Blueprint for Romance

by Shannon M Harris

  “We’ll see.” She glanced at her watch. “I hate to cut this short, but I have to stop at the store before going home.”

  “Sure.” Haley stood and embraced Dylan, kissing her on the cheek. “Give my love to Iris and Emma. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

  “I will.”

  Marketplace usually wasn’t her first stop, but it was on the way home and she could get everything on the list.

  Twenty minutes into her shopping trip, she’d marked off everything on her list. Almost on its own accord, her cart took her to the toy section, or more importantly, the Lego aisle. She grabbed a couple of the Lego Minifigures blind bags and threw them in the cart. There were a few figures Emma didn’t have yet, and she loved the mystery of what she would get. All her multiples she would give to a boy whose physical therapy was scheduled the same time as hers.

  While wheeling her cart out of the aisle, she spotted a DC super hero girls doll display and noticed a new Wonder Woman one that Emma didn’t have. Without a second thought, she picked it up and put it in the cart. Dylan knew she spoiled her daughter, but Emma was a well-adjusted little girl and rarely asked for anything when they were out. And with the extra money from tonight and the upcoming catering gig, she had a little extra cash to splurge on her daughter. Besides, tomorrow Emma was going horseback riding, and even though she knew it would be fun, it always wore Emma out and left her exhausted.

  Thankfully, there were plenty of self-checkouts open and she was out of the store thirty minutes after entering. The drive home was quiet, Dylan opting not to turn the radio on. Her thoughts strayed to Kat and her cute niece of their own accord. She remembered the first time Emma ate something hot and had the same reaction Griffin did.

  The connection she’d felt toward Kat was unexpected and nice, but, at the moment, unwanted. That’s why she hadn’t mentioned it to Haley, who believed in true love. Kat was exactly her type, with her long legs and toned physique. That, coupled with her obvious love for her niece, left Dylan with a warm and fuzzy feeling. A bit of flirting never hurt anyone, and the interest was obvious in Kat’s eyes.

  She’d noticed Kat as soon as she had walked in. It was hard not to. Kat cut quite the figure. When Kat was paying for their food, it had taken all of Dylan’s restraint not to reach across the counter and run her fingers through Kat’s hair. She wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

  She shook off her foolish thoughts after pulling into the garage. Her mother held the door open for her as she started unloading the bags. After setting the last load down, she turned to her mother, seeing her pursed lips. Dylan narrowed her eyes. “What? Is Emma okay?”

  Iris tilted her head. “Emma’s fine. Been asleep for a few hours.”

  The look her mother directed at her didn’t mean anything good. That look was the one Iris gave them when she wanted something. “Mom?” Without waiting for an answer, she started unpacking the food.

  After a few minutes, Iris spoke quietly. “I haven’t seen a smile like that on your face for a long time.”

  Dylan stopped with a bag of green beans in her hand. “What?”

  “Your cousin called me today after she closed up. Said you had a friendly conversation with a customer…female.” Iris joined her in unpacking the groceries.

  “Of course she did.” Figured Macy wouldn’t keep her mouth shut. “I helped a customer and her niece who ate a banana pepper and they were both freaking out.” She shrugged. “I helped them out. That’s all it was.”

  “All it was? Macy seemed to think there was more to it. She straight?”

  With a sigh, Dylan continued unpacking the groceries. “Yes, Mom, that’s all it was. I forgot how nice it is to share a connection with someone, even if for a fleeting moment…and no, she’s not straight. I might have checked out her Instagram page.”

  “Might have?”

  “Okay, I did.”

  “So, not someone you would date?”

  Dylan leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “Mom, we’ve talked about this.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I doubt I will ever see her again. Hundreds of people eat there every day, and I was only helping out.”

  “Macy did say she had never seen her there before.”

  “She told me that as well.”

  “So, not someone you would date?” Iris asked again.

  If she was honest with herself, if Kat had asked, she would have said yes, but their moment had already passed. Besides, instant connections weren’t real. Even she and Ian had to work at it. “I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m not even sure I would have time for a new friendship. I barely have time for Haley. If it wasn’t for us working together, I would never see her. A romantic relationship would take up too much of my time, but I might be able to juggle another friend.” Probably not, but she wanted to appease her mom.

  “I understand that, sweetheart.”

  “But?”

  Iris smiled and kissed Dylan’s cheek. “No but. Your happiness is my number one priority.”

  “I am happy. Do I want more, yes, but not today.” Both stayed silent as they continued unpacking.

  “Emma will love these. Did you do that well in tips?” Iris picked up the items Dylan bought for Emma.

  Dylan went on to explain the catering gig, then stifled a yawn behind her hand. “I’m going to take a shower and relax. Night.”

  “Good night.”

  One quick shower, and a cup of tea later, Dylan lay curled up in bed staring at the ceiling. A sliver of light from the moon broke through the curtain and painted the ceiling in color. She needed to sleep, but her mind was a jumbled mess. Everything bombarded her at once.

  Her relationship with Ian seemed ideal, but she always felt like something was missing. It was good, and they loved each other, but it never felt complete, even when Emma came along. She wanted an all-encompassing feeling, something not felt with Ian. They’d talked about it once, but in the end, decided to make it work and she didn’t regret it. Not even for a second.

  Maybe someday she could have it all with someone new. It was something she dreamed about but would never tell her family because they would try to set her up. When the right time came, she would know it, and she knew now wasn’t the right time.

  Kat skimmed her hand across the cabinets in McGovern’s, Briley’s go to hardware store, on Saturday morning. She’d decided to tag along when Briley mentioned she needed to pick up a few things for her house over breakfast. Which was code for ‘she needed some things for her Christmas decorations’. Leah was a saint for putting up with Briley’s Christmas obsession.

  Where various lengths of wood and some miscellaneous items filled Briley’s cart, Kat’s cart only contained a couple of light fixtures for her house and a few boards for shelves she wanted to put up in her office for her collection of Harley Quinn figurines. This could’ve waited until next week, considering she’d already agreed to accompany Evan to buy flowers for his planned garden, but she wanted to spend time with Briley. Work kept her busy and they hadn’t had a lot of time together.

  A few weeks had passed since her and Griffin’s trip to the Burger Café and she’d be lying if she denied that Dylan hadn’t crossed her mind during that time. She’d tried to look her up on social media but couldn’t find anything.

  “Aunt Kat.”

  Kat looked across the aisle where an excited Griffin waved at her, wearing a miniature tool belt, almost the same as Briley’s. Griffin would have run toward her, but Briley had a firm grip on the back of her shirt. Kat smiled and made her way across the aisle to join them, then knelt next to Griffin.

  She made a motion for Griffin to turn. “Wow, monkey. Look at you. Just like Mama.”

  Griffin bobbed her head, then tilted it back to look up at Briley, who beamed. Motherhood suited her. “Yup.”

  Briley bent and scooped Griffin up. “We’re a team.” She raised her hand for Griffin to slap, then they both turned to Kat. “Team Anderso
n.”

  “I’ll high-five to that.” It had surprised Kat when Leah had made the decision to take their last name and to change Griffin’s once she and Briley were married the following year. Leah had explained it was a new beginning for them both. Evan had chosen to keep Kathy, his other mother’s, last name and at first, he had a hard time with them changing Griffin’s last name. He felt like they were erasing his mom and step-mom, Lilith, from Griffin’s life after they died, but Leah had quickly assured him that wasn’t the case. Briley and family had gone away last weekend to visit Madison, Leah’s daughter, and when they came back, Evan had changed his mind. Kat never asked what occurred during their time away and neither Leah or Briley had volunteered the information, but Kat was glad everything worked out.

  Kat took a willing Griffin in her arms and glanced to her left, then did a double take. Not twenty feet from her was Dylan. Even after only meeting her once, she would know those dimples anywhere. Her hair was tucked up under a Meerkat baseball cap and she had on a pair of ripped jeans and a long-sleeve blue Henley paired with a pair of sandals. Her toenails were painted a deep red. She mumbled to herself while looking at the light fixtures. She was the cutest thing Kat had ever seen.

  Kat jerked away when Briley whispered in her ear.

  “Is that the woman from the Burger Café?” She whistled.

  “Shut up,” Kat hissed and set Griffin down on the floor. When she looked back up, Dylan was looking at her with a crooked grin. Kat returned the smile and hoped it looked friendly, then turned back to a grinning Briley, who lifted her hand and waved at Dylan. Kat kept her gaze fixed on Briley.

  “Must you act like that?” Briley always did this to her. It was so embarrassing. Although, considering what she put Briley through concerning Leah, she guessed she deserved it. Karma was a bitch.

  Briley lifted Griffin into her cart. “We’re going to look at the flooring. Leah wants to redo the bathrooms in the house. Go talk with her.” She glanced in Kat’s cart. “You’re a professional; you can help her before someone else does.” She nudged Kat with her shoulder. “Go, or else.”

  Kat kept her eyes glued to the spot Briley had left, took a deep breath, then turned her cart toward Dylan, who still stood by the light fixtures. She could do this. She was an adult, for goodness sake. Why was she getting so worked up over this? Dylan was only a woman. A beautiful woman, but a woman nonetheless. She had just made up her mind to walk up to her when an older woman stepped up beside Dylan with a light fixture in hand and they started talking.

  Well, how anticlimactic, Kat thought. When the older lady looked in her direction, Kat froze, but quickly lost her nerve, and turned to walk away. She couldn’t do this. How Briley had done this with Leah, she had no clue. She now realized what an ass she was toward Briley concerning Leah. Fortunately, everything worked out.

  “Kat, I thought that was you.”

  Kat stopped her cart and groaned at hearing Mrs. Hanlin’s voice. It sounded suspiciously like it came from the direction where Dylan was standing. One thing she quickly learned when she moved to Garriety was that one never ignored Mrs. Hanlin, her and Briley’s neighbor. In all honesty, Kat did like her, and Mrs. Hanlin made the most scrumptious sausage casserole around. Being invited to one of her brunches was the highlight of anyone’s week. She plastered a smile on, then turned. Sure enough, Mrs. Hanlin was standing close by the other two women. Kat squinted, noticing the fake smile. This was all Briley’s doing. She didn’t know how, but it was. She knew it.

  “Mrs. Hanlin.” Kat approached her and leaned on the handle of the cart. “What brings you here today? You know if you ever need anything, Briley or I would be happy to assist you.” She could feel Dylan and the other woman’s eyes on her but was determined to not look in their direction.

  Mrs. Hanlin patted her cheek. “Aren’t you a dear? I thought Briley was a charmer, but I think you have her beat by a mile.”

  “Stop, you flatterer.” She winked at Mrs. Hanlin, who laughed.

  “You’re this far away from being my favorite.” She held her thumb and forefinger a breath apart.

  Kat clutched her hands to her chest. “Don’t tell Briley.”

  “Don’t tell Briley what?”

  Kat jumped to her right, almost knocking into Dylan when Briley spoke from directly behind her. “I’m sorry.” She held out her hands, but Dylan was standing still, then jerked her hands back, turned and glared at an innocent looking Briley.

  “Nothing, dear,” Mrs. Hanlin said, then turned her attention on a talkative Griffin. “Well, Griffin, don’t you look professional?”

  “Sorry about her,” Briley said to Dylan. “She can be unreasonably jumpy.”

  “No harm done.” Dylan looked from one to the other.

  Kat held herself back from swooning at the sound of Dylan’s voice. Deep breath, Kat. You can do this.

  “I see your daughter suffered no ill effects from her pepper incident,” Dylan said.

  “She’s tougher than she looks.” Briley stuck out her hand. “Let me formally introduce myself. Briley Anderson.”

  “Dylan Lake, and this is my mom, Iris.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” Briley said. “I can only imagine this one,” she hiked her thumb in Kat’s direction, “freaking out about it.”

  “She handled herself well,” Dylan said. “It’s always scary when something like that happens.”

  “Thank you.” Kat wanted to run as far as possible away from this situation. Dylan was being polite, but not overly friendly and she feared she’d misread everything at the diner. After all, they hadn’t seen each other in weeks.

  “I see you have some light fixtures in your cart,” Iris said, looking at Kat. “Maybe you could help me decide what to get for my living room. I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but it needs to be replaced.”

  “I mean…sure.” Kat took Iris’s phone, then looked at pictures of her living room while Briley talked with Dylan and Mrs. Hanlin. She kept an ear trained on them but couldn’t make out what they were saying. It only took them a few minutes to pick a new light fixture. Kat stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels while Briley wrapped up the conversation.

  Iris touched Dylan’s arm. “We need to get going.”

  “We do.” Dylan nodded. “It was nice meeting all of you.” She bopped Griffin on the nose, then turned to Kat. “And nice seeing you again, Kat.”

  “I know…no…yes. Wait.” Kat ran a hand through her hair. “You too.” She coughed. “It was nice seeing you again too.” God, could she be any more of a loser? Dylan’s chuckle made her feel even lower and she remained tongue-tied when they walked off and got in line to check out.

  Mrs. Hanlin tapped the bottom of Kat’s jaw. “You can relax, dear, they’re gone. All in all, you did good.” She had a knowing smile. “She’s nice. I would need to get to know her more before I approve. Of course.”

  “It’s not like that. This is only the second time I’ve met her.” She bit her lip. “There isn’t anything for you to approve of. I don’t even know if she’s gay.” This whole crush could be for naught.

  “Well, dear, only one way to know. Ask her out.” Mrs. Hanlin kissed Griffin on the cheek and walked away.

  “I never thought I would live to see Kat Anderson freak out,” Briley said with way too much amusement in her voice.

  “Like you have room to talk, ‘Ms. I Ran from the Woman I Liked and Didn’t Talk to Her for Months.’”

  “Oh, man.” Briley laughed, holding her sides. “I know you like her because you always act like a smart ark when you have your serious face on.”

  Kat frowned. “What did you say?”

  Briley glanced at Griffin, then back to Kat. “Smart ‘ark’. We’re trying not to cuss around little ears. She picks up on everything. Everything, Kat. Leah said if Griffin picked up on my cussing, I would have to sleep on the couch for a week, but if she picked up on the four-letter word that starts with an f, then I wouldn’t get
any for a month. A month, Kat. So, I’ve taken to substituting words.” She looked horrified.

  She believed it. Leah was an amazing woman, but strict when it came to certain things. “And do I want to even know what word you use for that particular four-letter word?”

  “Fork.”

  “I can forking believe it.” They held it in for a moment before both burst out laughing. They were mostly ignored but a few people turned in their direction, including Dylan, who quickly turned back around. “Well then, let’s get the fork out of here and get something to eat.”

  When they were loading the truck, Briley turned to her with a serious look. “Next time you see her, you should ask her out. Life’s short and you deserve to be happy. Don’t deny yourself.”

  Kat loaded their last bags into the truck. “Damn, when did you get so smart?”

  “Damn.” They both whipped their heads around and stared at Griffin, who repeated the word again and again. “Damn. Damn. Damn.” She laughed and hugged Bob close to her chest.

  “I’m glad it was you and not me,” Briley said, wiping her brow. “Let’s get the fork out of here because I can’t wait to tell Leah all about this.”

  Kat hung her head. Leah didn’t have no sex to dangle in front of her but could be creative when she needed to be. One thing for sure, if she ran into Dylan again, she would bite the bullet and ask her out, or at least, that was the plan.

  Dylan hummed and pushed her cart down the aisle of Hancock’s Nursery. Katie, her boss, asked her to pick up the plants for the hotel’s front entrance since it was a slow day. She’d readily agreed and with Katie’s truck and money in hand, she’d quickly left.

  The mulch and edging were already secured in the truck, along with the plant food and other accessories. She wanted to get that out of the way before she took her time looking at the flowers. Gardening was her one true passion and she got to go wild with it at the hotel. Plus Katie went above and beyond and always paid her extra when she did the landscaping for the hotel. Each flower was special, and she loved teaching others about them. Her dad shared the same passion and she hoped Emma would in the future.