Flowers on Main (17 page)

“Let me speak to her,” he said.

Connie stared at him, incredulous. “Really?”

“Just give me the phone,” he ordered. “And go do something.”

“What?”

“Anything. Water the plants in the greenhouse or whatever else will get you out of here.”

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Interesting. You want privacy to have a business conversation with one of our clients. Some people might wonder how Bree rates that special attention.”

He merely scowled at her until she got up and left the office. When he put the phone up to his ear, he heard Bree asking, “Connie, what’s going on? Connie!”

“It’s me,” he said.

“Jake,” she said, her voice filled with surprise and maybe a touch of dismay. “Where’d Connie go?”

“I sent her on an errand.”

“I see.”

“So, what do you need? I heard Connie say something about a delivery-date change and a party.”

Bree explained that her sisters had talked her into holding an open house. “So I’ll need the flowers here on Thursday instead of Friday.”

He considered making things difficult for her by claiming that he couldn’t make a delivery on a different day on such short notice, but what would be the point of making her beg, when they both knew he’d do it.

“Is it a problem?” she asked when he remained silent. “Connie didn’t seem to think it would be.”

“You’ll have your flowers,” he responded tersely.

“Will it still be okay to get the order form to you on Monday or will you need it sooner?”

“The sooner you get it in, the better your chances for getting everything you want,” he told her. “In fact, if you can have it ready today, I can stop by and pick it up before I meet Will and Mack at Sally’s.”

“Really? You’ll come here?”

“It’s not as if it would take me out of my way,” he said,
annoyed that she seemed to be making some kind of a big deal out of it. “Sally’s is practically next door.”

“Of course. I’ll have it ready for you by eleven-thirty. You meet them at noon, right?”

“Have you been keeping tabs on me?” For some ridiculous reason, the idea pleased him.

“No, of course not,” she said at once. “Sally mentioned that when she warned me to stay away around noon, so I wouldn’t chase the three of you off.”

“Oh, right,” he said, deflated. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Yeah, see you later. If for any reason I have to go out, I’ll put the order form in an envelope and tape it to the door.”

Irritated that he’d put himself in the position to cross paths with her, only to have her suggest she might not be around after all, he snapped, “You’ll have to be there.”

“Why?”

“So we can go over the order,” he said reasonably, relieved that he actually did have a logical excuse. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I might have a better idea of the quantities you’ll need than you do. You don’t want to spend a fortune on flowers that’ll wilt before you can sell them, do you?”

“Right, fine,” she said, sounding testy herself now. “Then I’ll make it a point to be here. And Jake, do me a favor, okay?”

He hesitated, then asked, “What?”

“Try to be in a better mood when you get here. If you’re going to get all surly and impossible every time we have to deal with each other, I might have to look for another wholesaler, after all.”

Before he could summon up a response to that, he heard her phone click off. In turn, he slammed his back into its cradle.

“Blasted woman!” he muttered.

Connie immediately poked her head into his office,
which suggested she hadn’t gone nearly as far away as he’d ordered her to.

“Something wrong?” she inquired, her expression innocent.

“Not a damn thing,” he said, stalking past her and straight out the door, which he slammed behind him.

He was pretty sure he could hear her hoot of laughter all the way to his truck. Now there were two women on his bad side. And sadly, he couldn’t think of a single way to avoid dealing with either one of them.

B
ree was so flustered by the prospect of seeing Jake that she almost called Jess or her father to come over to the shop to run interference. To be honest, she didn’t trust herself alone with him. There was no telling what impulse might suddenly hit her. And after what had happened the other day at the sidewalk café, his mood was clearly unpredictable, as well.

She hadn’t seen him since that totally unexpected, totally mind-blowing kiss. Though she hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind, she still had absolutely no idea why it had happened or what it meant. Judging from his tone on the phone, which was cautious one minute and exasperated the next, he was probably as confused as she was. It also seemed entirely likely that he was regretting it. She wished she did. Instead, the whole incident was burned into her brain and her libido was screaming for more.

Since this meeting was inevitable and she had to learn how to deal with Jake without coming unglued, she dug the current order form Connie had faxed over earlier out of her desk and tried to focus on that. Jake had been right, it was a little intimidating trying to decide what to order and the right quantities.

As she glanced over the page, she wanted every flower
listed, but her artistic instinct cautioned her against going overboard. The shop needed to look simple, classy and elegant. It would help, too, if it didn’t have the overpowering floral scent of a funeral parlor. She also liked the idea of surprising combinations, rare or exotic blooms with something as common as gerbera daisies, for instance.

Afraid that she’d change her mind half a dozen times, she made several copies of the form, then marked her first choices on one and guessed at the quantities. She mixed colors that would blend well together in arrangements, flowers that could be mixed in bright, less expensive bouquets. It helped when she sat back and envisioned the sort of arrangements she wanted to have on display for the party. Pale, splashy hydrangeas with dark greenery and stems of pink and white roses in a glass vase, for instance. Or maybe a tall, cobalt-blue vase filled with sunflowers.

She sketched her ideas out on a pad of paper and completely lost track of time. When the front door opened promptly at eleven-thirty, she looked up in surprise to find Jake there, standing hesitantly just inside the door, a scowl on his face.

“Still in a bad mood, I see,” she said, her own tone deliberately cheerful.

He blinked at the accusation, then managed a forced smile. It wasn’t the easy, crooked smile she’d once loved, but at least he made an effort. And smile or no smile, she instantly responded to the sight of him, her blood humming with anticipation.

“It looks good in here,” he said eventually, after tearing his gaze away from her to survey the shop. “Your dad did a great job.”

“He did,” she agreed. “I’m thinking of having a plaque installed in his honor. It’ll give me bragging rights to have an interior designed and executed personally by a famed architect.”

“Not a bad publicity ploy,” he said as if she’d been serious. “I’ll bet the Internet has a listing of everything he’s ever touched. Followers of that kind of stuff travel all over to see designs by the great names in that field.”

She grinned at him. “I was actually joking,” she said. “I’m not interested in having my shop be nothing more than a tourist destination, and I think Dad’s happy enough with the town on his résumé. The inside of my flower shop wouldn’t add much.” She waved her order form at him. “I’ve been working on this and I’ve made a lot of notes, but you were right. I really could use your advice.”

He nodded, grabbed the chair opposite her desk, dragged it around and squeezed in next to her. The action put them thigh to thigh in the tight quarters. Jake gave her an impudent grin that practically dared her to complain. When she bit back a comment, he nodded, evidently pretty pleased with himself.

“Let’s see what you have here.” Before looking at the form, he glanced at the sketches scattered over the top of the desk. His eyes lit up with surprise. “I’m in and out of a lot of shops in the area, so I know what’s being sold. These are good, Bree. Really good.”

She met his gaze, pleased by the praise. “You really think so?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. We’re way past the point of uttering little white lies to be polite.”

“Yes, I suppose we are,” she said, though she couldn’t honestly say where that left them. Most of the time she felt as if they were complete strangers.

Not now, though, not with his leg touching hers, his heat radiating right through her, reminding her what it felt like to be surrounded by all that raw, passionate masculinity. Now it was all she could do to catch her breath and maintain some sort of facade of calm.

“Bree?”

“Yes, what?” she said, aware that she’d missed something.

Jake regarded her quizzically. “Everything okay?”

“My mind wandered, that’s all.”

He gave her a knowing look. “Yeah, I have that problem myself sometimes.”

“What were you asking?”

He gestured toward the order form. “I jotted down a few things on here. See what you think.”

She barely skimmed his notes, then nodded. She really needed to get him out of here before she made a complete fool of herself and threw herself at him. “Looks perfect,” she said.

“Okay then. We’ll go with this. And when everything arrives here next week, if you decide you need anything else, I’ll work with you to make sure you have it.”

“I thought you didn’t intend to set foot near this place,” she said, raising the subject that she’d tried to bring up on the phone earlier. “I figured today was some kind of rare exception.”

He shrugged. “The way I recall it, you dared me to come around and keep my hands to myself.”

She swore under her breath. She’d forgotten that. “Sure. Right. And the kiss the other day? What was that?”

“It didn’t happen on these premises,” he said. “Just one of those in-the-moment impulses.”

She had to fight the urge to chuckle at the way he was spinning the rules to suit himself. She nodded sagely. “That makes perfect sense, I’m sure. At least to you.”

He stood up abruptly. “Lunchtime. I need to get to Sally’s.”

Disappointed by the sudden absence of heat and contact, she merely nodded. “Of course.”

He stood there for what seemed like an eternity, as if he was debating with himself. Finally he muttered something that
sounded like, “What the hell,” then bent down and brushed his lips across hers. When he stood up, he was grinning.

“No hands,” he said with a wink.

And then, while she was still openmouthed with astonishment, he left, tucking the order form into the back pocket of his faded, butt-hugging jeans as he went. Naturally the gesture kept her eyes glued to his backside as he walked away. She picked up one of her sketches and fanned herself, but the breeze that it generated was no match for the fire raging through her veins.

Outside Bree’s shop, Jake nearly knocked Mack over in his rush to escape.

“Well, well, well,” Mack murmured, his eyes lighting with amusement. “Look who just got caught fraternizing with the enemy.”

“I wasn’t fraternizing with anyone,” Jake claimed, hoping to hell there was none of Bree’s lipstick on his mouth to contradict the claim. “And Bree’s not the enemy. She’s a client. I was picking up an order.” He pulled the paper out of his back pocket and waved it under Mack’s nose. “See? Proof.”

“Interesting that you feel the need to prove anything to me,” Mack said. “What’s that Shakespeare quote about protesting too much?”

Ignoring the comment, Jake pushed past Mack and went into Sally’s. “Let’s order,” he said as soon as he was seated in their regular booth. “I’m starved.”

Mack’s amusement only seemed to deepen. “Yeah, a close encounter of the feminine kind usually stirs up my appetite, too.”

Jake seized the opening. “How is Susie these days?”

Mack frowned. “Would you stop asking about Susie, please? We’re not dating. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Until you can make me believe it,” Jake responded cheerfully. He paused as if giving the matter great consideration, then shook his head. “Nope. So far, not quite believing it.”

Will slid into the booth. “Are we talking about Mack and Susie? I spotted them walking along Shore Road the other night at midnight.”

Mack flushed brick red. “Her car broke down. She called me for a ride.”

Will blinked at the response. “So you were what? Walking her home after she’d asked for a ride?”

Mack sighed heavily. “I was downtown. I didn’t have my car, so yes, I walked over to where her car was stalled out. I tried to get it started. When nothing worked, I walked her home. What was I supposed to do, leave her stranded or let her walk alone at that hour?”

Jake nodded with exaggerated understanding. “You behaved like a perfect Southern gentleman,” he concurred. “I am curious about one thing, though. Why would Susie call you instead of, oh, maybe anyone in her very large family?”

Mack looked up with relief when Sally appeared at their table, order pad in hand and her expression harried.

“Okay, guys, what’s it going to be today?”

“Cheeseburger, fries and a soda,” Jake said, eager to get back to teasing Mack.

“Same for me,” Will said.

Mack, however, studied the menu with the deliberation of someone who’d never seen it before. “I’ll have…” His voice trailed off.

Will grinned. “Don’t keep us in suspense, man. What are you ordering?”

“I’d like to know that, too,” Sally said, regarding him with impatience. “The place is mobbed, in case you haven’t
noticed. If you expect to eat before one o’clock, I need to get the order in.”

“Burger, fries and iced tea,” Mack said with obvious reluctance. Then he scowled at Jake and Will. “With a side of peace and quiet.”

“You’ll need to go elsewhere for that,” Jake told him.

Mack gave him a knowing look. “I know why you’re harassing me. You don’t want me telling Will where you were right before lunch.”

“Where?” Will asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.