“She is. But I heard things today that I’m not sure I wanted to. What she said makes sense, but it’s hard for me to imagine. Since he was a baby, my life has revolved around him. I’ve been both his parents a majority of the time. Nathan pops in when he feels like it, but it doesn’t happen as often as it should.”
I can’t imagine what it would feel like to not have a relationship with my dad. Caroline may be one of the strongest women I know having to juggle work and having a small child. “I’m sorry. That has to be hard for you, and David.”
“It’s definitely not a cake walk.” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “That is why this is going to be harder than I thought. What happens if one of us catches feelings?”
Too late for that. The more she talks, the more she shows vulnerability. The more I like her. She may not be wrong. This could end up a total disaster. But it’s one I’m willing to see through. Even if it does end messy.
“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Lie. “You’re pretty adamant, and I’ll do my best to respect your boundaries.” Another half lie. I’ll respect the walls she’s put up, but I’m going to try like hell to get her to lower the barriers completely.
She’s silent for a few minutes. The steady drops of rain hitting the windshield is the only sound in the car. It’s peaceful, and I don’t have the urge to fill the silence. She’ll talk when she’s ready.
The van in front of me slows, and turns down a long driveway. I brake enough to make the turn without sending the flowers all over my car. In the distance I can see a big building that resembles a barn. If we’re lucky, they have an awning over the loading zone. We can back straight up to it, and transferring the plants out of our vehicles will be easier than it was loading them.
Sam makes a turn in front of the slide up door, and backs up to it. A small roof hangs over the door and it’s high enough that she can back in until the doors are covered. I park beside her and turn off the car.
As I open the door, she places a hand on my arm, “Wait.”
“Sure.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Just promise me we can get through this without breaking any rules.”
“Promise.” And that’s the biggest lie I’ll ever tell. There’s a probability I’m going to break them all. But I’m not about to fuck up this chance to date her.
13
Caroline
Carlos leftabout an hour after the rain stopped. His employee called freaking out because the bar was filling up, and he didn’t have as many hands as he needed. I get it. People were getting off work and wanted to let off some steam. It is a Friday night after all. He was needed at his actual job.
It’s just as well, though. He makes me nervous. Not in a bad way, but when he’s around I talk more freely than I do to my friends. And I can’t deny that I’m attracted to the man. He isn’t much taller than me, but you can tell he gets his work out in during work, and he’s completely different than my ex-husband. The way he treats me with respect without really knowing me is more than Nathan ever did.
When Carlos is around, I second guess this entire plan we’ve laid out. Well, I do it when he’s not around, too. I know he likes me. He’s told me, and he’s still willing to play by my rules. But I can’t develop feelings for him. It won’t work out even if I did. He has late nights and weekends at the bar. My weekends aren’t always free either. Especially during wedding season.
And here I am, arranging the last of the flowers around this massive barn. It’s not a bad gig, but it gets repetitive. Only a few more to set up, and we’re free for the night. Until in the morning when we have to make sure all the flowers are still okay.
“Are y’all almost done?” Kate calls out, breaking me from my jumbled emotions.
I haven’t felt like this since I was much younger, and I don’t know how to deal with it. I could swing by Mom’s house and see what she has to say. But I’m not ready for that discussion. I’ll continue on with Carlos and hope like hell neither of us gets hurt.
“Yeah.” I answer. “I just need to straighten up this last one and I’m good to go.”
“Awesome.” I glance over my shoulder and she’s fist pumping the air.
Now that everything is in its place, the four us pile into the van. “I’m so ready to get out of these damp clothes and climb into bed.” Emily buckles her seat belt.
“You and me both,” I laugh. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
“Yep,” Sam agrees from behind the wheel. “Luckily, we don’t have to stay until the reception is over. They want us to take the flowers from the wedding, but said they’d keep the ones for the reception.”
Thank God for small favors. I wasn’t looking forward to loading all of those back into this thing tomorrow. “That means Mom won’t have to keep David overnight tomorrow night.”
“Wait a minute,” Kate turns around until she can see me over her seat. “You will not go pick him up. I’m sure she has something fun and amazing planned. You deserve a night to rest.”
“Or go see Carlos.” I can’t see Sam’s face, but I have a feeling she’s lifting her eyebrows up and down.
“He has to work.” They do have a point, though. Tonight, and tomorrow, I can curl up on the couch with a book and not have to worry about anything for a bit.
She shrugs, “There’s always after work.”