work in the office, then I'll start on tomorrow's prep. Have a nice lunch."
"Thanks. See you later." Mona walks out, and for the first time since we flipped the sign this morning, the shop is empty. I grab a lemon yogurt from the refrigerator and walk into the office. It's more of a large utility closet than an office, but I've made it a workable space with a desk and some shelves. There's a framed photo on the corner of my desk. Nana, Kinsley and I were in the mountains. We were ankle deep in fresh white snow, and the three of us were bundled up enough for a trek through the Arctic. Our cheeks and noses were red from the cold and we're all wearing ear-to-ear smiles. Nana rented a small cabin, and she baked brownies and steamed hot cocoa, and the three of us played card games in front of a roaring fire. There were so many memories like that, simple, sweet ones where we laughed till our sides hurt, and we filled our bellies with home-baked treats. Nana made it impossible for Kinsley and me to miss having a mom and dad. Our parents were both so lost and confused about life that neither of them should have ever been parents. Mom was young and struggling with depression and other issues when she had me, and Nana came to the conclusion that Mom couldn't take care of me. My mom put up no arguments. She handed me off readily. I was too young to know anything about it, which was for the best. When she got pregnant with Kinsley, our dad, Brian—about the only thing I knew about him was his name—left town with another woman. Mom handed Kinsley over in the hospital. Nana became our legal guardian, and our mom took off for South America. We were in elementary school when Nana got word that her daughter had died in a car accident. Kinsley and I didn't know how to process it as a loss because she'd never meant anything to us, but we were extra good and helpful for a few weeks while Nana floated around in a sad daze with her handkerchief pressed constantly to her nose.
I grab some granola out of my desk drawer. It's my own special mix of nuts, oats and dried fruit based on one of Nana's recipes. I pour it into the yogurt and sit back with my lunch. My phone rings. It's Rio. She rarely calls and only occasionally texts.
"Rio? Is everything all right?"
"Well, Olivia decided that she no longer likes Dylan, so Dani wanted me to help her get Dylan, and when Olivia heard she blew her stack and decided she still liked Dylan. But that's not what I called about."
I laugh gently. "All right but it does sound like you have quite the dilemma on your hands."
Rio sighs loudly. "Story of my life and the funny thing is that Dylan is not that great. He's got this kind of weird smile that borders on, I don't know, serial killer, I guess."
"Oh wow, then maybe you should do both your friends a favor and point that out to them."
"Tried that. Apparently, they think his serial killer smile is hot. But whatever. I wanted to thank you for the free cookies."
"You don't need to thank me, Rio. I don't get to see you that often, so it's my pleasure."
"Ahh, you're so cool. See, I tell Kiki that all the time, and she insists she's the cooler one, but I'm not too sure about that."
