Marriage For One

Rose: Hi.

Jack: Something wrong?

I laughed and sat down in the chair closest to me.

Rose: Nope, just saying hi, and thank you.

Jack: Hi. Thank you for what?

Rose: The flowers. I still can’t stop smiling.

Jack: Glad you liked them.

Rose: I love them, but I might have liked the ones from last week more.

Jack: Did they mess up the order again? I’ll call them.

Rose: No! Wait.

Rose: They didn’t mess it up. It’s just that…last week you brought them in yourself, and that was more…something, I guess.

I closed my eyes and groaned, loudly. I couldn’t possibly be cheesier, and I was officially flirting with my husband, officially poking the beehive, knowing it couldn’t possibly end well.

Jack: I see.

I see. That was all he gave me. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

Rose: Will you drop by before work? I make good free coffee.

Jack: I’m afraid I’m already at work. We have an early meeting.

I tried not to feel disappointed, but it was hard.

Rose: Ah, okay. I’m sorry, I know you don’t like texting so I’ll shut up. Hope you have a good day. Again, thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.

I hit myself on the forehead with the side of my phone a few times. I needed to get it together. I was not in love with Jack Hawthorne, and he was most definitely not in love with me either. It had just been a very, very convincing dream and kiss and touch and…that was it. Also, I just found him attractive—any woman would. That wasn’t a crime. Deep down, as prickly and cold as he seemed, he was actually a very good person.

Just as I was getting up to finally unlock the front door, my phone buzzed in my hand with another text. Glancing at the screen as I was walking, my heart soared when I saw his name, and I stopped next to the cash register.

Jack: Do you want to see me?

Rose: What?

Jack: You said you liked the flowers I brought in more and you offered me free coffee. Am I assuming…

He was flirting back. As unbelievable as that sounded, I still hoped.

Finding it—him—stupidly charming, I quickly wrote back.

Rose: I mean, you’re my husband, so I think I’m bound to look at you. Thankfully you’re not too bad-looking, so I wouldn’t cover my eyes if you showed up.

The second I pressed send, I wanted to take it back, delete it, and write something more…smart and witty, but it was too late.

“Hey, again, earth to Rose. Can you hear me?” Sally yelled from somewhere behind me. “We have two customers waiting—maybe we should open a few minutes early.”

I looked up in surprise and only then noticed the two girls waiting for me to open the door. I rushed forward and invited them in, apologizing.

As Sally started on the coffee orders, I served them one sandwich and one blueberry muffin. As the next customer and the next started to file in, my phone buzzed twice in my pocket, causing an irrational excitement in me as I tried to ignore it and chatted with the customers.

When the last customer in line left, Sally and I looked around the place. Some were on their laptops, some just chatting with their friends. One person was reading a book they had picked up from the bookcase, and nine tables were already full.

“This is a great start to the week,” Sally commented while wiping down the counter.

“It is, isn’t it? I think we’re doing very well. Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you—I have a doctor’s appointment at two PM, so I asked Owen to stay until I get back. Do you think you two can handle it? I’ll get back as soon as I’m done.”

She stopped and turned her worried gaze to me. “Something wrong?” Then her eyes widened comically. “Are you pregnant?”

I frowned at her. “No! I just got married! What are you talking about?” My frown deepening, I looked down at my stomach. “Do I look pregnant or something?”

“No, you don’t look pregnant at all. My mistake. With that husband of yours you could get pregnant just by him looking at you, so I’d say watch out.”

I just stared at her in something close to horror, and she laughed.

“Fine. Pretend I didn’t say anything. Of course I’ll handle it. The lunch rush will be over by the time you leave so we’ll be fine until you come back. Everything all right? Still the cold?”

“Yeah.” I gingerly touched my nose, glad it wasn’t runny at the moment. But it had been when I first woke up. “I think it’s just allergies if not a weird cold. I just need to get a nose spray or something. I won’t take long.”

“Okay. You go do whatever you gotta do.” Her smile turned into a grin. “It’ll give me time to start working on Owen, so great timing on your part.”