Page 46 of Forsaken Trail (Runaway 4)
“There.” I pointed to the arrogant jerk’s face. “That, right there.”
“What, right there?” He rubbed the tip of his nose, checking his fingers to see if there was something on them.
“That, right there, is the reason I hate you. You throw money around like it’s meaningless. Don’t try to buy me.”
“I’m not trying to buy you.” He frowned. “I’m trying to make this easy on you. On both of us. If you want the flower shop, it’s yours.”
“What if . . .” I snapped my fingers. “What if I bought it from you?”
“It’s unnecessary.”
“How much did you pay for it?”
His jaw ticked, the hold on his patience slipping. “Why does it matter?”
“How. Much?”
“One hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.”
Well, shit. I didn’t have anywhere near that much in savings. But maybe I had enough for a down payment.
I held out my hand. “Deal.”
“What deal?”
“The flower shop. I’ll buy it from you. If you will accept monthly payments.”
Brody shook his head. “That’s not the point of this. I came here to ask you to move. I’m not going to put you in debt because of it.”
“Then we’ll make the monthly payments manageable.” I wiggled the fingers of my outstretched hand, waiting for him to accept.
“Aria—”
“I won’t budge on this. I won’t be a charity case.”
He sighed. “It’s not charity.”
“It feels like it to me.”
Brody’s mouth flatte
ned because I’d just won. “I won’t have the monthly payment become a burden. This cannot be something that causes you stress.”
“Life is stressful.”
“But it shouldn’t be for you.”
The gentleness in his voice tempered my anger. “Okay.”
He took my hand in his, sealing the deal.
I’d bought a flower shop. Oh my God. I’d just bought a flower shop.
The dream. It was my dream. And my head was spinning so fast I wasn’t sure if I should cry or laugh. It was too much, all of these changes were too much. I was in the middle of an ocean during a hurricane, and the seasickness was overwhelming.
If I looked too far into the future, the uncertainty would crumple me to my knees.
One day at a time. That’s all I had in me at the moment. One moment. One step. One day at a time.
