Page 68 of Flirting with the Stranger

“It’ll be finished in a couple more minutes. Why don’t you sit on the couch, and I’ll let you know when it’s done.” He kisses my forehead again and strolls into the living room.

Ten minutes later, I’ve finished setting the table. I call out to Van, but I don’t get a response. So, I call out again. Silence. I round the corner from the kitchen to the living room and Van is sitting on the couch, his head bowed, as he softly snores. I lean against the door jamb, rest my head on the wood, and sigh. So much for spending time together.

TWENTY-NINE

THE EDMOND FIZZGERALD

Van

A pain shoots up my neck as I stir awake. I lift my hand and rub the sore spot at the back of my neck and cringe. My heavy eyelids lift open. It takes a moment for my sight to adjust to the darkness, but when everything comes into focus, I remember I’m at Hollyn’s. Her living room, to be exact. I toss the buffalo plaid blanket off me and rise to my feet. Dammit. We were supposed to have dinner last night and instead I fell asleep on her couch. I’m surprised she didn’t throw me out onto the sidewalk. If I were her, I would have. I pray all of this is not for nothing.

I climb the stairs to the second floor two at a time. When I reach her bedroom door, I stop shy of entering. She’s curled up on her side, sleeping peacefully. Her hair is a wild mess, and she’s never looked more beautiful. With soft footsteps, I walk to the side of the bed. I bend down and kiss her cheek. She stirs awake and her eyes flutter open.

“Hey. Sorry about dinner last night. I have to get going, but I’ll call you later. Okay?”

She purses her lips and nods. I brush a strand of hair from her face and press my lips to her forehead. I rise to my full height and exit the bedroom, but what I really want to do is crawl into bed with Hollyn, wrap my arms around her, bury my nose in her hair, and never let her go.

* * *

Once I’m at the new bakery, I race around the room, wiping down the already clean surfaces. I straighten already straight pictures hanging on the walls. Using a rag, I wipe down the glass to remove any smudges.

“If you keep rubbing, you’re going to rub a hole right through the glass.” Bennett rounds the corner from the kitchen.

I drop my hand. “I want this to be perfect. She deserves perfect.”

Bennett clasps my shoulder. “Trust me, she’s going to love it. If not, you’ll look adorable in that pink apron baking cupcakes.”

I give him a half smile. Lifting my wrist, I check the time. Parisa, Charlie, and Olivia should arrive at the end of the block with Hollyn in ten minutes. “Alright. Remember the plan? Shut the lights off and when I come in with Hollyn, we’ll surprise her.”

“Got it. We’ve gone over it a hundred times. I have Charlie on standby to text in case something goes awry. You have nothing to worry about,” Bennett says.

“Worry about what?” Trey exits the kitchen with a cupcake in hand. He removes the bottom half of the cake and plops it on top of the frosting like a sandwich and shoves half of it into his mouth.

Bennett slaps his hand away and Trey does a juggling act, catching half the cupcake with both hands before it hits the floor. “Hey, that was uncalled for. Now I have frosting all over my hands.”

“Those aren’t for you,” Bennett scolds.

“We’ve been here all day, and I’m famished,” Trey whines, shoving the other half of his cupcake in his mouth before finding a napkin to clean his hands.

“We’ve been here an hour, and you took down a hamburger two hours ago,” Bennett says.

“That’s not the point. Besides, I’m a growing boy.” Trey rubs his stomach.

Bennett shakes his head. His phone chimes from his pocket and he pulls it out to read the message. His gaze meets mine with a smile on his face. “It’s showtime.”

I stop pacing. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. All the late nights sneaking around while Hollyn was at home. If this entire plan is an epic fail, then this baker goes down with his bakery. My stomach quivers. What if she hates it? What if she decides she can’t do this anymore because I sold her dream? What if she leaves me?

“Van. You gotta go.” Bennett gives me a shake.

Breaking me from the doubt currently running through my head, I nod and bolt out the door. My legs propel me down the sidewalk as I pass groups of tourists window shopping. Ahead of me I spot all of them and then my girl. Once I get closer, I slow my stride. My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath. Parisa spots me first. A huge smile covers her face. One by one, all the girls turn toward me.

Hollyn is the last to turn, her brows furrowed. “Van, what are you doing here?”

I step in front of her so my toes are touching hers. “Waiting for you.”

“We’ll let you two talk,” Parisa says as she rounds up the other girls and they all stroll down the sidewalk toward the alley.

“What’s going on?” Hollyn’s eyebrows knit together.

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