to whisper into her ear. “How about we try it and see what happens.” When our eyes met, hers were smiling at me. Finally, she tipped her head back, her lips met mine, and she opened her mouth to me. A few seconds into the kiss, right when it was getting better, we had to stop when a new group of customers walked in.
“There,” I said, my voice hoarse.
“There,” she echoed, her own voice husky. She grinned up at me and pulled me to the side as Sally took care of the newcomers. “The roses are for me, I assume?” she asked, bouncing on her feet a little.
Finally I remembered the damn things and handed them to her. She took them from me with a gentleness that broke my heart. The first time I’d brought her flowers on the opening day, she had done the same thing with an expression that read like she couldn’t believe all of them were hers. It both pissed me off and broke my heart. I’d buy her flowers every day if it meant that look would disappear from her face in time.
Closing her eyes, she smelled a white rose. “Can this be your Monday thing? If you’re gonna buy them every Monday, that is. I mean, if you do, can you be the one who brings them over? Instead of the florist?”
“If that’s what you want, I can do that, Rose,” I said softly.
She nodded slowly; I knew she didn’t like to jostle her head too much.
“Can you wait for a second? I’ll leave these in the kitchen and come right back. Wait, all right?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She rushed away at a slower pace than her usual and came back out a moment later.
“Just put them in some water. Also, they delivered the wreaths this morning. Garlands and other stuff for the front door to replace the roses will be delivered tomorrow.”
I looked at the windows but didn’t see anything hanging.
“I didn’t put them up yet,” she clarified.
I focused on her. “And you’re not gonna put them up.”
She laughed. “No, I won’t. I know. I meant I didn’t let Owen put them up. I thought maybe you and I could…”
I couldn’t help it—I leaned down and kissed her again. “Yes. You and I. It’s always you and I from now on.”
To my surprise, she rose up on her toes and hugged me. Carefully, I wrapped my hands around her waist and plastered her to my body, holding tight. Her hair smelled of pears, it was her new shampoo, and I found myself closing my eyes and breathing in her scent. Too soon, she let go and dropped back down to her heels.
“What was that for?”
She ran her hands down my chest, adjusting my tie as she shrugged. “Just because. And I feel fine. You don’t have to take me back to the apartment just yet. Sally and Owen are doing all the real work.”
“That’s not why I came,” I lied. I had come to check up on her and see if she wanted to go back home. Just in case she wanted to leave or wasn’t feeling okay, I wanted to be the one who took care of her, not Raymond.
“Oh?”
“I wanted to have lunch with you, but if you’re busy—”
Her eyebrows rose and her smile widened. “No, not busy at all. It can be like a date—our first date.”
“Date?” I asked in an uncertain tone. I wasn’t so sure about that.
The bell over the door chimed and her smiling eyes shifted in that direction. In just a second, right in front of me, all the color in her face drained and her expression went blank until she looked nothing like my Rose. I looked over my shoulder.
Joshua Landon.
He was staring at Rose, and she was staring right back.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Rage like I’d never known rolled through me. It took a lot for me not to pummel him where he was standing.
When Rose moved, my hand shot out and I caught her elbow. She met my eyes, her hand covering mine. “It’s okay, Jack.”
No. No, it wasn’t okay.
Joshua made it to our side.
“Hawthorne.” He inclined his head to me then turned his entire focus on Rose. When my fingers were starting to curl, forming fists, I had to let go of Rose’s arm before my grip could hurt her. Instead, I linked our fingers together and faced Joshua like that. He noticed it, as I wanted him to, but