Forgetting Yesterday (11 page)

She raised her eyebrows and grinned. “It sure didn’t take you long.”

I had my glass halfway to my lips but I stopped, lowering it again. “Excuse me?”

She vaguely motioned toward the bar. “I saw you up there. With
Alex? It sure didn’t take you long. To catch his interest, I mean.” I wasn’t sure if I should be offended by her statement or not. Morgan’s soft smile made me decide not to be. “I know girls that have been trying to catch his attention for quite some time now. You’re in town, what a week?”

I nodded
again. I had actually been in town a month now, but I didn’t think she needed me to correct her. “Something like that.”

She
smiled again. This time it looked strained and didn’t sit right with me. “I’m surprised he’s dating again,” she said.

Before
I could ask for further explanation, Sean jumped back into the conversation. “Morgan,” he said, his tone firm but obviously teasing, “I hope now that you’re back, you don’t keep Dane all to yourself.”

I wasn’t
paying attention to Morgan’s answer. Instead, I shared a questioning look with Claire, who simply shrugged to indicate she didn’t know what Morgan’s comment meant anymore than I did.

I decided I’d ask her to ask
Sean about it later. He’d gone to school with Alex and had grown up in the same town, so maybe he’d know.

Then she gave me a look that let me know she was dying to hear what
Alex had said to me. But she had the good sense not to ask with Morgan sitting right there. Instead, she gave me a smug look and then turned her attention back to Sean.

My mind drifted away from the conversation as I surreptitiously checked out the bar, wondering if he was still around. After a thorough scan, I gave up. It was just too crowded to tell.

I pulled myself back into the conversation—or at least tried to. My mind was elsewhere. My hand rested at the top of my pocket where I’d tucked away Alex’s business card. I ran a finger over it, smiling to myself, knowing that even if I’d lost track of him tonight, I’d be able to hear his voice again soon.

“You called,”
Alex stated. His tone was smooth and teasing. “I was beginning to worry.”

“I didn’t want to call you while you were working,” I admitted. I had waited until after dinner. Claire was out with
Sean, at another softball game. She’d invited me along and I’d been tempted to go this time. However, I had a matter that was more pressing. I had a phone call to make.

Knowing he was gone had made the weekend drag by slowly, even though Claire had kept me plenty busy. I couldn’t help but wonder if he felt at all the same.

I eased myself onto a patio chair, settling in for what I hoped was a long phone call.

The evening was gorgeous.
The gentle breeze washed over me even as the sun’s last rays of the day warmed me. I tried to envision him, wondering if he was out on his deck as well. Or if he was sprawled out on the couch, a sports channel muted in the background.

I couldn’t think of a casual way to ask so I just let my mind wander, picturing him.

“I wouldn’t have minded if you called while I was working. I would’ve taken a break to talk to you,” he said easily.

I couldn’t stop my smile from spreading across my face. What had I been thinking avoiding him? Oh, right, I’d felt humiliated beyond words. But maybe I was getting over that
. Now that I had him on the phone, I couldn’t get enough of the sound of his voice.

“Well, maybe
I
couldn’t take a break,” I teased back.

He was suddenly serious, but sounded pleased. “Oh, hey, did you get a job?
I’ve been wondering how that was going for you.”

“Kind of.” I explained to him that I was now working with Claire.
Other than seeing him at The Bear’s Den, it had been weeks since we’d last talked. “It probably won’t be permanent,” I said of my new job. I didn’t get into the details of our financial arrangement. “But she needed some help with the bookkeeping. She’s really busy right now, of course. And I had a whole lot of free time.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding disappointed again.

Was he expecting something better out of me? Maybe a managerial position at one of the local resorts or something?

“Too bad it’s not more permanent,” he said.

That’s why he sounded disappointed? My smile crept back into place.

“Well, who knows,” I admitted. “I have a few ideas and Claire’s been pretty receptive to them. They could really
help expand the business so we’ll see.” I didn’t want to get my hopes up but Claire had been the one to say she’d love to be able to keep me around. It was no secret that I’d love to stay.

For that to happen
, I would eventually need to make a bit more money. And maybe, just maybe, some expansion would allow for that.

He let out a relieved laugh. “Well, here’s to hoping Claire’s business starts booming.”

“Here’s to hoping,” I echoed with a smile in my voice. “So, how was your fishing trip?”

“Good,” he said. “A friend and I try to get away a couple of weekends every summer.
Summer is the busiest time for both of us at work, but that’s why it’s nice to take a weekend for myself. Anyhow, this friend of mine, his family owns this cabin up north. It’s nothing fancy, in fact, they just recently got electricity. But it’s a great place to spend the weekend. We’ve been doing it for a few years. It’s nothing special—just real secluded, no phone reception or anything—but sometimes that’s just what a person needs. You know?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. I did know. “It sounds relaxing.”

“It is,” he admitted. “Do you fish?”

“Me?” I asked in surprise. “Uh, no.”

“That’s too bad. I might have to change that.” I cringed, not agreeing but not wanting to argue, either. Instead, I tried to compromise. “I do like going for a boat ride, though. When I was younger, we used to go to the lake a lot. I love to water ski. Or at least I used to but it’s been ages since I’ve gone. But no, to answer your question, I never got into fishing. I’m sure I’d be perfectly happy just
watching
someone else fish.”

He laughed at that, and then a moment of silence followed

“So, this weekend?” he finally said. “Are you free?”

I let out a dramatic groan. “That depends. Are you going to try to teach me how to fish?”

He laughed again and I smiled into the phone, loving the sound of it.

“Nah, not this weekend,” he decided.

“Then I’m absolutely free.”

He was quiet again, as if tossing an idea around.

“And if I don’t want to wait that long?” he finally asked.

Without missing a beat I said, “I wouldn’t mind at all. Because really, I don’t want to wait that long either.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear. How about tomorrow night? I could take you to that Italian place I was telling you about.”

“I don’t know,” I teased. “Is that your way of getting out of the dinner you’re supposed to be cooking me?”

He laughed. “Nah. That’s my way of making sure you go out with me more than once. So the Italian restaurant tomorrow, a homemade meal later?”

“Sounds too good to resist,” I agreed.

Alex cleared his throat. “So, uh, are you going to tell me why you
really
just up and left that morning? Are you sure I didn’t do something wrong? Because if I did, I want to know. I want to make damn sure I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

I cringed because I
should’ve known that was coming. I really hated that he thought he was at fault. That was so far from the truth. And even though I’d already given him an explanation, I thought it was really sweet that he was still concerned.

I
rested my head on the back of the lawn chair and pinched the bridge of my nose. Without opening my eyes I said, “I told you. I really was just embarrassed. That’s the honest truth. You did absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, you were perfect. It was me, all me. I’ve never done anything like that before. I’ve only been with two guys, before you, I mean. They were both long-term relationships. Really, I guess I just panicked.”

“And you didn’t call me back because…?
”

“I
was afraid of what you thought of me. I mean,” I took a breath, deciding after the past few weeks, he deserved some honesty, “after something like that happens, I wasn’t sure what you’d be expecting from me in the future.”

He laughed at that but it was a hearty laugh, one that made me smile.

“Well, that works both ways you know. How am I supposed to know you aren’t going out with me again for my body alone? Maybe I’m worried that you don’t like me for my brain.”

I shook my head but I was still smiling. “Point taken. So maybe we can just pretend that night never happened?”

“Oh, hell no. It happened. And I’m not gonna lie. I hope it happens again. But for both of our sanities, I don’t think it should happen again for a while. I’ve got to be sure you like me, for me,” he teased.

Or at least, I thought he was teasing.

“Fair enough,” I agreed. Oddly, his words put me at ease. While that night had been…enjoyable, I was glad he also thought it was best to slow things down.

Or more like back them up.

“So tomorrow night, I’ll pick you up at six.”

“I can’t wait,” I admitted.

*******

“What do you think?” I asked as I sat back, showing my work off to Dottie.

Her lips twisted into something that was far from a smile.

“You don’t like it?”

She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I think it could be better.”

Meaning, obviously, that she didn’t like it.
I tried not to be disappointed. I’d put a lot of time into these ideas. I’d been brainstorming for weeks but had finally laid everything out on an idea board. The final stages of the project had helped to keep my mind off of Alex over the weekend while he was away. And even this morning, as I tried not to think too much about our impending date tonight.

It was impossible to put it completely out of my mind. We’d talked on the phone for over an hour. I was thrilled that he’d decided he didn’t want to wait for the weekend. Just the very thought set butterflies loose in my stomach.

Butterflies? I felt like I was in high school again.

I shook my head, trying to make myself focus.

Back to my idea board.

I
squinted; scrutinizing my work, trying to see it the way Dottie was seeing it. “What would you recommend?” I finally asked.

She lifted a shoulder. “It’s all so commercialized. You go to all of the trouble of starting up a website, you should offer people something truly special. When people order flowers, it’s because there’s something special going on in someone’s life. They deserve to find special gifts to go along with the flow
ers. I mean these gift ideas you’ve chosen are
okay
. But they should be better than okay. They should be truly special.”

I felt a frown settle onto my face. “Do you have any suggestions?” I truly wanted to know. I was open to hearing them. Dottie was right. Getting the website up and running was a lot of work. I did want to make it worth our time.

“Avoid commercialized. Everyone does commercialized.”

“Okay.” I waited. I needed more than that. In theory, of course it sounded good. In reality, I wasn’t sure how to pull it off.
“How do you suggest I do that?” I wondered.

“Work with some local people,” she recommended. “We have craft fairs in town a couple of times a summer. You can find jewelry, handcrafted wood pieces, things like jewelry boxes or small board games. At least then you know your quality is topnotch and you’re offering customers something that they can’t find at every single flower shop that’s online.”

I nodded slowly, letting her ideas sink in.

“I could help you with it,” she offered. “If you’re truly interested I could introduce you to some people. It would take
some work though. More work than ordering a stuffed bear or a set of wine glasses out of some stuffy supply catalog.”

“Can I think about it? I’d really like to see what Claire thinks,” I said. “I think it’s a fantastic idea. But you’re right. It really could be a lot of work, lining up the gifts and keeping an appropriate inventory. I think she should have final say on something like this.”

Dottie nodded. “Of course she should. And I know you’re real busy on the weekends but a few weeks from now there will be a craft fair down on the riverfront. Maybe the two of you should head on down there. Scope out a few things, small items that would be easy to keep on hand. Meet a few of the artisans.”

“That sounds good,” I agreed. “I’ll check with Claire to see if she’s free.”

She gave my shoulder a squeeze before padding away, back to the worktables in the other room.

I glanced at my idea board again. She was right. The gifts were okay. But just okay
. If we really wanted the online part of the business to take off, we were going to have to offer something that would really stand out.

I sat back, trying to visualize my idea board with handcrafted items on it. I was trying to get a feel for small things that would be easy to store if purchased ahead of time. Or maybe we’d have to commission items as they were ordered. That, I realized
, could get complicated. While Dottie’s idea was a good one, unfortunately, it was not without complications, as she’d admitted.

I was surprised a few minutes later when Dottie came back into the office, hustling Claire along with her.
Apparently she didn’t want to waste any time.

“Okay,” Claire said with a laugh. “What’s this about?”
She whisked away a strand of hair that had fallen in her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her other hand held a cluster of purple flowers that I couldn’t identify. As far as this job went, I still had a long way to go. I had a hunch I might never be much help with the flowers. I might just have to stick to the bookwork.

And the website.

I shot a look at Dottie, who wore an uncharacteristically smug look.

“Well, go on now,” she said as she waved her hand at me to explain. “You said you needed to talk to Claire. So tell her what we discussed.”

I laughed at her enthusiasm. I hadn’t meant that I needed to talk to Claire right then, that moment. But…now that she was here, why not?

“Well,” I said, sliding my idea board to the side because now it felt a little worthless, “Dottie just had a fantastic brainstorm.” I
could swear Dottie actually blushed at my compliment. I went on to explain to Claire that Dottie thought we should commission local goods from local artisans. I reiterated that as long as we were going to the trouble of a website, we might as well go all out.

Dottie jumped in, telling Claire that there were a few craft fairs coming up. Claire nodded patiently, staying quiet for the most part, absorbing it all.