“Thanks, guys,” Luke said when he walked up to us.
“Does she never take a hint?” Sally asked with a snort.
“No. And now she sees me as some sort of challenge. I give up.” He raised his hands in the air and let them fall with a slap against his sides.
“Maybe you could pass her contact details on to your friend Marcus. He strikes me as someone who'd be up for the challenge.”
He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “I did think about that, actually. Anyway, can we please change the subject to something happier?”
I grinned. “Absolutely. Will you be up for helping put the tables up tomorrow?”
“Of course. Did you want me to pick you and Dolly up tomorrow? I’ve already offered Toby a lift because it’ll be dark by the time we head home.”
I saw Sally trying to look busy, but she gave me the side-eye. I hesitated because I wasn’t totally sure if it would be a good thing to get close. Then again, I may struggle with Aunt Doll’s wheelchair on the uneven ground, so having Luke and Toby with me would be a help.
“Yes, please. That would be great.”
“Cool. I’ll pick you up about three. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be over here tomorrow morning, though, because I want it as perfect as possible for when my aunt sees it.”
Felicity
When I got up the next morning, I felt alive and raring to go. I was excited for my aunt to see how much I’d done on her plot. I’d shown her pictures on my phone, but it wasn’t the same as physically seeing my progress. As soon as I got out of my car, I felt as though I was being watched. Turning around, I saw Stella, who’d parked a couple of cars down from mine. She slammed her car door and made a beeline for me.
“I know your game,” she growled.
“Excuse me?”
“You know what I mean. Luke.”
“What about him?” I raised my brows at her.
“You want him.”
I threw back my head and laughed. “I don’t think so. We’re barely friends.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not what it looked like to me yesterday. You could see I was talking to him, intimately.”
“You make of it what you will, but Sally and I needed his help with something. That’s all.”
She moved a step closer. “Take some advice from me, love. Back the hell off and stay away. He’s mine.”
I widened my eyes, a gasp of shock leaving my lips. “I don’t think Luke sees it that way.”
I strode past her and headed into the allotment. Her footsteps sounded behind me. She grabbed my arm and turned me around.
“Get your hands off me, Stella.” I shrugged out of her grasp and pushed her back. She fell to the floor with a thud on her ass.
“How dare you!” she shrieked.
“I dare because I’m sick of you. You give other women a bad name. I’m not interested in Luke or dating at all. Not that it’s any of your business. Just stay the hell away from me and keep your insecurity and jealousy to yourself.”
I saw the surprise in her eyes at my retort. Well, I was a redhead for a reason. I’d only take so much until I retaliated. I left her sitting on the ground, mouth open wide. I slammed the door to my shed open with a little more force than I meant.
“Hey, what’s that door ever done to you?” I heard Luke call out.
He took a step back when I threw him an angry glare.