I was pulled from my daydreaming when the bell over the door jingled. I sat up straight and smiled big when Sage and Dani came waltzing through. “Hey, guys. This is a nice surprise. How’s it going?”
“It’s good,” Dani said brightly. “We’re on our lunch hour and thought we’d stop in to say hi.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
Ivy came skipping over, stopping beside Sage and tugging on the hem of her shirt. “I like your boots.”
Sage was wearing kickass biker boots with a pair of black leggings and a long, loose-weave gray sweater that fell to her hips and had a wide, droopy neckline, showing a metallic camisole underneath. Her whole look screamed biker babe in the fall, so it wasn’t the least bit surprising my girl had taken a liking to it.
As it was, my girl looked like a mini-biker chick in flashy colors. Her leggings were covered in pink and silver sugar skulls that matched her shimmery silver sweater and glittery silver Dr. Martins.
“Oh my God,” Sage said on a squeal. “Aren’t you just the most adorable thing ever?” In reaction, my girl beamed big and let out an enthusiastic giggle.
“Is this your little girl?” Dani asked.
She and Sage both looked like they were about to melt from cuteness overload, when my daughter said with that adorable little toddler lisp, “Hi. I’m Ivy. Are you friends with Mommy?”
“That they are, love bug. This is Ms. Dani and Ms. Sage.”
Sage crouched down in front of Ivy and held out her hand to shake. “I like your boots too, munchkin. I think I need to get me a pair just like them.”
“We can be matchy buddies!” Ivy declared excitedly.
“She’s so cute,” Sage squeaked, looking up at me. “I want her to be my bestest friend ever.”
“I can’t be your best friend ’cause I already told Mike I’d be his best friend, and he’d be really sad. But we can be second best friends.”
Dani looked at me with a teasing smile. “Ooh, who’s Mike?”
“He lives next door,” Ivy informed them. “He had supper with us last night and almost kissed Mommy at the sink.”
My head shot down, my eyes nearly bugging out. “What?”
Sylvia joined us then, grinning like she knew a secret. “Next time you feel like neckin’ with the neighbor, maybe don’t do it standin’ in front of a window.”
Shit! Shit, shit, fuck!
“Wait.” Sage’s eyes bounced all over the place. “Who’s Mike?”
Dani didn’t say anything, and when I looked at her she was watching me so intently I began to squirm. “What?”
Her brow’s lifted high onto her forehead, nearly kissing her hairline as a smile tugged at her lips. “Doesn’t Micah live next door to you?”
“I—” Merciful hell.
Sage stood to her full height, her smile matching that of Dani’s as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m so glad we decided to stop in here today,” she proclaimed.
“Look, it isn’t what you guys think. It’s not like that. We just . . . well, we came to an understanding yesterday, that’s it.”
“An understanding that required his mouth on yours?” Sage asked.
“We didn’t technically kiss,” I insisted. “I wasn’t going to let it go there.”
“Sure as heck looked like you were to me,” Sylvia added unhelpfully. “In fact, it looked like you were the one about to take it over the finish line.”
Ivy’s gaze bounced around the group like she was watching a tennis match. “Mommy, was you and Mike gonna race?”
“Nah. From what I hear, Micah’s the type to let the woman finish first,” Sage teased.
Dani and Sylvia both started cracking up while I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Okay, this conversation’s over. Nothing’s happening between Micah and me, and that’s how it’s going to stay. End of story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” I lifted my chin haughtily and turned back to the spreadsheets I had no interest in.
“All right, we’ll cut you some slack,” Sage said, then added cheekily, “for now.”
The bell over the door rang, alerting me to a new customer. It took a second for my brain to register where I knew the man, but once recognition clicked into place, my stomach sank.
“Greg, hi,” I greeted, pinning a smile on my face. The air in the shop suddenly changed, growing heavy and charged. My eyes did a quick sweep, and I noticed the shift was coming from Dani. I didn’t know what was going on, but she suddenly looked tense and on alert.
“Hey, beautiful.” He gave me a wink before scanning the group. Tilting his head he offered a somewhat distracted, “Ladies,” before leaning his elbows on the counter and focusing solely on me. “You having a good day so far?”
I’d totally forgotten about meeting Greg that night at The Tap Room and inviting him to come see me at the shop. In my defense, I’d been pretty buzzed that night. But the only reason I’d led him to believe I was interested in talking to him again was because Micah had pissed me off, and I wanted to get back at him. Not my finest hour.
It didn’t sit well with me that he’d all but disregarded the other women around us, but I did my best to remain cordial. “I’ve got no complaints so far.” Ivy rounded the counter just then, squeezing up beside me and wrapping her little arms tight around my thigh. “Greg, this is my daughter, Ivy.” I looked down at my girl and brushed my fingers through her hair. “Can you say hi, honey?”
Instead of being her usual loud, personable self, she gripped my leg tighter, like she was trying to fuse herself to me as she mumbled, “Hello.”
“Well, hey there, Ivy. My, aren’t you a pretty girl? You look just like your momma,” he said, looking up to shoot me another wink. “It’s real nice to meet you.”
She turned her face away, burrowing into my skin. The sudden shift in the happy vibe that had filled the shop coupled with my daughter’s strange reaction to Greg left me feeling a bit unsettled. I let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry about that. Guess she’s feeling a little shy today.”
“Didn’t realize she had a shy bone in her body,” Sylvia muttered under her voice. My gaze shot to her and I saw she was watching Greg closely, her expression closed off in a way I’d never seen before. It was almost as if she didn’t trust this man.
“Yeah, well . . . Maybe it’s just one of those days.” I attempted to brush her off, knowing full well she was right, and that my girl had never, in her four years, had one of those days. “So, what brings you by? You in the market for some flowers?” I’d tried to make my tone teasing, but everything about this situation felt uncomfortable and awkward.
“Not today, but maybe soon.” That got me another wink, as if he were sharing a secret, when in all honesty, the wink was getting a little played out. Three in less than five minutes was too much. “I don’t have long before I have to get back to the station; I just stopped in to see your gorgeous face.”
“Oh, uh . . .” That comment threw me. It felt far too intimate for a man and woman who’d only spoken one other time, and for less than ten minutes. “Thank you. That’s sweet.”