“Sure.” She turns to me. “I meant what I said. Bennett can show you back to the girls’ house, so you don’t even have to go home. Take anything from my closet and come down and enjoy the party.”
“Thanks, Poppy.” I squeeze her hand. “For everything.”
I don’t tell her I think I’m going to refuse the position she offered because there’s no way I can work alongside Bennett even if he’s rarely in the store. I need to stay as far away from him as I can until I can get my daughter and me out of here.
“Of course. See you in a bit.” She eyes her cousin. “Get that scowl off your face and behave.”
He nods, and she blows out a breath, eyeing me one more time before she disappears under the flowered arch that reads The Watsons to where the party is starting to grow in numbers.
“Listen,” I say, putting my hand up, knowing I’ve surprised him.
“What are you doing? Why would you accept the position?” He looks around the space, nods to the side, and walks right past me.
“Is that your way of asking me to follow you to a more secluded spot?”
He turns before the trailhead ventures onto a tree-lined path that would keep us from view of all the arriving guests. “We can’t have people see us.”
“Oh, sure, let’s hide. Wouldn’t want anyone to see your dirty little secret, right?” I stomp past him until we’re a good way in and no one will see us. We stop where the shade of the trees swallows us from view. “Is this private enough for you, or should we hitch a ride and get out of Willowbrook altogether?”
“You’re mad?” His jaw flexes. “You show up here, unannounced.” He points his finger out toward the party. “And you’re mad? This is my family’s party. What the hell, Delaney?”
I shake my head because I don’t have a good answer. “Poppy told me you’d be busy, but I think she still thinks we’re a sweet teenage love story ready to be rekindled.” My laugh is jagged.
“Fucking hell. When did you get back? Why didn’t you reach out? I would’ve met you for?—”
His questions give me no time to answer. “I’m sorry for ambushing you. It wasn’t my intent, and I think it’s pretty clear why I didn’t reach out to you.”
His chest rises and falls, and he looks at the opening of the path again, apparently paranoid someone might see us.
I cross my arms. “You do know that if someone finds us hiding out, it will look even more suspicious, right? Unless you’ve told someone?—”
“Fuck no. No one has any idea.”
The words and the way he delivers them hit me like a slap to the face. “So, I’m just the childhood sweetheart?”
He drags a hand through his hair and nods. “I’ve got my daughter to think about.”
“I’m not here to blow up your life, and don’t worry, I’m going to tell Poppy that I don’t want the job. I was just thinking that…” I stop myself from continuing. I’m not putting myself out there for Bennett Owens again. He doesn’t deserve to know my vulnerabilities. The fact that Poppy telling me about the floral design position sparked something in me that’s been dead for years isn’t his business. Bennett doesn’t get to know those things about me. Not anymore.
He sighs, and all I want to do is get the hell out of here. “I’m sorry about your husband.”
I nod. “I’m sorry about Kristie.”
He nods back.
We’ve never been awkward with each other. Actually that’s not true. The last time we said goodbye was pretty damn awkward.
“You should go. It’s Lottie’s wedding.”
He exhales a deep breath and studies me. “Did you want…” Something unspoken flickers in his eyes. “I can show you to the girls’ house…”
“I’m not staying. Coming here was a massive mistake.” I step past him, desperate to escape.
That look crosses his face. The same one he wore that day he showed up at my door and devastated me. I refuse to go there again.
“I have to go. Enjoy the night. I’ll keep my distance until I leave town.” I start walking, eager to get away because after seven years, how is that feeling still stirring inside me as if it never died?
His hand closes around my wrist, and I pause, allowing his thumb to run along the inside of my wrist. It feels as if the vines of our tangled past are tightening around me. “Delaney.”
