Jules
“It’s almost Friday.” Stacy bumped her shoulder against mine. “Did you buy a new dress?”
I was in the middle of restocking the lemons when Stacy distracted me. “Dress. I was supposed to buy a dress?” The lemon I set on the pile tumbled down and rolled past us.
“Oh, I believe this is yours,” a woman said behind me.
“Sorry–” I turned to face the woman– “about that.” I paused for a beat. The woman looked familiar. “Um, wait, Olly’s sister, right?”
“Yep, that’s me.” She held out her hand, still holding the lemon. “It’s Lola. Jules, right?”
“Yeah.” I grabbed the lemon. “This is my friend and business partner, Stacy.”
“Nice to meet you.” They shook hands. “So, I hear you’re going on a hot date, eh?” She winked.
“Um.” Seriously, was everyone playing matchmaker? “Last I checked, it was a date. Not sure about the hot part.” I grabbed two more lemons and added them to the stack.
Lola’s eyes drifted away. “The date may not be hot, but he is.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.
Whoever she was looking at must’ve been behind me. I casually spun around, suddenly curious about the mystery person. “Ryan.” I didn’t mean to say his name out loud. Lola gasped, and Stacy laughed.
“Yes.” He lifted his head from a box he was opening.
“Oh, nothing.” I shook my head. “Can you finish putting these lemons away when you’re done?”
“Sure.” His eyes were not looking at me when he answered; they were looking at something over my shoulder. Lola.
I turned back toward Lola, whose cheeks were a rosy shade of pink. “Okay, then.” I placed a lemon I held back in the box and leaned closer to her. “Should I introduce you both?”
“What? Oh, no, it’s fine.” She shook her head and looked over at me. “Hey, don’t worry about getting a dress. Olly’s more of a simple guy, super casual.”
“Got it.” I nodded and turned to walk away.
I managed to take five steps before Lola wrapped her hands around my bicep. “Wait.”
“Yes.” I giggled. “Did you change your mind?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Come on.” Ryan had walked back to the produce cooler. He was rinsing off some lettuce when we walked into the small space. “Ryan.”
“Yeah.” He turned off the water and spun around. When he noticed Lola standing beside me, he fumbled with the head of lettuce, flinging water in all directions before letting it slip from his hands. “Shit.”
“Oh.” Lola lunged forward to grab the lettuce before it fell. They managed to catch it together. “Hey, look at that. Good teamwork.”
“I’m sorry.” He pulled it from her grasp, probably worried about what I would say. “Should I throw it out?” I knew he was asking me.
“No, it’s fine. Just rinse it off.” I smiled. “I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Lola.”
“Oh.” He set the lettuce on a table and reached out his hand. “Ryan. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Well, I’ll leave you both be.” I turned and pushed the door to the produce cooler open. Before I left, I glanced over my shoulder. “But you do need to wash your hands before touching any produce.”
“Right.” He nodded.
Ryan had been working at the market for about six months. He was quiet and seemed a little shy, but he was one of the best employees.
“Well, that was productive.” Stacy suddenly reappeared.
“Where did you go?” I rolled my eyes. “And what was productive?”
“Customer service.” She shrugged. “Well, you know you don’t need a dress for Friday; casual is better. Plus, you just did the sweetest thing and introduced our Ryan to a girl.”
“From the look on his face, I’m wondering if it was a good idea.” I didn’t know the guy that well. What if he had some dark or sad past? Or he could already be dating someone.
“He’s your average mid-20s guy.” Stacy squeezed my shoulder. “Okay, time to circle back. What are you planning to wear on Friday?”
“Wrinkled T-shirt, leggings, and a messy bun.” I bent down to pick up a sign that had fallen.
“That’s not funny, Jules.”
“It’s a little bit funny.” I folded the sign and found a trash bin to throw it away. “I have no clue what I’m going to wear. I plan to stand with my closet doors open and play a game of Eeny Meeny Miney Mo.”
“Can I come over?” Her eyes went wide with excitement.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Seriously?”
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to check the time. “Yes, seriously. I need to take care of an order before I leave.”
“Jules.” Stacy wrapped her hand around my bicep. “This is okay. You know that, right?”
“I do.” I placed my hand over hers. “Just be patient with me.” I squeezed her hand.
Stacy was my best friend. She had been there when Eric was sick and ensured the market ran smoothly on good and bad days.
She understood why I hesitated to jump into anything with Olly, but she was also determined to see me happy again.
“If you need a sexy top, you can borrow one of mine.” She yelled at me as I walked back toward my office.
“Thank you.” I raised my hand in a wave before turning down another hall.
It wasn’t a hot date, and I didn’t plan to wear a sexy top. What I did plan to do, though, was have some fun. I knew that could be checked off my list because Olly made me laugh whenever I was in a room with him.
AUTHOR NOTE:
I love the determination of Jules’ best friend. It’s sweet. I think we have a new couple coming into the picture. Would you like to see what happened in the produce cooler with Lola and Ryan?