on. “I bet under different circumstances, you two would make a cute couple.”
“Who?” he sputtered. “
Ellie and me?
Jeez, Maya, she’d rip your tongue out if she knew you were even thinking that.”
“Maybe.” The phone rang, cutting off her quiet laugh. “Thank you for calling The Stalk Market.”
She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and tipped her chin up toward Brett. “She’s pretty amazing once you get past all that lippy crap.”
Before he could answer, she turned away and started scribbling on a notepad, giving Brett his chance to escape.
As soon as he stepped outside, he scanned both sides of the street, hoping for at least a glimpse of the tulip guy, but there was no sign of him. Brett would figure out who he was eventually, but until he did, it was going to drive him crazy.
He headed down to Jayne’s bookstore to return her dishes, and as usual she already had more food waiting for him.
“I’m not completely useless, you know,” he said with a wink. “I can feed myself.”
“Whatever.” A short wave of her hand dismissed everything he’d said. “I’m glad you’re here, because I have an idea.”
“No.”
“But you don’t even know what it is yet.”
“Let me guess.” He lifted a copy of an old Tom Clancy book and scanned the back as he spoke. “It has something to do with setting me up on another blind date.”
“Yes, but—”
“No.” He set the book down and gave her what he hoped might be at least part of a smile. Apparently, it wasn’t. “Thank you, but no.”
“Just listen.” She flipped the Closed sign face out, slid the dead bolt into place, then leaned back against the door. That couldn’t be good. “Nick told me what you said, how you don’t feel like this town is ‘it’ for you, but that’s just because you haven’t met the right person.”
“Jayne.”
“But how are you going to meet that right person if you don’t go out, if you don’t open yourself up to new people?”
“This from the woman who sat around her whole life waiting for Nick to finally get his head out of his ass?”
“That was different.”
When Brett tipped her a look, she rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Okay, it’s not that different, but how is moving back home going to change anything for you? Do you think life will magically be everything you want it to be just because you’re there? No! I get that you’ll be close to your parents, and that’s great, but so what? It’s the twenty-first century, Brett; you talk and Skype with them all the time, and if—God forbid—something should happen to one of them, you could be back there in a matter of hours.”
She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean he was going to change his mind, not even when she crossed her arms like that and tried to stare him down.
“There’s absolutely no reason you can’t be just as happy here as you think you’re going to be by moving back,” she huffed. “And what about us? I suppose parents get first dibs, but we’re your family, too, Brett, and we’re not going to just let you leave without a fight.”
Brett rubbed his palm over his mouth and sighed quietly.
“Besides,” she said, “we agreed that if I could find a reason for you to stay, you would, so—”
“I never agreed to anything.”
“—you need to let me find you a nice girl. I know I haven’t done very well so far, but if you give me a bit of time, I know I can do it.”
“Jayne.”
“Please?”
Ugh. He hated it when she said “please.”
“And I could get Regan and Maya to help, too.” The wheels were already spinning in her head; he could almost see the mental checklist she was forming. “Come on, Brett: worst-case scenario, you lose a couple hours of your life; best case, you save yourself from hauling all that crap in your weight room back across the country again.”
It was a battle he had no hope of winning, and if it made her happy for the next few weeks or months, what could it hurt?
“Who?” he sputtered. “
Ellie and me?
Jeez, Maya, she’d rip your tongue out if she knew you were even thinking that.”
“Maybe.” The phone rang, cutting off her quiet laugh. “Thank you for calling The Stalk Market.”
She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and tipped her chin up toward Brett. “She’s pretty amazing once you get past all that lippy crap.”
Before he could answer, she turned away and started scribbling on a notepad, giving Brett his chance to escape.
As soon as he stepped outside, he scanned both sides of the street, hoping for at least a glimpse of the tulip guy, but there was no sign of him. Brett would figure out who he was eventually, but until he did, it was going to drive him crazy.
He headed down to Jayne’s bookstore to return her dishes, and as usual she already had more food waiting for him.
“I’m not completely useless, you know,” he said with a wink. “I can feed myself.”
“Whatever.” A short wave of her hand dismissed everything he’d said. “I’m glad you’re here, because I have an idea.”
“No.”
“But you don’t even know what it is yet.”
“Let me guess.” He lifted a copy of an old Tom Clancy book and scanned the back as he spoke. “It has something to do with setting me up on another blind date.”
“Yes, but—”
“No.” He set the book down and gave her what he hoped might be at least part of a smile. Apparently, it wasn’t. “Thank you, but no.”
“Just listen.” She flipped the Closed sign face out, slid the dead bolt into place, then leaned back against the door. That couldn’t be good. “Nick told me what you said, how you don’t feel like this town is ‘it’ for you, but that’s just because you haven’t met the right person.”
“Jayne.”
“But how are you going to meet that right person if you don’t go out, if you don’t open yourself up to new people?”
“This from the woman who sat around her whole life waiting for Nick to finally get his head out of his ass?”
“That was different.”
When Brett tipped her a look, she rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Okay, it’s not that different, but how is moving back home going to change anything for you? Do you think life will magically be everything you want it to be just because you’re there? No! I get that you’ll be close to your parents, and that’s great, but so what? It’s the twenty-first century, Brett; you talk and Skype with them all the time, and if—God forbid—something should happen to one of them, you could be back there in a matter of hours.”
She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean he was going to change his mind, not even when she crossed her arms like that and tried to stare him down.
“There’s absolutely no reason you can’t be just as happy here as you think you’re going to be by moving back,” she huffed. “And what about us? I suppose parents get first dibs, but we’re your family, too, Brett, and we’re not going to just let you leave without a fight.”
Brett rubbed his palm over his mouth and sighed quietly.
“Besides,” she said, “we agreed that if I could find a reason for you to stay, you would, so—”
“I never agreed to anything.”
“—you need to let me find you a nice girl. I know I haven’t done very well so far, but if you give me a bit of time, I know I can do it.”
“Jayne.”
“Please?”
Ugh. He hated it when she said “please.”
“And I could get Regan and Maya to help, too.” The wheels were already spinning in her head; he could almost see the mental checklist she was forming. “Come on, Brett: worst-case scenario, you lose a couple hours of your life; best case, you save yourself from hauling all that crap in your weight room back across the country again.”
It was a battle he had no hope of winning, and if it made her happy for the next few weeks or months, what could it hurt?
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