“I don’t know exactly,” I said, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. “Things were just really weird. Like, I thought everything was fine after the balloon ride, but then when we were supposed to go back to my house, she suddenly had errands to run and then said something about hanging out with some hockey guys tonight and that I shouldn’t wait up.”
“She’s hanging out with hockey guys tonight?” Lucy narrowed her eyes like that surprised her.
“Yes.” I nodded. “And she made it seem like it wasn’t just in a platonic type of way. More like, she might be interested in them. Romantically.”
“That’s weird,” Lucy said.
“It is?”
“Yeah…”
But when she didn’t expound on that, I asked. “And why is that weird?”
“Because from all the conversations I’ve had with her recently, it seemed like she still might like you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I don’t know if I should even be telling you this, but she had, like, a big crush on you last winter,” Lucy said. “I literally teased her all last semester about how the two of you should date.”
“Are you for real?” I just stared at her, none of those words lining up with what had just happened.
Nora had a crush on me?
And not just a recent crush but one that had been around for several months?
“Again, I’m probably breaking some sort of friendship code for even telling you this,” Lucy said, her expression serious. “But, yes. She has said, and I quote, ‘Your sexy corporate lawyer brother is hot.’”
Nora thought I was sexy? She’d actually said that?
“Then why did she act like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough?” I asked, completely thrown. “Why would she suddenly act like I have the plague?”
“I don’t know.” Lucy shrugged. “Maybe she really does have stuff to do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are the hockey guys actually in town?”
“I have no idea.” Lucy made a “beats me” face. “I haven’t talked to them in a while.” Then she suggested, “How about you walk me through exactly what happened today? Maybe we can figure out where things went wrong. What she might be thinking.”
So, I told her about the hot air balloon ride. The way Nora had gotten nervous. The way I’d stepped in behind her. The way she’d leaned into me.
The way it had just… felt right.
“Then we stopped at the store,” I said. “I grabbed a stuffed dinosaur and a card for Amanda’s son.”
“Okay…” Lucy nodded, but it didn’t seem like she was picking up on any red flags yet.
“And then I got the flowers for Amanda.”
“Wait,” she said, holding a hand up. “You dropped off flowers for another woman… with Nora standing right there?”
“I just thought it would be a nice gesture.” I shrugged. “Most women I know like flowers.”
Lucy just stared at me. “But does Nora know you’re not interested in dating Amanda?”
I hesitated. “I… don’t know,” I admitted, biting my lip.
But now that I thought about it, it did make me think. Because Nora had been fine all morning. In a good mood. She’d been smiling. Laughing. Comfortable.
Right up until the flowers.