Page 11 of Blowing His Circuit
"Speak English, man. What the hell does that mean?"
"I mean, I think you should try to woo her." He looks around at the other guys, who all nod in agreement.
I blink slowly. "Woo her."
Cole nods encouragingly. "You know, like flirt with her. Let her know she's the only one you want."
Holy shit. They're right. She's watched me be nice to all kinds of people. Seen everybody else receive my better side. And the one time I don't treat her like shit, I try to kiss her.
Have I mentioned I'm an idiot?
"I need something big," I say, a little hope bubbling up through my mist of depression.
Then my mind goes blank. I briefly consider texting Hadley Marie to see if the library has any books on wooing women, but I can't think of anything dorkier.
"What about chocolates? Cupcakes?" Emmett suggests.
"She owns a bakery," Cole reminds him.
"The best bakery in town. The place I would go to get said desserts to woo her with," I say.
My chest feels tight. What are the symptoms of a heart attack? Oh, God. Why do I suck at this? I should be able to think of a dozen ways to show a woman how I feel about her, but I've never tried to win anyone's heart before. My complete lack of experience and general panic about screwing this up mean I'm headed for a crisis of existential proportions.
"Flowers." Brooks’ voice breaks through my panic.
"Flowers? Okay, that's a start." I nod. "I'll bring her flowers."
"No," Brooks amends. "You’re going to surprise her with more flowers than she’s ever imagined."
I nod, his confidence in this plan giving me what I need at this moment. "Yes." I turn my body toward him. "Holy shit! You own a flower shop. Can you help me?"
Brooks grins, but he doesn't rag me about how slowly I'm catching on to his plan. He turns his phone to face me, and I read the text exchange:
Max is finally going to tell Aubrey he's in love with her. We need a rom-com movie amount of flowers. Can you help?
Melody
Yes! Oh, my god! The entire town has been shipping them for a year.
I already have ideas. Send him my way.
Brooks co-owns the Petals & Blooms flower shop in Duhring Park with his parents, who retired to Arizona. But he has a full-time job as a welder and artist, so he hired Melody to run the flower shop. She's also overseeing flowers for the reception hall. She knows her stuff.
Man, do I love this crazy fucking town!
I jump up, ready to run over to Petals & Blooms.
"Hey, Max. She's not going to be home this weekend," Hayes speaks up, stopping me in my tracks.
I clench my fists, turning on him with a measured patience that has Hayes raising his eyebrows in alarm. "If that billionaire fucker came to town, I'm going to challenge him to a duel," I growl. "She'smine."
Cole, Hayes, and Brooks stare at me like I'm insane, but Emmett snorts out a laugh."There's no billionaire, Max. I was just trying to get you to admit your feelings for her."
"Stop fucking with me. Where is she?" I yell.
The bar quiets at my outburst, but I don't care. I don't want to waste another second.
"Candy got her to take a few days off, that's all," Hayes says in a hushed whisper as the din starts up again.
