Iris is at the cash register, ringing up a bouquet for a suave-looking man in a suit. A few older ladies meander around the shop, aimlessly browsing the house plants.
Jessa eyeballs me from where she's curled up on the dusty window sill with a book in her lap and a lollipop stick poking out the side of her mouth. "Hey there, superstar. You okay? You look like you got chased all the way here by the paparazzi."
I shrug. "Long night." I drop my purse on the floor under the counter and kick it until it’s hidden. I'm in yoga pants and a hoodie. For once, I didn't have it in me to get dressed up.
Lexi wanders out of the bathroom and snatches the brown paper bag I have tucked under my left arm. "Thanks, Penn. I'm fucking starving." She waddles across the room toward the wobbly wooden table in the corner. She drops into a folding chair, one hand roaming over her enormous baby bump.
I brought my friends cookies from Jittery Joe's. I had a coupon.
The customer walks out and Iris turns away from the register. “You’re late,” she says in an accusatory pitch a tad too high for my liking.
Ouch! I flinch and massage my throbbing temples with my fingertips. “I’m here, aren’t I? Don't I get bonus points for attendance?” I grumble. "And I'm giving you free labor so you have zero right to complain."
“Sorry, I’m just excited!” My cousin rushes me and snatches the hand-rendered floor plans I have tucked under my right arm.
Iris fell madly in love with Walker’s youngest brother, Jude, a few months back. They bought this flower shop together and are in the middle of the rebranding process. The place is definitely a work-in-progress and Iris has been growing increasingly overwhelmed by the whole thing.
A week ago when I realized just how much she was struggling, I mustered up the courage to dust off my interior design know-how and volunteered to lend a hand. I know that it would help if she could see what her ideas look like on paper before committing to anything.
Working on this flower shop project with my cousin has been fun. It's been a chance to put my interior design degree to use, brushing up on my technical skills and gaining a bit of much-needed experience for my portfolio.
Iris spreads out the plans on the tatty wrought iron table where Lexi is sitting. Jessa hovers over her shoulder. The girls begin oohing and aahing over the sketches. I hang back, still grappling with my composure.
“These are so gorgeous, Penn,” Iris coos. “It’s like my flower shop dream come to life."
Lexi nods. "I really don’t understand why you're still tending bar. You should be working for some big downtown Chicago design firm. You have loads of talent.”
I barely grunt out a reply before taking a long drag of caffeine. An illustrious career in design is just another one of the dreams I never pursued. I'm hoping that will change soon...
An anxious-looking man in his twenties hustles into the shop, requesting a bouquet to appease his angry girlfriend. He’s sparse with the details of the fight but from the look in his eyes and the sweat on his top lip, it’s clear that he did something really, really stupid and he’s trying to earn his way back into his woman’s good graces. With a compassionate smile, Iris goes off to help the clueless chump make his selection.
The second the man walks out the door with a gigantic bouquet of tulips and daffodils, Iris is back at my side. She bumps her hip into mine. "What's the story, cous? Why so glum today? Spill it.” She hooks an arm through mine and leads me to the table.
I could lie. I could try and convince my friends that I’m a-okay, but these ladies know me too well and each one of them would see right through me. The truth is I had a crappy night and too much to drink. I got traded in by a sexy stranger for a more willing bed buddy, then my best friend dumped my drunk butt into my bed and practically ran for the hills.
I draw a big breath and start at the beginning. I confess to going to an out-of-town bar with sex on the brain. I tell the girls all about my encounter with the Aquaman wannabe and how I ended up calling Walker to save me once I realized that I was way in over my head.
When I get to the part about Walker carrying me into my bedroom, Jessa leans toward me, looking like a Disney Princess with her dark flowing hair and her big brown eyes twinkling eagerly for the rest of the story. "So, he stomps into your bedroom, flings you onto the bed, and what next? Please tell me he spent the next three hours ravishing you mercilessly and fulfilling the farmer fetish fantasies of women the world over."
"I wish." I mutter from behind my coffee cup.
My friends exchange cock-browed glances. Usually, I'd deny my feelings for Walker. Today, I'm just too tired and too upset to put up a front.
Trying to deny it is pointless. Walker Kingston is my emotional camel toe. My infatuation with him is humiliating. I try to hide it, but everyone can see it on me the minute he walks into the room.
I pull off my hat. I slap it down onto the table in front of me. "Guys, he rejected me. He flat-out rejected me."
"What do you mean?" Lexi asks.
This is so cringeworthy, it's painful to talk about. “I threw myself at him,” I admit. “I begged him to stay. Just to hang out. Like we've done a million times before. He took one look at the mess I was and he said ‘no’. Straight-up 'no'. Zero explanation.” I'm hit with a flashback of his wide shoulders and his powerful stride as he marched out of my bedroom last night. I drop my forehead to the tabletop in front of me.
Jessa pipes up confidently. “Y'know what I think? I think he was afraid to be alone with you. That man wants you. And he's probably terrified of
