“I’m so happy. Two of my best friends, together. What the hell took you so long?” She pushed her long dark hair over her shoulder and hugged Lizzie again. “So, you guys are a couple now, right? Like, not dating other people?”
“We didn’t talk about it, but yeah, I think so.” She looked at her friend and wanted desperately to confide in her about her webcast and see if she had any idea how Blue might react. She knew that if they were going to be together, she needed to tell him about it. He was so good, so honest and trusting, but as much as she wanted to tell him, she also didn’t want to lose him over it.
“What’s that look?” Sky asked. “Your smile faded.”
“I…um…” Just thinking about telling Sky that she pranced around in nearly nothing for money made her feel cheap and ashamed. She couldn’t do it. Not yet, anyway. Right now she wanted to revel in what had been swelling in her heart for two days.
“We’ve only gone on two dates, and I feel like we’ve been dating forever. I’m so comfortable around him. That’s weird, right? That it’s so fast?” She walked to the back of the shop to keep herself distracted from what she wasn’t sharing with her friend and filled a watering can. Sky followed on her heels.
“That’s not weird. When I met Sawyer I felt like I’d known him forever by the end of our first date, and you’ve known Blue for a year. How does he feel?”
Lizzie watered a peace lily, remembering the look in his eyes when he’d told her he was falling for her, and later, when his eyes had heated even more and he’d said that everything in his life had led up to the moment when they’d made love. A shiver tickled up her spine with the memory.
“He said he’s falling for me,” she admitted.
“I knew it. I should be a fortune-teller.” Sky smiled and Lizzie laughed. “What? I knew you guys were perfect for each other. I never understood why he wasn’t asking you out for all those months.”
Oh no. That was something else she’d kept from Sky. She felt like such a heel. At least this she could come clean about without feeling cheap or risking her parents finding out about the Naked Baker. “Sky, he was asking me out. The first time he asked me out was right after your friends’ wedding, but I said no.”
“What?” Her jaw hung open and her eyes narrowed. “You never told me that.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry. But I didn’t want you to pressure me. You know how crazy my life is, between the flower shop and—”
“Busy or not, you should have told me. Oh my God, Lizzie. I gave him such a hard time all year long for not asking you out.” Sky crossed her arms angrily. “How could you keep me in the dark like that?”
The hurt in her eyes seared straight to Lizzie’s heart.
“I’m sorry. I really am. I just wasn’t ready to say yes, and if you were pressuring me and telling me how wonderful he is all the time, I would have caved.” She reached for Sky’s hand, feeling her friend’s resistance and wishing she’d told her sooner. “Now that I’ve gone out with him, I wish I had accepted his offer sooner. I’m so sorry, Sky. I only kept it from you out of self-preservation.” Guilt settled heavily around her shoulders. If Sky reacted this way to not being told about being asked out by Blue, how would she react to the Naked Baker? How would Blue?
“Self-preservation?” Sky rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Am I that pushy?”
“No.” She smiled. “Maybe.”
Sky shook her head. “Well, if I am, it’s only because I knew you’d be good together. I guess I’m just glad that you’re together now. What else haven’t you told me?”
“Nothing.” Lizzie closed her eyes for a second, fully expecting to be struck by lightning in the next ten seconds.
“Okay, but you owe me a drink. Want to catch open mic night at the Governor Bradford?” Governor Bradford was a restaurant and bar in town.
She needed to film her show tonight, and she wanted to spend time with Blue before that, although she didn’t know his plans for the evening.
“I really want to see Blue before working through my inventory tonight.” Inventory. Not only would she be struck by lightning, but her nose was probably growing, too.
“Don’t you ever get tired of being the good girl and doing everything on a schedule, checking off your to-do list without fail?” Sky asked.
Yes, only every day of my life. “It makes life easier”—and views to my webcast higher, which means higher profits—“if I follow a schedule.”
Sky looked around the shop. “Well, you do earn a boatload of money, so you’re doing things right. That’s for sure.”
Or very wrong.
“How’re your kitchen renovations coming along? Oh! I just realized how often Blue’s at your house. That’s convenient.”
Except when I’m filming. “Yeah, very. He’s doing an amazing job. The kitchen is already stunning.”