“Have you eaten breakfast?” he asked.
She smiled. “No.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right! Have some with me anyway, will you?” He led her into the kitchen. Linsie put fruit and a tray of muffins on the table, then took her mug outside to the porch.
“Thanks, Mom. You can stay with us if you like,” Oliver called. She laughed lightly as the screen door banged shut behind her.
Oliver rolled his eyes. “She thinks we want to be alone.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Oliver bit a muffin, then chewed for a moment before answering. “No. Just Mom and me. My dad died when I was ten.”
“Oh—I’m sorry.”
He didn’t offer any more information, and an awkward pause followed. She hunted for something to say. “What’s life like here? Do you go to school?”
Oliver straightened his back and swallowed his food. “Yes, but we’re off for the summer and part of the fall, until the harvest is over. Everyone in town helps with that. It’s not bad here—I have a lot of good friends—but we have to get creative to have fun. Millflower is a small town after all.”
Oliver chatted about the things they did to stave off boredom—cow tipping, childish pranks, and sneaking into the granary to play games without getting caught. In earlier days, he and the other boys amused themselves by trapping animals and sticking the carcasses to the windows of girls’ bedrooms, but he had matured since then. Or so he claimed.
Alina sat back in her chair and listened, enjoying the enthusiasm in his gestures and his animated blue eyes. It seemed everything in life, no matter how dull, became fascinating when spoken from his lips.
The hours raced by, and as lunchtime grew near, he asked if she’d like to go into town with him. She hated to leave the comfort of his kitchen, but he persisted until she agreed.
“I have to work in a couple of hours, but we could get some lunch. Or I could, I should say, and you can sit and watch me eat,” he said.
She laughed. “I’ll eat lunch with you; that would be nice. But I’ve taken your whole morning. Do you have chores to do?” Linsie had long since left for work.
He waved a dismissive hand. “I can do them when I get back. Today’s been worth it.”
“Can I help you with your work later?”
He stared at her for a moment. She realized how bold she sounded and reddened.
“Yes. I’d love for you to come over later. But I have a lot to do. You might have to stay a while.” He grinned.
They walked into town, where he showed her all the places she hadn’t yet seen. Whispers followed them wherever they went, and both the girls and boys smoldered with rage, except for Oliver’s friends who flashed him a thumb’s up when they thought Alina wasn’t looking. Oliver seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
They talked for another hour over lunch, and though their conversation never reached great depths, his stories amused her. When the time came for him to go to work, she offered to walk him there. She wanted to see the small cafe again because as the spot where they first met, it was now her favorite place in town. But she’d never tell him that.
“You know, Alina,” he said, putting his arm over her shoulder as they walked, “I think I’ve found my new best friend. You’re more fun than any of my buddies, and way more relaxed than any of the girls.” She pretended to look shocked, and he laughed. “Yes, I see you know what I mean. Who’d want to cuddle with those prickly things? But you—you’re like one of the guys!”
She wasn’t sure she liked his compliment but felt relieved he wanted only friendship from her. “I’ve had a great time too, more than you know,” she responded. “Thanks for helping me feel at home for the first time since I’ve been here.”
He licked his lips and squeezed her close to him. As he pulled away, his hand grazed her arm down to her fingertips, then grabbed them briefly. Her eyes followed him to the cafe door where he turned and flashed a tiny smile, as if he knew she noticed his touch, and he wanted it that way.
Over the next two weeks, Alina and Oliver spent almost every minute together when he was off work, and often when he wasn’t. She’d sit at the corner table of the cafe and watch him serve customers and laugh at the theatrics he’d sneak in for her amusement. He loved to make her laugh, and since his humor matched hers, he excelled at it. Her presence became such a distraction that his boss allowed her to stay long enough to eat a meal, then ordered her out. So, every day she ate a meal at the cafe to be with him.
She enjoyed their time together but didn’t feel attracted to him like she did Zaiden, which relieved her. She welcomed no romantic confusion in her life. Oliver seemed content with their friendship as well, but he often found a reason to touch her—on her hands, her hair, even her face.
She further appreciated Oliver’s friendship when it severed all hopes of finding it elsewhere. The girls in Millflower coolly ignored her, yet their furious glares when she was with Oliver indicated they might kill her, if only she could die.
The boys took it as a personal rejection and became aloof. Even the friendliest of them now avoided her, as if all purpose in becoming acquainted was gone. It seemed choosing Oliver meant spurning everyone else.
Nicole, who Alina thought couldn’t get any worse, muttered such degrading remarks in Alina’s presence that she feared going home each day. Nicole appeared to take the friendship with
