“Not too bad. My brother’s famous, so they like to follow him around.”
“Who told you that?” Ty asked, but his gaze was still on me.
“My mama. She wants all her friends to meet you too.”
“Yeah, I shut that shi—sorry, I shut that down.” He turned his attention to me. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted a burger or grilled cheese, so I got us one of each to share.”
“I can see that. This is an awful lot of food.”
“Ty says we’re growing boys.” Sebastian shrugged and spoke over a mouthful of french fries. Ty barked out a laugh and I smiled as I watched the two of them. I was happy he came back to meet his brother. I knew he was angry at his father, but missing out on Sebastian’s life was just punishing him and Sebastian.
“Well, aren’t you two cute together,” I said, before biting into the grilled cheese and groaning. Lenny had a limited menu, but there were plenty of options to choose from as far as I was concerned.
“Ty said you used to be his girlfriend. I don’t have a girlfriend. Loretta said I’m too young. Maybe when I start school?”
I smiled. “Yeah. I’d wait. This guy pestered me for years before I finally started dating him in high school.”
Ty’s head fell back, and he laughed so hard Sebastian dropped his fork and started laughing too. “That’s a true story. Ivy was always that girl for me.”
“You think you’ll marry her someday?” Sebastian asked, and my breath caught in my throat.
Ty cocked his head and studied me. “Nah. She can do a lot better than me.”
I hated when he said things like that. A part of me wondered if it was just a cop-out because he wasn’t willing to make the effort to make things work. I tried to shake it off, but there was something telling, wistful in his expression. Well, whatever—Ty wasn’t staying and he’d made it clear. He didn’t want a family. He didn’t want the same things I wanted. This was temporary, and I needed to remember that. It still didn’t keep me from hoping and wanting things to be different.
“I’ll give it a shot,” I said with a chuckle, and Sebastian’s gaze bounced between us.
We finished up lunch, and the boys decided to walk back to the office with me. Five camera guys walked behind us, and I made a mental note to follow Ty’s lead and not pay them any attention. I hugged Sebastian goodbye and extended my hand to Ty. I don’t know why I did it. I was awkward and this whole thing was confusing. I didn’t know what we were.
Ty laughed and reached for my hand and tugged me against his body, before covering my mouth with his. My knees went weak, but his hand wrapped around my waist to support me.
“Now that’s a real girlfriend kind of kiss, right, Ty?” Sebastian asked and Ty slowly pulled back. My breaths were coming fast, and I straightened myself to see the guys holding cameras a few feet away snapping pictures.
Great.
I may as well enjoy this time because no one would want to date me after Ty left because it clearly looked like I wasn’t single.
“That’s how you claim a girl, Sebastian. But you’re too young to do that just yet. Just wait it out, buddy.”
“Will you help me when I get older?” Sebastian asked as Ty kept his gaze on me as he walked backward toward his brother. I noticed that his shoulders tensed at the question. He hadn’t planned on making this a long-term thing with his brother, but here they were growing close anyway.
“I’ll help you.” He messed up the top of the little guy’s hair with his hand before turning back to me. “I’ll meet you at your house after work.”
“Oh yeah? You think you’ll be claiming me again?” I smirked.
“What’s the deal with you two?” one of the camera guys yelled from a few feet away. Ty took his hand and covered Sebastian’s eyes and then held his middle finger up in the air with his free hand.
I laughed and walked into my office. I couldn’t help but turn around and watch as they headed back to the car that had followed us over to my office. Hand in hand. With a slew of photographers behind them.
I sent a group text and updated the girls on my lunch date. They sent every cute emoji known to man.
Coco texted me a few minutes later and said to relax and just enjoy the ride.
Literally and figuratively.
Thoughts of Ty last night, making me feel all the ways, flashed through my mind. I could handle ten more days of that for sure.
I buried myself in work and sat on the floor unpacking all the favors that had arrived for Talia’s wedding. She was having an outdoor farm-themed wedding, and the favors were adorable. Kathleen would be putting together these little wood candle votives with a sprig of rosemary and a cute name tag for each guest. I piled all the supplies for her and set them aside. The chalkboard name tags had arrived, and I unwrapped those and piled them back in the box. I’d be working on those at home this week, because there was just too much to do. I asked Kathleen to type up a copy of the guest list for me and place it in the box.
“I saw you and Ty outside, and you sure looked happy,” Kathleen said as she reached for the favors she was going to work on.
“It’s nothing.” I waved my hand in front of me. “Just two old friends hanging out.”
“Oh yeah? Well, look who’s coming back in with flowers as we speak.” Johnny Cope was carrying another enormous vase of peonies and hydrangeas again. He pulled the door open and tipped his head around the arrangement to see me.
“Damn, girl. The country star clearly has it bad for you. Is that why you turned me down?” he asked, and Kathleen coughed over the water she just drank.
“I’m fairly certain I turned you down because you’re still in high school.” I laughed and made a space on my desk because I moved one of the arrangements to a side table near the chair in the corner. My office was inundated with pretty blooms, and I didn’t mind it one bit.
“Well, Ty Greene is a cool cat, so I’m not going to take it personally. We’ve got two camera guys who sit outside Violet’s Floral Shop and follow me when I walk these to your office every day now. It’s crazy, right? The guy has definitely outgrown Willow Springs.”
I nodded, but a lump formed in my throat. He was right. Ty had outgrown this place. In fact, he hated it here. He couldn’t wait to leave.
Keep your heart in check. Don’t be stupid.
I handed him a tip and waved goodbye. I needed to focus on work. I didn’t have time to daydream all day.
I got through my long list of to-dos before heading out for the day.
There was a cameraman following me now when I left my office. I kept looking over my shoulder and glaring at him.