Page 48 of Apple of My Eye

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Nick

I hesitate at the door to the coffee shop wondering if this is the creepiest thing I’ve ever done.

It isn’t my fault that Linden decides to put his whole life on a very public Instagram page where he’s found a niche doing fit checks for tech bros.

It isn’t my fault that he does his bi-weekly outfit rundowns at one of the most well-known coffee shops in Cow Hollow.

It isn’t completely unlikely that I would also want to grab a latte here.

Never mind that I live in Haight-Ashbury, which isn’t exactly close.

I take a deep breath and push open the door, surveying the small space as quickly as I can.

Just as I expected, Linden is sitting at a corner table, headphones on, starting intently at a computer screen.

He looks incredible, tailored pants, a perfectly fitted short-sleeve collared shirt, a sweater slung over the back of his chair.

I didn’t know until I found his page that so many other men cared about how to dress well for the office. But they do. And Linden has capitalized.

I would have been able to find him even if I hadn’t stalked him on Instagram—he looks just like Eloise.

They have the same colored hair, but hers is lighter, probably because she spends more time in the sun.

The same sloped nose. Linden glances up at the door as if the bell startled him, and even though I knew it from the pictures, I’m still shocked when I see Eloise’s piercing light blue eyes looking back at me.

I look down as soon as I get my composure, not wanting to be caught staring.

I fumble through ordering my coffee and take a seat at the table next to Linden, pulling out a textbook.

School feels like a joke now. I’m one of the only ones in my friend group that still studies.

But it’s our last semester. And I still feel like I need to earn the perk of graduating early.

Even if I already have my full-time job lined up.

It crosses my mind that Eloise would have a field day at this line of thinking, my questioning my own need for success even when it’s completely worthless.

I think about her so often still. Picturing her thinking about me working in an office, a corporate sellout, puts a pit in my stomach.

I’m so focused on my anxiety that I don’t notice the shadow looming over me until Linden clears his throat. I look up, surprised at his height.

‘Is this seat taken?’ he asks.

I shake my head dumbly.

‘This might seem crazy,’ Linden says, with a genuine smile, ‘but you look really familiar. Were you working on a farm this summer?’

Of course, Linden would have seen my videos. Eloise probably sent them to everyone with clear instruction to kill me upon sight.

But Linden doesn’t look like he wants to kill me .?.?. ‘Yeah, the Parkers’.’

‘Right on,’ Linden says, making himself completely at home at my table. ‘I’m—’

‘Linden,’ I supply. ‘Ah, that might have seemed creepy, but you look just like your sister. I’m Nick,’ I say, extending a hand.

Linden’s grin widens. ‘We both look like our dad. I saw your videos. Really cool stuff. I bet that helped the Parkers out a lot.’

Right , I remember. Eloise barely talks to Linden. He doesn’t know she hates me. I shrug. ‘I did my best.’ I glance at Linden’s open, friendly face, my feelings spiraling out of my head before I can get a handle on them. ‘I actually really miss the farm,’ I admit.

‘It sucks to come back to the city after all that fresh air,’ Linden agrees.

‘Why did you leave?’

A shadow crosses Linden’s face, and I immediately walk my question back. ‘Sorry, man, that was intrusive.’

‘No, no, it’s OK.’ He sighs. ‘I think it always felt like Eloise’s space, you know. I’m sure you could tell when you met her—she’s meant to be there. It means everything to her.’

‘Yeah,’ I hesitate, not knowing how much to reveal about my relationship with his little sister and deciding to air on the side of caution. I twiddle my thumbs. ‘So, what do you do when you really miss it? Hike?’

Linden laughs. ‘Hiking doesn’t really cut it for me.’ He gives me a shrewd look and I still underneath his calculating stare. Eloise told me he was smart, but not that he was so intimidating. I set my shoulders, not wanting to seem cowed. ‘I volunteer,’ he says after a beat.

‘That was not the answer I was expecting,’ I admit. ‘But I’m intrigued.’

‘With the Sausalito farming community,’ Linden explains. ‘I work in finance, and I help a lot of them apply for loans.’

‘That’s really cool.’

He nods. ‘I’ve gotta get back to work, but you seem business savvy—’ he glances at my backpack, which has a Stanford MBA logo emblazoned across the top ‘—so if it’s something you’re interested in, you should come to our next meeting.’

‘Yeah, definitely .?.?. that’d be great, man. I really appreciate that.’

Linden nods once before heading towards the door. ‘DM me. I’ll send you the details.’

‘Will do. Nice to meet you,’ I call after him.

Maybe creepily stalking my ex-girlfriend’s ( am I allowed to call her that? ) brother wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

I’m rebuffing Linden’s laughter when Harvey skirts around me, narrowly missing running straight into my chest and spilling the cocktails he’s carrying.

It’s a little after 9 p.m. and Linden and I are out at a bar after the Sausalito Farming Committee’s weekly meeting. Linden is in the middle of roasting me alive for buying a carbon copy of the outfit he was wearing last week.

‘But that’s the reason you have an Instagram,’ I remind him, ‘so that people will buy the clothes you wear!’

He’s still laughing at me when I clock Harvey.

‘Harvey—’ I tap his shoulder ‘—good to see you, man.’

‘Nick Russo,’ he returns, ever the businessman, grasping my hand in a firm shake. ‘What a surprise.’

‘What brings you to town?’

‘Oh, you know—’ Harvey shrugs ‘—this and that.’

‘This is Linden. Linden, meet Harvey. He’s one of the brokers for that Scott’s Orchards deal I told you about.’

Harvey and Linden greet each other with the practiced warmth of people who make deals for a living, but before Linden can explain he’s an Anderson, I ask Harvey if he’s heard from the Parkers.

I’ve followed up with Betsy about once a week since I left, wondering what she decided to do, but as far as I know they’re still undecided.

Harvey shakes his head. ‘Still nothing. I don’t know what I expect from those hicks. They don’t know what’s good for them.’

Linden stiffens beside me. He’s not one for confrontation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he let a punch loose and caught Harvey square in the jaw.

I steady the anger roiling within me with a deep breath. ‘The Parkers are smart, Harv,’ I say, my voice low.

Harvey’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly, but he takes a step back. ‘Of course,’ he says, ‘I was just joking. I didn’t mean anything by it.’

The three of us are silent for a beat before Harvey mutters an excuse and leaves with his drinks.

‘Man.’ Linden runs a hand through his hair.

‘Look, I’m really sorry about that,’ I say quickly, ‘I didn’t know he was such a dick. I thought he made the Parkers a good offer.’

Linden sighs, his shoulders drooping. ‘He may have offered them money, but I can guarantee that isn’t the only reason they do what they do.

Farmers are a hell of a lot smarter than assholes like him give them credit for.

They could do something else if they wanted to make more money.

But they care more about their communities, about doing something tangible and gratifying .

.?.’ He trails off. ‘Sometimes I wonder if I care more about that too,’ he admits.

‘But I can’t give up my eight-dollar morning lattes to save the world.

At least not yet.’ He forces a chuckle. ‘Not that I’ve gotten Eloise to understand that. ’

‘Yeah,’ I agree. But it’s hard for me to focus on what Linden’s saying when all I’m thinking is, Oh shit . If Harvey’s character is any indication, Eloise was right about Scott’s Orchards. Was I too blinded by my own ambition to see it?