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“Okay.” I look around the store at all the options. “Should we keep it classic for a funeral and go with the white roses? Or do you think we should make it a more colorful and joyous bunch?”

Before he can reply, his phone rings, and he takes it out of his pocket and glances at the screen.

“One second.” He answers and steps outside the store.

I wonder if it’s his girlfriend again, and why he is so secretive, always stepping outside to take her call. He can’t call her back later?

I wander to the gardenias and tulips, trying to suppress my annoyance. He’s not taking this seriously.

“Are you shopping for a special occasion or a special person?” The employee steps up beside me.

“Yes, actually. We’re looking for flowers for a big event. You do large orders, right?”

“We sure do.” He seems excited now. “What kind of event are we talking about?”

Before I can answer, the door opens and Hayden hurries back inside. His face is unreadable as he blurts out, “I have to go. Something came up. I’ll text you, okay?”

I just stare at him. Is he for real? We just got here and he already has somewhere better to be? Why did he even show up? He clearly has no valuable input anyway. Does he think showing up for five minutes counts as contributing? Did he forget we had plans to brainstorm together after the florist?

But before I can remind him of that, he’s already out the door.

Thanks for nothing.

The store clerk gives me an empathetic look. “Do you want to come back another time with your boyfriend, or would you like to continue by yourself?”

I give him a forced smile. “He’s just an acquaintance. I don’t need him. I can do this by myself.”

And I mean it. I can do all of this by myself. I didn’t want Hayden’s help to begin with, and I can’t say it’s a shock that he’s unreliable. I assumed he’d keep up the charade of helpful partner a little bit longer though.

Oh well. It’s not the first time a man has disappointed me.

Chapter 13

Hayden

“I think she’s asleep,” Sarah whispers as she closes the door to the bedroom.

“She seemed pretty tired, so she might actually not be faking it.”

Sarah laughs, throws herself on the couch next to me, and lets out a big groan. “I cannot tell you how embarrassing it was to receive that phone call from the school. I’m sure I’ll have to attend some stupid parent meeting about this.”

“I can imagine.” I hand her the glass of wine she left on the coffee table. “It’ll be fine. Kids do that kind of stuff. I don’t even want to know how many times my parents had to go talk to a teacher about ‘incidents.’”

Sarah takes a long sip of her drink. “I forgot that you said you were a bad boy in school.”

I scoff. “Honestly? It seems to be all anyone else can remember about me.”

She gives me a worried look. “We don’t have to talk about it, but how has it been being back there? You haven’t said much.”

“It’s been alright,” I murmur. “I’ve been keeping myself busy with Darlene’s party plans. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I’ve only run into my brother so far. No sign of my father yet.”

“Do you think you will see him? You still have a few weeks left.”

“Not if I don’t have to. I would like to see my mom, but I don’t know if she wants to see me.”

I try to sound casual, but I can’t help feeling the inevitable pain that always comes with thinking about my nonexistent relationship with my mom. It wasn’t always like that. We used to be a regular family. It all changed when I was sixteen, and I witnessed something I wasn’t supposed to.

“Could you call her? Ask her to meet you somewhere?” Sarah hugs a pillow to her chest.