Page 69 of The Great Dating Fake Off
She points to a display of white flowers. “What do you think of these?”
I shrug. “They look fine.”
“Just fine?” Her eye roll seems playful enough. “Do you know what they are?”
I lace my hands behind my neck. “If they don’t grow in Nella’s garden, I don’t know what they are.”
If she’s going for subtle as her gaze roams my body, she fails miserably. Adrenaline flows through me hard and fast.
She swallows and checks out the ceiling instead. “Of course you garden for your grandmother.”
“I mean…yeah. I mow her lawn, maintain the rose bushes, that sort of thing. She sits on the porch and drinks and orders me around. It’s fun for her.”
Her attention slides back to the blooms. “These are hydrangeas, also known as Blair Waldorf’s favorite flower. May that fact serve you well in trivia someday.”
“Noted. Ro said she likes white, so I say we grab them.”
“We’ve got the budget for them, that’s for sure.”
“Honestly, I think flowers are the least essential part of a wedding. I’d rather drop three grand on a trip, myself. Don’t worry, I’ll never let the bride hear me say that, since I value my extremities.”
“Wise.” She leans forward to smell another flower I don’t outright recognize. This view of her, surrounded by color as she holds her braids from falling forward with a soft smile on her face, would make a pretty picture. “And what, in your opinion, is the most essential part of the wedding?”
“The vows. I’d spend weeks making sure those are just right. When the wedding ends, that’s what’s left.”
Her thoughtful pause is long. “Oh.”
“What does that mean?”
She looks up at me, cheeks rosy. “It means I bet you interview very well, because that’s a great answer.”
I can’t help but grin at the indignation in her tone. “I don’t interview well. I’m more of a prove-it-with-hard-work kind of guy.”
Her body leans closer to mine, but she doesn’t touch me. “I can see that, too.”
I want to thread my finger through her beltloop and tug her closer. But I muddied the waters enough with that kiss, so I tuck my hands in my pockets instead. “What’s your answer? Most important wedding thing?”
“Hmm.” She fiddles with her braid. “I always imagined eloping, since I have a family of one and all. But if my husband wants a proper wedding, that’d be fine. I’d want the important people in our lives there. I don’t care where it is or what season or what color anything is. I want people dancing until their feet hurt and arguing with the DJ for just one more song. Lots of laughter. At the end of the night, I want one last dance with my man when the room has emptied out. I don’t want to be a bride who makes all the demands and he’s just along for the ride, I want it to be equally ours.”
“But you’d want to elope? Where?”
“A beach.” She smiles softly. “Somewhere tropical so I can wear a cheap cotton dress and a white bikini. A wedding and honeymoon in one. Spending a ton of money on a wedding doesn’t appeal to me. I’d rather save that money for a house.”
Something tells me Nora in a simple dress would outshine even the fanciest bride.
I clear my throat. “You’ll need just one flower, then.” I lift a yellow bloom from the display and offer it to her. “A bright one for behind your ear.”
Her lips twist into a shy sort of smile as her lashes flutter. She takes the stem, her fingers brushing mine. “Good choice.”
I want to give her more things just so she’ll make that face again.
“Do you want a family?” she asks.
Honestly, I haven’t thought about anything like that for a long time, since Kelcey told me it’d be unfair to my kids to make them move schools all the time for my job.
But do I want them?
“Yes, I’d like a family. If I could ever figure out how to pull that off with my life. Which I probably can’t, so it’s a moot point.” I swallow, heat creeping up my neck. “What do you say we get these flowers? We’re on a time crunch.”
