Page 59 of The Arrangement

I parked on the street and walked inside where, of course, there was a line.Whatever. Wasn’t like the day could get any worse.

“Shouldn’t you be picking flowers or something? Thought that stupid shop of yours was opening today,” Brody sneered behind me.

I sighed internally.Spoke too soon. “The flowers actually come already plucked and cut. But you’re right about the shop opening. You should stop by,” I added with a shrug. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel his disbelieving stare. “Maybe get some flowers for your Nana. She still big into hydrangeas?”

“You’re really something, Weathers,” Brody scoffed.

“I’m really not.” I stepped forward to place my order, but one glance at the menu and the plethora of options was enough to make me seriously consider walking out empty-handed. Digging deep, I placed my standard order, adding, “the sweetest coffee special you have and one of each of today’s muffins.” I moved aside while they filled the order, giving Brody a chance to place his. Should have known he’d choose to wait for his order right next to me.

“Looks like your boyfriend’s got a sweet tooth,” he snickered, twirling a straw between his fingers.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I replied morosely.And hoping, dreaming, believing, or otherwise deluding wouldn’t change that.

He made a disgusted sound. “You’re no fun today. What crawled up your ass and died?”

“What do you care, Brody? You’ve never liked me.” I picked up the to-go carrier of coffees and the bag of muffins and turned to face him.

“I don’t like you because you’re an uptight, pretentious shit who always thinks he’s better than everyone else,” he snarled, snatching his coffee off the counter.

“Whatever you say, Brody.” I pushed past him to make my way out.

Never one to miss an opportunity to have the last word, he called after me. “You should have stayed in the army. No one wants you here.” His words drilled into my chest as the door swung shut behind me. It was almost funny how close he was to being right.

Back at the shop, I took a few moments to make sure I at least looked pulled together and would stay that way. I even smiled at my reflection in the rearview mirror for good measure. It didn’t feel natural, but I could fake it. Wasn’t like I hadn’t done it before. I ignored the twinge in my chest as I gathered the food and let myself back inside. To my surprise, all the lights were on, and JD was bustling around the shop.

“Oh, hey, you were taking a little longer, so I figured there was probably a line or something,” he said as he walked toward me. I kept a tight rein on my emotions and forced my body to remain relaxed.

“Um, yeah. Here.” I passed him his drink and the bag of muffins. “Just got the sweetest coffee they had. Hope that’s okay.”

He flashed me a grin and smacked a kiss on my cheek that threatened to destroy all my efforts at keeping my shit together. “I’m sure it’ll be great.” Then he caught me looking at the tulip and buttercup arrangement. “Shit, was I not supposed to take it out yet? It just looked like an awesome display piece showcasing your talent. I figured you’d want it front and center. But I can totally put it back.”

“No, no, you’re right. I got a little carried away, and it’s for sure a display piece now,” I admitted with a half smile.

He searched my face for a moment, and I knew I needed to step up my pretending. It wasn’t enough to be present, I’d have to pretend that everything was fine, that I wasn’t hopelessly in love with him, that it hadn’t completely shredded me waking up without him after having sex, that my heart wasn’t already withering at the edges like the petals of a flower past its season. I could compartmentalize. I’d been good at it once. The army had made me better.

“I, uh, like what you did with the bow. It’s impressive,” he said at last.

“Good, I was worried you’d think I ruined your ‘masterpiece’,” I said, imitating Great Aunt Petunia and adding a more genuine smile.

He scoffed. “Hardly. Come save me from myself. These muffins are way too good to leave me unattended with.”

“I was wondering if you were planning to share,” I teased, sounding closer to normal. A sip of my scalding coffee further served to re-shore my front. We walked around to the front of the shop, where we took positions behind the counter. I diligently did not think about how easily this could be our routine or how it kind of already felt like it was. Instead, I watched JD spread the muffins out on the paper bag they’d come in and snatched up the banana nut muffin he was reaching for before he could get to it.

He gave me an incredulous look, hand still hovering over where the muffin had been.

“What?” I asked around a mouthful of muffin.

“You are something else.” He plucked up a chocolate chip muffin and took an obnoxiously oversized bite, causing crumbs to tumble everywhere.

I raised an eyebrow at him, and I’m positive if he could have stuck his tongue out, he would have. He finished chewing and leaned on the counter, looking perfectly happy as he steadilysipped on his tooth rot in a cup. Rather than mirror him, I rested my back against the counter so at least most of my crumbs landedbehindthe counter.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Andy wanted me to tell you ‘Hi’, and he says good luck today.”

I jerked, burning my tongue with too big a drink of coffee, and looked at him. “When did you talk to Andy?”

“I’m trying to follow this awesome guy I know’s advice and reached out to him this morning. It was pretty early, so I just texted, but apparently he was awake and he called back rather than text a reply.” He shrugged as if it were nothing, but I knew better.

I nudged his arm. “That’s pretty awesome. You’ll have to send him some pics of the store during the day.”