“So Judy’s already after you, huh?” she asked, nodding at the vases.

“She’s relentless.”

“Well, you did sleep with her all summer after senior year.”

“Ah, the good old days. I’m telling you—the older ladies are always the wildest.”

“You’re disgusting, Luke,” she said around a laugh.

I shrugged. “Hey, whatever it takes to save Mom’s shop.”

“Oh my God. You aren’t actually going to sleep with her, are you?”

I picked up my box with a smirk. “Depends on which kimono she’s wearing. Always was a sucker for animal print.”

A bawdy laugh burst out of her, and she swatted my arm. “It’s a comfort that some things never change.”

I winked at her. “I aim to please. Congrats on the bun, Ivy.”

“Thanks. See you in a bit. I’ll show you the new register when you get back, okay?”

“You bet.”

I made my way into the shop, past the tables where Tess worked with the laser-focus of a bomb disposal tech. She ignored me completely even though I stared a hole in her. It was impressive, the determination she maintained to pretend like I didn’t exist.

Donuts. I was one hundred percent bringing donuts back with me.

I didn’t get the animosity, and frankly, that made me feel like a dumbshit. By my estimation, I’d never been anything but nice to her, if not a touch too flirtatious, which was something I really didn’t get. Who didn’t like getting flirted with? I mean, barring breaching the line of comfort. Maybe Tess’s line was just much farther out than most.

I thought back over yesterday and the cooler incident, replaying the encounter and the conversation that had followed. The best I could come up with was that I’d caught her off guard—not only with the groping, but with the news that we’d be working together, which seemed to have thrown her contempt in an amplifier cranked to eleven. I would have been surprised Mom hadn’t told Tess I’d be working the counter if she wasn’t so scatterbrained. Mom could tell me the name, phone number, and pedigree of every single woman in a ten-block radius who would make good marriage material but couldn’t recall the date on any given day.

I’d surprised Tess, and she wasn’t the kind of girl who liked surprises. I made a mental note to find out why so I could change her mind about that too.

There was nothing in the world like adventure. There was nothing so sweet as discovery. The unknown, the new, only broadened our lives, made us better. Taught us. Made us more than we were. I sought it at every turn, craved it with every sunrise. California had been a feast, from the people to the jobs, the food to the lifestyle. I’d had jobs ranging from glass blower to stunt man. I worked with a contractor buddy, renovating houses. Was an extra on TV. At one point, I’d even modeled baseball pants for Dick’s Sporting Goods, which had left me fielding cracks from my brothers for … well, I was still fielding them years later.