Page 82 of Accidentally in Bloom

“Sit down, Pop. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” Gray offered as the older man levered into the booth across from Gray.

“You look like you just saw a ghost, young man. That name mean anything to you?”

“No reason,” Gray lied. “Just sounds like a guy I used to know.”

Gray, unfortunately, knew Lenny Anderson all too well. He was the first dealer Gray had ever bought from and the first guy he had ever dealt for. Meeting Lenny Anderson was the start of Gray’s downfall.

“How’s it going with that pretty firecracker?” Pop asked.

Gray was hoisted out of his thoughts. “It’s not, um…” he trailed off, unsure how much Rose wanted the world to know about their just sex deal. He wasn’t sure he could even say ‘sex’ to Pop. “We’re just partners.”

“Bullshit.” Pop leaned back with a knowing smile on his face. “You’re a terrible liar. This is why you always lose in cards, Roberts.”

“I lose because you cheat.” Gray pointed a finger at him.

Margie came by with the coffee pot and a perfectly timed snort. “See? I told you somebody would finally figure it out.” She elbowed Pop. He waved her away, and she walked on to the next table.

“Rosie’s a very pretty girl.” Pop eyed Gray with a smile as he started to get up.

Gray took a sip of coffee and considered. “She’s leaving soon. And you know I’m here for good.”

“Don’t do what I did,” he warned in his gravelly voice. “Don’t sit in the shadows and wait for when she gets enough hints, when the timing is better, when your business is making more money, when the weather is nicer.”

Pop leaned forward to lock eyes with Gray. “There’s never a better time than right now to tell a pretty lady you wanna buy her dinner for the rest of her life.”

Pop glanced at the wall above Gray. Gray followed his gaze, which landed on an ad for Mrs. Maroo’s law office.

“Really? You carry a torch for Maroo?” She’d been widowed for a long time. Pop could have made a move.

Pop waved his hand at Gray. “I missed my chance when we were kids like you. Thought I wasn’t good enough for her, and now,” he huffed and pointed at his apron. “It's too late for me, but you’re a young man. Handsome. Can get anybody you want.”

“What if I want Rose?”

“Then the real question is: what are you willing to risk for it?” Pop levered himself out of the couch, groaning with the leather as he stood up.

“Thanks,” Gray sipped watered-down coffee that now tasted like home. “And Pop, it’s never too late. I'll be your best man.” Gray sent him a smile.

Pop chuckled as he shuffled back to the kitchen.

Margie slid a piece of apple pie with cheddar under his nose. Gray had wanted to hurl the first time somebody had suggested it, but now the taste was inextricably linked with one of his favorite places on earth. He sent her a wink as she swished away, and he toyed with the end of the gooey pie.

Could he go back and talk to the guy that ruined his life? No, Gray interrupted himself. I am the guy who ruined my own life. Lenny just held out the tempting plate of pills that made Gray forget every stupid thing he’d ever done, made him feel invincible, and set him on a path that derailed his life.

He thought of Rose’s beaming face in the spring sun. She had his heart in her well-manicured palm, and it had only been two months since he’d first seen a crazy lady standing on top of her car.

Could he put himself out there, despite knowing it couldn’t last? It pissed him off that she kept downplaying what they had. Nothing made him feel as alive as when they were together, and she challenged him, made him laugh, made him want to haul her to the nearest darkest corner. No self-medicated stupor felt as good as her smile in the sunshine surrounded by tulip fields.

Who wouldn’t grab onto that with both hands if given a chance?

Urgency gripped him. She was leaving soon. Weeks, she’d said to Allison. Panic clawed up his spine. She was sand slipping through his fingers.

“Goddamnit.” He tossed his fork down, pulled out his billfold, and threw a ten on the table. Before he knew it, his feet took him out the door and into the warm sunshine.

Eyes locked on the pretty storefront currently full of happy ladies, he marched across the town square to do what needed to be done.

Chapter

Twenty-One

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