Page 69 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

I drop my head towards the ground then glance up at him. ‘Dax, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you out. Wewerecloser than that. What I did, it was a jerk move.’

He shrugs, flashing me a smile. ‘Hollyn, I think you’re…’ His gaze is on mine. ‘You went out on your own, made mistakes, and now you’re facing them head-on. You got lost in life and have a second chance. Yet you’re spending it helping me. I know you think you’re this selfish asshole who doesn’t deserve to be forgiven but to me, you’re selfless. I forgave you a long time ago.’

I blink back unexpected tears, standing from the stool I’m sitting on, and take a few steps to him. ‘Promise me you’ll never stop lying to me.’

He chuckles. ‘I already promised others I’d be on my best behavior around you, so consider that done.’ He winks, my heart doing a little spin.

He steps aside when a customer carries an INXS album to the counter, handing me a fifty-dollar bill. I ring him up, give him his change, and slide the record into a brown album bag.

‘Thanks for shopping with Penny Candy Records,’ I say, side-eying Dax and his obnoxiously goofy grin plastered on his face.

‘I feel like I’ve gone back in time, and I don’t hate it,’ he says as the customer leaves. ‘You need a ride home? I’m done with my deliveries, and we’re going the same way. We could pick up take-out?’

‘Yeah, I’d like that,’ I say with a nod. ‘Want to help me close?’

‘Absolutely,’ he says. ‘But first’ – he walks to the store stereo, scrolling through the iPad attached, looking for a song – ‘let me introduce you to a little band I like to callnotPenny Candy.’

Once he’s chosen a song, he grabs the floor sweeper and dances it into the shop. How is he this charming? It’s like nothing has changed and he somehow makes me happier than I’ve ever been.

17

DAX

Wednesday Afternoon…

I don’t want to jump the gun, but after being deemed potential week one winner, I’m throwing common sense to the wind and looking at my dad’s shop again.

‘Now listen,’ Brynn says. ‘This guy’s kind of a twat. We can’t piss him off, or he’ll bail.’

We’re standing on the sidewalk outside the shop, waiting for Kevin, the aforementioned twat owner. I brought Brynn with me because she’s somehow convinced me she’s got the magic touch. We’re hoping she can tickle his fancy enough and sweet talk him by reminiscing about the couple of dates they went on in high school. Tip the tables in my direction, if it’s possible.

‘Don’t think this guy could hide the twat thing if he wanted to,’ I say, half under my breath in case he’s walking up behind me.

‘This place is a pile of garbage. He’d be lucky to give it away.’ She motions at the storefront.

It is run down. The people who leased it previously obviously didn’t believe in maintenance. It’s a single-story building on the corner with floor-to-ceiling paned vintage (aka out of date) windows along three sides. Perfect for displays. It’s not big, but big enough. It needs a good clean, paint, curb appeal, and the inside is even worse.

‘There he is.’ She nods towards the end of the block, where the middle-aged man with little hair and a beer gut meanders towards us. ‘Follow my lead.’

‘Follow your lead?’ I ask. ‘Last time I followed your lead, I ended up as someone’s flower boy, and now I’m in the midst of a floral competition Ihaveto win to even make this happen.’

‘You should be thanking me. Now shush. I have a plan that I’m sure will work, so let me do the talking and just’ – she glances at me, her lips pressed into a straight line, the same face she has when she lies – ‘don’t ask questions, and go with whatever might happen.’

I blow out a nervous breath. Whatever might happen? Great.

‘Kevin!’ she says enthusiastically as he approaches. ‘I haven’t seen you in so long. Geez, you haven’t aged at all!’ She turns to me with a grimace.

‘And you are?’ he asks, stopping in front of her, void of all emotion.

‘Brynn Thomas! Or you’ll probably remember me as Brynn Hartley. We went to school together.’

Kevin looks her over, his gaze lingering at her breasts. Finally, he scratches his head. ‘Not ringing any bells.’

Well, that’s great, Brynn. He doesn’t even know who you are. Big help. Kevin glances my way, his brow furrowed. I flash a smile, but he turns away, shoving the key into the front lock.

‘Did we sleep together after junior prom?’ he asks suddenly.

Brynn almost loses her nerve with that one. Her face goes from offended to suddenly remembering why we’re here. ‘Um… maybe we did, big boy.’

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