Page 21 of Dream a Little Dream

“That would be so helpful,” MJ said, breaking our eye contact and turning fully to Maya. “I’ll follow you to checkout.”

I raised a hand, returning to manager status. “I’ll be sure to tell Elizabeth that I ran into you.”

“Take care, Savanna. Watch out for the fruit. Seriously.” She shook her head in annoyance and then broke into a playful smile. I had a feeling she was a lot of fun.

“Good advice.” I watched the very attractive woman who’d kinda sorta hit on me round the corner and head to the front of the store. I didn’t leap with excitement at the very viable dating prospect who’d just moved to town and shown actual interest. That would have been the old me. But I did smile pleasantly, my spirits a tad higher, as I wondered if anything would actually come of it. Who knew? Maybe love wouldn’t suck forever, a thought I hadn’t actually considered until this moment. Maybe I just needed the right person to waltz in with their bags of mandarins and make everything feel a little lighter.

Maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

A short time later, Maya appeared at my side as I straightened the mess the sweet snacks aisle had become. People really went crazy when they arrived in the middle of their favorite snacks, like toddlers at a cookie buffet.

“She was so nice, right?” Maya said, sliding her hand into the pockets of her store apron and executing a perfect heel to toe rock.

“Mm-hmm. She was.” I picked up a package. “Did you see that a new batch of seasonal Oreos arrived? Grab ’em while you can.”

“She was really pretty, too. Did you notice that?”

“Who?”

Maya blinked patiently. “MJ. The woman with the mandarins who you shoulder checked. I think she liked it.”

“Oh, right! Yes. She was pretty.” I could admit that much.

“You should take her up on that offer and get together with your friends.”

“I might.”

“When?” Maya sighed. She wanted everyone to be in love because she was, and I was ruining her fun by not playing along. I could throw her a bone.

“Not sure, but maybe I’ll keep an eye out for the next time she’s in the store.”

You would have thought I’d just hit her happy switch, as an enthusiastic smile took over her face and sparks of light practically shot from her head. She pointed at me, backing up. “I will keep an eye out, too, and let you know the very next time she’s here.” She clapped like a sorority girl at a rosé brunch. “This is gonna be awesome. Just wait. I feel like we had an important discovery today, and I’m gonna keep an eye on this situation for you, Savanna. I’m your wing woman.”

I nodded along passively. “Thank you for that. I’ve not had one of those.”

A little fun never hurt anyone. It wasn’t like I was emotionally invested in this working out, which was kind of the glory in the scenario.

More shoppers came and went as Friday coasted into Friday night. I finished my workday making the schedule for later in the month so my employees could make plans. The day had been mundane, outside of mandarin-gate, but as I moved through it, I allowed the memory of my run-in with the newest resident of Dreamer’s Bay to bring a smile to my face…and I kinda liked it.

* * *

Though the store was open seven days a week, I personally had Saturday off, which allowed me to marinate in the sheer excitement of having absolutely zero plans. I could call Jonathan and see if he wanted to grab food on the boardwalk. I could stay home and read an entire novel on the couch, uninterrupted. Maybe I’d scoot over to Ronnie’s and see who was watching a game at the bar and join them. There was likely a cornhole tournament of some kind I could sign up for. However, most of those things couldn’t happen without my phone charger, which I couldn’t seem to locate. A quick retrace of my steps told me that the last time I’d seen it was when I’d turned over the Airbnb. I closed my eyes, realizing that I’d definitely left it in the kitchen, likely still plugged into the socket. Sadly, my phone was moments from dying completely. Surely I could message the Alexandra woman staying there, apologize profusely for the interruption, grab it, and go.

An hour later and I’d done just that: messaged my guest, grabbed a shower, fluffed my hair, and applied lip gloss. I planned to swing by Ronnie’s before a round of cornhole.

“How would you feel if we invited MJ, Devyn’s new associate, to play with us?” Elizabeth asked on the call as I drove to Lindy’s place. I could hear the smile she was likely trying to hide even through the phone.

“I’m fine if you want to bring MJ.” The truth was the idea sent a small shiver up my spine, which was alarming and pleasant at the same time.

“Fantastic! You know this is gonna be a great day, right? We are going to slam this town at cornhole and then enjoy the best celebratory drink at Ronnie’s. Go, team, go!”

I allowed Elizabeth her small celebration, because like Maya, she was in love and hell-bent on the world joining her.

“Yes,” I said smiling. “We will do all of those things, but I better run because this phone is not long for this charge.”

“I can’t believe we’re going on a double date. This is fabulous!”

“Wait. A date. Is that—” But the sound cut out because the phone was now dead. “Dammit.” I dropped my phone onto the passenger’s seat and hurried up the walk, wondering how I was going to maneuver a date I had no original intention of going on.

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