Page 7 of Approved

TYLER

“Holy shit Tyler that guy is smoking hot. He’s the one you were talking about last night?” Jamie asked as soon as the shop door closed.

I looked at him while he sat in his car. “I never said he wasn’t hot, rich, funny, and apparently kind.” I bit my lower lip. “He asked me on a date, but I don’t know.”

“Let me see if I have this right. He is amazing. He brought you cookies, and you don’t know if you want to date him.”

“Basically. And he apologized for not defending me in high school more than a decade ago.”

She looked at me, clearly surprised. “Seriously? Who does that? Why are you not going on a date with him?”

“When he spent yesterday helping me, we had a good time. I am sure he had better things to do with his day, but he helped me get all my deliveries done, then took me to his bar to make me a fancy drink.” I thought about how I walked out. “Walking out might have been unfair, but it hit me hard when I realized who he was.”

Sweetie, none of this explains why you won’t go out with him. The more you talk about him, the more confused I am about your decision. I wonder if he is bi, because I might take a run at him since he sounds fantastic.”

“Don’t you dare,” I narrowed my eyes at her.

She laughed. “So you do care?”

“I am not sure. What I see is pretty fantastic, but I don’t trust it. He is insanely rich but drives a modest car, lives in a nice but not excessive house, and doesn’t seem to flaunt his wealth. Doesn’t that seem suspicious to you? It’s like he is hiding something. You know what happened to me, I don’t trust it.”

She pursed her lips. “I understand that what your family did was terrible, and you have had so much therapy trying to help you through it. You can’t let something that happened years ago keep you from being with someone. Maybe he is careful with money, and there isn’t something behind it.”

“I want to learn more about him. I didn’t say no. I am impressed that he came and apologized for something that happened in our teens. It was unexpected.”

She took a bite of one of the cookies and rolled her eyes. “Fuck these are good. So what’s the plan?”

“I’m not sure, but I have his phone number, I know where he lives, and where he works. Not to mention, there are so many articles online.”

“You know, you sound like a stalker?”

She was right; it sounded like I was planning to stalk him. At this point, I couldn’t even explain why I hadn’t accepted the date. He checked so many boxes, and that might be the reason. How could someone be all those things? I’d like to find out before we go out.

“Well, I don’t know what your master plan is, Tyler, but I hope he brings you more apology cookies. Those things are amazing.” She squeezed my arm as she walked away.

I took another cookie and bit into it. Earl moved in front of me and asked for another piece, nudging his nose in the frosting, until I gave him a bite. She was right, these were some of the best cookies I had ever had. I searched West’s name on my phone and found articles about the man. Most of the them focused on his donations to charities, support for LGBTQ+ organizations, and his overall positive impact on the world. Setting aside my stalking for now, I got back to work.

I flopped on my couch as soon as I got home. When we weren't busy, thoughts of West distracted me, but it wasn't often because it felt like we had been busier than usual. There were a ton of walk-in customers, which meant our name was getting out there. We were even getting inquiries about events which was the bread-and-butter of a florist.

Earl and I shared a sandwich while Larry got a can of food for dinner. Once I showered, I headed to bed where I planned to watch TV and doom scroll. As I got my pillows just right against the headboard, I started watching a reality show. Larry jumped up on the bed and meowed at me, wanting attention or at least to be noticed. He curled up on my lap, and I petted him. Earl lay on the pillow beside me, and I scrolled through random things on my phone. Having gotten tired of social media, I started to play a game, and it startled me when I received a text message.

WEST

How were the cookies?

Receiving a message from West was a surprise that made me happier than I wanted to admit. Were we messaging friends now? He hadn’t even acknowledged me in high school, but wastrying hard now. It wouldn’t hurt to message back. He probably wanted to confirm he got what he paid for.

TYLER

Yeah. Really good. I shared them with Jamie.

WEST

Good. I wanted you to enjoy them.

TYLER

I did. Thank you again for being thoughtful.

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