It wasn’t exactly true since I already had plenty of that at my brother’s beach house.
But Theo didn’t need to know that.
“Okay,” he said, nodding slowly. “Sounds good.”
And for a second, he almost looked disappointed.
Like he’d been expecting something else.
Had he been planning to spend the day together then?
Was I just being dumb and making unnecessary drama up in my head?
Had those flowers just been him being a good dude and I was reading too much into them?
But if so, why would he spend so much time making sure they were arranged just right? You didn’t just do that for someone you only saw as a friend.
Yeah… he’s probably been sending her romantic texts all week. Talking about how excited he was to see her this morning.
And he had just been holding me close on the hot air balloon ride because…?
I didn’t know.
I shook my head.
I couldn’t read his mind.
Though it would certainly be nice if I could.
I let out a small breath. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, giving me a quick nod. He reached for the gear shift, like he was about to pull away, but then his phone lit up where it sat on the charging stand near his steering wheel.
And even though I knew I shouldn’t look, I couldn’t stop my eyes from flicking toward the screen. I didn’t catch the whole message before he picked it up. But Ididsee the name at the top.
Amanda.
“Oh, looks like Amanda found our gift,” he said, a smile pulling at his mouth as he opened the message.
And as he read more of it, that smile only grew bigger.
My chest tightened.Yeah. He’s definitely into her. This is what I get for thinking I ever stood a chance with him.
He typed out a quick response, then set his phone back on the charger. “I’ll see you later,” he said, looking back at me. “Enjoy your shopping.”
“I will.”
I turned toward my Jeep, ready to get out of there?—
But then, before I could stop myself, I found myself saying, “I’m not sure when I’ll be home, though.” I looked back at him. “I was thinking I might hang out with some friends tonight. There are a few guys from the hockey team in town.”
The second the words left my mouth and I saw what almost looked like hurt flash in his eyes, I instantly wanted to snatch them back.
“Oh…” he said. “Okay.”
And suddenly, I wasn’t so sure that it had been the right thing to say.
Because what if I’d been wrong?