Page 4 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)
Chapter four
TYLER
“Holy shit Tyler that guy is smoking hot. He’s the one you were talking about last night?” Jamie asked as soon as the shop door closed.
I looked at him while he sat in his car.
“I never said he wasn’t hot, rich, funny, and apparently kind.” I bit my lower lip.
“He asked me on a date, but I don’t know.”
“Let me see if I have this right. He is amazing. He brought you cookies, and you don’t know if you want to date him.”
“Basically. And he apologized for not defending me in high school more than a decade ago.”
She looked at me, clearly surprised.
“Seriously? Who does that? Why are you not going on a date with him?”
“When he spent yesterday helping me, we had a good time. I am sure he had better things to do with his day, but he helped me get all my deliveries done, then took me to his bar to make me a fancy drink.” I thought about how I walked out.
“Walking out might have been unfair, but it hit me hard when I realized who he was.”
Sweetie, none of this explains why you won’t go out with him.
The more you talk about him, the more confused I am about your decision.
I wonder if he is bi, because I might take a run at him since he sounds fantastic.
”
“Don’t you dare,” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She laughed.
“So you do care?”
“I am not sure. What I see is pretty fantastic, but I don’t trust it. He is insanely rich but drives a modest car, lives in a nice but not excessive house, and doesn’t seem to flaunt his wealth. Doesn’t that seem suspicious to you? It’s like he is hiding something. You know what happened to me, I don’t trust it.”
She pursed her lips.
“I understand that what your family did was terrible, and you have had so much therapy trying to help you through it. You can’t let something that happened years ago keep you from being with someone. Maybe he is careful with money, and there isn’t something behind it.”
“I want to learn more about him. I didn’t say no. I am impressed that he came and apologized for something that happened in our teens. It was unexpected.”
She took a bite of one of the cookies and rolled her eyes.
“Fuck these are good. So what’s the plan?”
“I’m not sure, but I have his phone number, I know where he lives, and where he works. Not to mention, there are so many articles online.”
“You know, you sound like a stalker?”
She was right; it sounded like I was planning to stalk him.
At this point, I couldn’t even explain why I hadn’t accepted the date.
He checked so many boxes, and that might be the reason.
How could someone be all those things?
I’d like to find out before we go out.
“Well, I don’t know what your master plan is, Tyler, but I hope he brings you more apology cookies. Those things are amazing.” She squeezed my arm as she walked away.
I took another cookie and bit into it.
Earl moved in front of me and asked for another piece, nudging his nose in the frosting, until I gave him a bite.
She was right, these were some of the best cookies I had ever had.
I searched West’s name on my phone and found articles about the man.
Most of the them focused on his donations to charities, support for LGBTQ+ organizations, and his overall positive impact on the world.
Setting aside my stalking for now, I got back to work.
I flopped on my couch as soon as I got home.
When we weren't busy, thoughts of West distracted me, but it wasn't often because it felt like we had been busier than usual.
There were a ton of walk-in customers, which meant our name was getting out there.
We were even getting inquiries about events which was the bread-and-butter of a florist.
Earl and I shared a sandwich while Larry got a can of food for dinner.
Once I showered, I headed to bed where I planned to watch TV and doom scroll.
As I got my pillows just right against the headboard, I started watching a reality show.
Larry jumped up on the bed and meowed at me, wanting attention or at least to be noticed.
He curled up on my lap, and I petted him.
Earl lay on the pillow beside me, and I scrolled through random things on my phone.
Having gotten tired of social media, I started to play a game, and it startled me when I received a text message.
WEST
How were the cookies?
Receiving a message from West was a surprise that made me happier than I wanted to admit.
Were we messaging friends now?
He hadn’t even acknowledged me in high school, but was trying hard now.
It wouldn’t hurt to message back.
He probably wanted to confirm he got what he paid for.
TYLER
Yeah.
Really good.
I shared them with Jamie.
WEST
Good.
I wanted you to enjoy them.
TYLER
I did.
Thank you again for being thoughtful.
WEST
Good.
I wanted to say good night.
So…
Good Night, Tyler.
I hope you sleep well.
TYLER
Good Night, West.
I hope you sleep well, too.
That was sweet, and I liked that he had thought about me.
Unable to stop myself, I did another Google search on him.
There were so many articles with him standing next to someone famous and smiling.
He had opened The Dapper Duck five years earlier after working as a manager for one of the more popular bars across town.
The article said he had seen what worked and then made it better.
West had saved money, taken a business loan, and five years later, he had one of the most popular places for the rich and famous to get a drink.
The images showed several magazine covers where West had appeared, including Fortune 500, which made him look even more handsome.
He always wore jeans, a Western-style button-up shirt, and boots.
Even in pictures, you could feel the man’s confidence.
He was tan and beautiful, with dark, wavy hair, blue eyes, and a little smirk, which he seemed to always have.
Reading more about him, it sunk in that this incredibly successful man asked me on a date.
He could probably date anybody he wanted, and it wasn’t like he tried to get me into bed.
West had explicitly said he wanted to take me on a date.
A little ripple of desire ran over my body.
I still didn’t know if I trusted him, but it was clear he wasn’t the same guy from high school—people could lie.
Plus, there was no way someone like him would want to stick around once he got to know me.
I had avoided being rejected for years, and I liked West.
I knew if I was interested in him and he rejected me after we went out a few times, it would hurt more; avoiding that pain was much easier.
The rest of the week was busy, and I was glad business had continued to pick up.
Since Valentine’s Day, we’ve seen an increase in customers.
We ran out of flowers on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I doubled my order for the rest of the week and used everything we had.
Around 3:00 p.
m.
on Friday, there was finally a lull in business, which was good since we didn’t have many flowers left.
“Have you heard from the sexy bar owner?” Jamie asked me while she bit into an apple.
“Only once. He messaged me the other night.” She raised her eyebrow at me.
“What did he say?”
“He said good night, but I haven’t heard from him since.” I knew I could reach out, and I wanted to.
Honestly, I was looking for my person.
West seemed great, but I was convinced he only pretended he liked me, and I couldn’t figure out why.
A customer walked in before I had any more time to think about it.
“They are saying this is a great place to pick up flowers. Let me have some.” That was one of the oddest ways someone had ever asked for flowers.
When I thought about it, quite a few people this week had walked in and asked for a bouquet.
There were no stories about who they were giving them to or the reason.
Usually, people had a reason and felt compelled to share with me.
“Giving the flowers to someone?” I asked the gentleman in front of me.
“Yeah. My mom will like them.” He responded while scrolling through his phone.
“Is it her birthday or some other special occasion?”
“No. I just wanted to make sure I got some flowers before the deal was done.”
Narrowing my eyes at him.
“The deal?”
“Yeah. The one to get flowers.” I had a ten percent off coupon on our website for the next few weeks, so I assumed that was the deal he referred to.
I wrapped up the flowers and tied a bow around the stems.
It was 7:00 p.
m.
and he was the last customer of the night.
Since Friday was a date night, we had decided to stay open later, and the bet had paid off, getting many people picking up flowers for their night out.
I rang him up and thanked him, then turned the sign off for the night.
I hadn’t looked at my phone for a few hours and was excited to see a text message.
WEST
I’d like to buy you dinner.
And I know you aren’t ready for our date.
DOORDASH
One hundred dollars has been added to your DoorDash account.
I blinked a few times.
The man had just given me money for dinner, which was super nice.
I was even more surprised since he hadn’t messaged me since Tuesday.
WEST
Have a wonderful dinner.
I look forward to when I can take you out personally.
Any time you want, any day you want.
That might have been too much, sorry.
If you want, let me know what you get.
Have a great night.
Jamie walked in from the back room, while I looked at my phone, still shocked.
“What’s that?” I couldn’t even voice what had happened.
I handed her my phone.
“Shit Tyler. I've said it before, if you don’t date this man, I am going to.”
“You most certainly will not.” He had my attention for sure. “I’m going to go home and order way too much food, then cyberstalk a bar owner.”
“Are you going to let him take you on a date?”
“I’m giving it some serious consideration.” He was very nice, and I still didn’t understand why he had any interest in me, since I was just an awkward guy who owned a flower shop, but he was trying to get my approval.
Jamie headed toward the door. “Tyler, you need to realize you are a catch. The only reason you aren’t going out with him is because you think you aren’t good enough, and for some reason, he is faking his attraction to you.”
It shocked me how on point she was. I guess that was why we were best friends. “What would he possibly see in me? I am nothing.”
“Tyler! That is completely untrue. You are amazing; you own this shop and have Earl and Larry. Not to mention you are kind, sweet, and the best friend anybody could ever have.”
I could feel a stinging behind my eyes. “Thank you.”
She gave me a closed-mouth smile and walked out the door. I tapped my chest, and Earl settled on my shoulder. We were ready to go home.
At home, Larry was happy to see me, and Earl was glad to see Larry, which he showed by tackling his brother. Together, they rolled across the couch cushions. The three of us went into my bedroom, where I pulled on my Cookie Monster pajamas, picked up the house a little, started the laundry, and finally, after I fed Larry, figured out what I would have for dinner.
An hour later, I had so much food I would eat leftovers for days. I got ribs, loaded French fries, some chicken nuggets, and a piece of carrot cake. I took a picture of all the food and sent it to West.
TYLER
Way too much food. Thank you.
I figured he was at work and wouldn’t respond until morning. Earl got on the coffee table and started poking around. The little thief stole a chicken nugget, then got BBQ sauce all over his face as he enjoyed his treat. Larry took that opportunity to steal a rib bone and took off to the kitchen. I let him have it for the moment—he wouldn’t do much with it other than lick remnants of meat off.
My heart jolted a little when I got a phone notification.
WEST
Looks great. Is that a cat I see there?
TYLER
Yeah, that’s Larry, he’s my other buddy.
The food was delicious. I’d be in a food coma for the rest of the night.
WEST
Not a bad thing. I’m glad you are enjoying your dinner.
TYLER
Thank you again.
WEST
I have a customer issue. Would it be okay if I texted you in a few hours?
I looked at the clock; it would be like 1:00 a.m., which would be pretty late, but I wouldn’t mind more text messages from him.
TYLER
I might be asleep. If I don’t answer, sorry, I’ll respond in the morning, but please feel free to text.
I took a moment, then sent another message before I thought too much about it.
TYLER
Anytime.
I hoped he took my comment as an open invitation. Maybe Jamie was right. He showed interest in me and gently nudged me, but not annoyingly so. I tried to remember how he was in high school. He was into sports but spent a lot of time sitting alone, reading a book, or writing. Then I remembered that he sat directly behind me in any class I had with him. Unable to help myself, I picked my phone up again.
TYLER
Good Night, West. I’ll talk to you later or in the morning.
I ate everything I could, and then put away the leftovers. Earl, Larry, and I watched TV and read about The Dapper Duck. An few hours later, I was sleepy. I did my best to stay awake, but the heavy food and the long week pulled me under.