Naughty Neighbor - Lauren Runow Page 0,53
at the table. Jake is back minutes later with a rag and wipes the counter down before sweeping up the floor. The table has four stools and there are photo albums on a nearby shelf. I pull one out and open it, marveling at the amazing centerpieces inside. This must be where newlyweds sit and look up inspiration for their weddings. It’s a nice flex space and a good place for me to hang out while I’m a wallflower at the florist.
The day goes by smoothly. Louis and Bobbi go back and forth, making arrangements and getting them out for deliveries. Jake handles most of the front-end business—taking orders, making mixed bouquets, and checking out customers.
A man enters in the afternoon, looking for a bouquet for a girl he’s dating. He doesn’t want roses because he doesn’t want to come off as too forward, but he doesn’t want to give carnations because then she’ll think he’s cheap. He asks for Jake’s opinion because, in his words, he’s “friggin’ clueless.”
I never thought about how guys might prefer asking another man’s opinion on something like flowers. Jake walks him over to the refrigerator, pointing to bins inside the cooler. I watch the man’s face morph from apprehensive to relieved as Jake explains the flowers and gives him all of the options.
The end product is a gorgeous bouquet of a half-dozen red roses, purple hyacinths, and white lilies. If I were to receive them, I’d look at the flowers and see the romance in the red roses yet sense the connotation of a budding friendship and the pureness of a new relationship. The mixture elicits the right emotions for a new couple.
After the man pays, Jake turns to me, seeing the huge grin on my face. “What?” he asks, stepping closer to me.
“That was perfect, what you did there.”
“You mean, how I did my job?”
“Yeah. It’s impressive. You could have just tossed some baby’s breath over roses and told him to have a good date. But you listened and worked with him. Plus, I’m pretty sure he wants to be your new best friend.”
“I have that effect on people.”
I teasingly punch him in the arm. “So cocky.”
He leans down, briefly kissing my lips. “Only for you.”
“I knew it!” I hear Bobbi say as she walks in from the back room.
I close my eyes, embarrassed.
Jake stands straight and speaks to his mother, “You know we’re seeing each other? Hence the I’m coming in late because I’m taking Lacey to breakfast this morning text I sent you.”
“I knew you were dating. I didn’t know you were … this.”
“And what is this?” he asks her with a tilted chin and matching grin.
“This is … this.” With the flick of her finger, she looks at us like she has the best idea in the universe. “Lacey, you should come to the cottage with us. My daughters are dying to meet you!”
“Um, I …” I open my eyes wide to Jake, not sure if he would even want me there, let alone know if I even feel comfortable with going to a home with people I barely know.
He grins from ear to ear. “That would be fun. Everyone’s going. You should come.”
“Really?” I swallow. “Who’s everyone?”
Bobbi smiles. “Us, Jake, his sister Milène and her husband. Penelope will be there too.”
“Who watches the shop?” I ask.
“Louis comes back and forth. We’re only open from eight to four, and the cabin is only an hour away,” she explains.
“I’m taking two days off to spend time on the lake, and then I’ll relieve Pa, so he can get some rest,” Jake adds. “You mentioned you liked small towns and beautiful scenery. This has it all. You can work from the deck, and there’s a hot tub.”
“You had me at hot tub!” I say in a joking way when, really, I’m kind of excited Jake wants me to go. A little nervous about being around his sisters for the first time but happy. I rub my lips together and raise my shoulders. “I guess I’m going to the cottage.”
Bobbi does a tiny bounce in celebration. “Yay! This is going to be so much fun. I’m going to call your sisters.”
She runs off, and Jake steps in between my legs, sliding his hands onto my cheeks and lifting my head to face his.
“Are you just saying yes to be nice?”
“You should know by now that I’m not that nice,” I tease.
“Sure you are. It’s just behind the hard shell you keep up to