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“Winnie.”
“What? He is. Sasha’s mom thinks so too. Duh. Don’t be boring.”
“Can we please stop talking about this?” Niall sighed.
“Fine.” Winnie folded her arms and left a trail of pastel glitter on the seat. “I’m not wrong. You could go on a date with someone, like, in your life. Even Chuck Mitchum.”
“Noted,” Niall said dryly. “Now, how are we going to get all that glitter out of your hair before it spreads to every surface in your room?”
Winnie huffed, but Niall’s thoughts drifted back to Chuck. The way he insisted on paying for supplies, the easy exchange of the keys to lock up, the gleam in his eyes before the stupid phone rang. Maybe Winnie was right. A date wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. To allow someone into their well-orchestrated life.
Or then again, it might be the biggest mistake since Elise. The last thing Winnie needed was to get attached to someone else who’d bail. The last thing Niall needed was to fall for another dodgy charmer with their eyes on the exit.
He started the car, the scent of pizza lingering, and tried to think about anything other than the only thing he was thinking.
As they drove home, the low sun cast rust and purple shadows across Candle Bay, and Niall wondered what it might be like to take a risk for once. To leap before looking, as Chuck had put it.
To open the door.
Chapter 4
CHUCK SPENT most of Thursday morning on Niall’s roof, patching the worst of the leaks on the witch-hat seam while trying not to think too much about the moment they’d almost shared the night before. Niall had leaned in. Chuck was sure of it, right until the phone rang and Niall snapped back behind the counter like he’d touched a hot burner. Now Chuck couldn’t tell if he made the whole thing up.
“You missed a spot,” called a voice from below.
Chuck peered over the rim of the roof to see a man standing in the alley, hands on his hips, squinting up at him. His wavy mane and striped jeans made a hell of an impression. “Uhhh. Hi?”
“Gavin Padgett,” he announced, as if Chuck should recognize the name. “I own Petal Pushers up the block. Flowers, duh. But not only flowers, because I’m more than that. You’re ‘Duck! It’s Chuck!’ Mitchum, local reprobate and bachelor bait.”
“My crappy reputation precedes me.” Chuck wiped sweat from his forehead.
“My guy, your reputation lapped you three times and is waiting at the finish line with a lit blunt and a pair of handcuffs. I was three years behind you in school, so I know most of the worst. And I do mean worst.” Gavin’s smile took any sting out of the words.
“Good to meet you.”
“To be honest, I basically know you already because half the moms in town have been doing drive-bys of your butt, since you apparently used to date everyone. Kudos, I guess? Candle Bay Instagram is beside itself. The Soggy Beans staff is having kittens.” He shifted his weight and stepped closer to peer up the ladder. “What are you doing on Niall’s roof?”
“Patching leaks.”
“Charitable.” Gavin’s eyebrows lifted. “Niall inside?”
“Meeting with his accountant.” Chuck started to turn back to his work, then paused. “You know him?”
“Well enough. We’re in the same sad little boat—small business owners trying to keep afloat in a tourist town that thinks Amazon is so darn convenient.” Gavin shaded his eyes against the sun. “He’s a good guy.”
Gavin’s fierceness made Chuck wonder about his relationship with Niall. “Are you two…?”
Gavin gave a sharp, theatrical laugh. “Me and Niall? Lord, no. Alas, I’m not his type. Too much…” He gestured at his outfit. “Everything.”
Chuck set the trowel down harder than the roof required. “So what is his type?”
“Oh really….” Gavin considered him from the side, weighing him. “If you’re up there trying to climb into his bower, you should know he hasn’t dated anyone since Elise left. Which might as well have been a hundred years ago.”
“I’m only fixing the guy’s roof.”
“Uh-huh. Because I only sell flowers.” Gavin pulled out his phone and checked the time. “Well, this has been illuminating, but I have a consultation with a delusional bride in ten minutes. Pray for me. Tell Niall I stopped by, will you? And don’t fall off that roof. The insurance paperwork would be a nightmare.”
With a jaunty salute, Gavin strode off. Chuck turned back to the patching, but he kept circling back to what the florist had said about Niall not dating since his wife left.
