Page 48 of New Girl in Town
Chapter Nine
Isquinted at my screen, trying to find the words to respectfully decline the latest donation by a family in town. At least, I thought it was supposed to be a donation for the art museum. It was really just a collection of junk. Odds and ends that could be construed as art-related—as in, this is paper and you can draw on it.
I was now the proud owner of untold boxes of old magazines and newspapers from the 20s, a smattering of random framed vinyl records, and what looked like a prom dress from the 70s. It was all crochet, but the fancy kind because that was a thing, with blue flowers that left me askingwhy?
I knew it was normal to dump unwanted items when cleaning out a relative’s home in the name of family history. But I had no space for the items and we had a three-month holding policy, which meant it would all be taking up precious space before I could get rid of it. Maybe if I sent a polite enough email they would come get their...heirlooms. I stared at my computer trying to find the right words but then groaned. I full well knew they wouldn’t come back for the junk, and sighed, clicking out of the email. I could find space for it, maybe…
I frowned, trying to think of how to rearrange the back room to accommodate the prom dress. A knock at my door had me looking up to see Grant standing in the door, a bouquet of flowers in hand.
“What’s with the frown?”
“Other people’s trash,” I sighed, leaning forward on my elbows and looking at the offending heap of items living on my office floor.
“What the hell is that?” he asked, leaning in for a closer look. “Did someone give you a prom dress?”
“Yep.” I pushed up from my chair and gave the flowers a look. “Are those for me?”
“They are, but I don’t see how they can compare to these crochet flowers.” He gestured at the heap of blue material and I giggled at the offended look on his face. “Someone has shown me up, I see.”
“And those don’t wilt,” I pointed out with a grin.
“It’s genius. Damn them.” He held the flowers out to me with a warm smile, and I held them close to my chest, giving them a happy sniff.
Daisies and violets.
The vibrant purple of the violets against the white of the daisies was a pretty combination that had me smiling and blushing like a fool.
“These are sweet,” I told him, cradling the flowers.
“I even picked them out myself.”
I sniffed at the blooms again with a smile. “I love them.”
He hitched a hip against my desk and scooted closer to me. “Good, because I brought them with the intention of buttering you up.”
“Oh? What for?”
“I want to ask you out on a date.”
“We’ve been on a date,” I said, and then paused. “That first night, remember?”
“Okay, our first real date. That was a casual date but now we are a thing. This is our first date after we are athing.”
“If by thing you mean dating, then yes.”
Grant held his hands up in an apologetic gesture. “I don’t know, it just—it’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone. I don’t feel like I’ve been very...boyfriendy. I’m sorry about that. I should have suggested taking you out somewhere this week that wasn’t your bedroom.”
“Boyfriendy?” I said, setting the flowers down and leaning my chin on my hand as I considered the look of panic on his face.
“Uh.” He looked away from me, biting his bottom lip, and then he sighed, “Well, shit.”
“You said it, not me,” I said, trying not to laugh as he groaned and ran a hand over his face.
“I did, and that’s fine,” he blurted out, catching me off guard. “I have no problem with saying the B-word.”
“The B-word?”I began to laugh, but he held up a hand, letting me know it was no laughing matter.
“Boyfriend,” he said with a very serious look. “Everyone knows that’s the B-word.”
