Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,54

he will not hound her after this.” Will sat behind the wheel and started the engine. “I will stop at my physician’s home. Both of you should be seen to.”

“I’m already feeling better, except for a headache, and it may be best to simply allow Candace to sleep off the drug. If either of us wakes in the morning worse for wear, that will be soon enough to go to a doctor.”

“I won’t leave you two alone,” Will said firmly. No matter how strong Rose’s opinions, he would be Gibraltar on this point. He held up his hand to stop her arguing. “Merker might send his goons again. I will stand guard till morning and remain on the premises until I feel certain you are both completely safe.”

With a nod of concession, Rose closed her mouth and relaxed into the seat.

Now that the drama was over, Will had time to recall his overwhelming sense of horror upon seeing Rose lying on the floor, a puddle of blood beneath her head. For one galvanizing instant he was certain she was dead, and promised God he would do anything, give anything, if she were only alive.

Now he thought, I love her. I am absolutely, irrefutably in love with this woman. And I must do whatever it takes to convince her we can live happily ever after—if only she will allow me the chance.

Chapter Eighteen

By the time they reached the shop, Candace was alert enough to speak. She regarded them both after Rose helped her into bed. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you both for your friendship. You have saved me in so many ways.”

“You’ll be safe now. He should not bother you again. Rest. You have nothing to fear.” Rose tucked in the covers and she and Will left the room.

He appeared huge and unexpected standing in the middle of her meager flat. Rose found herself wanting to apologize for its paucity—as if that mattered, as if Will were the type of man who would mind. Instead she said, “Thank you for coming to our aid. You were nothing less than heroic tonight.”

“As were you,” he replied. “When you charged in brandishing that umbrella, I would have hated to be on the pointy end of your fury.”

“I can have a bit of a temper when my friends have been attacked and locked up. What a disgusting toad!”

“Indeed. I still fear for you both, which is why I insist on remaining here to make certain you both are safe.” He glanced around the room. “I will, of course, sit in a chair downstairs.”

“You will not. If you insist on guarding us, and I can tell there is no use arguing, then you must be made at least a little comfortable.” Rose gathered cushions and blankets to form a pallet on the floor. “Tea?” she asked, although her head was pounding and she wanted nothing more than to relax at last.

Will shook his head. “You are exhausted after your ordeal. Sleep now, and we will discuss everything in the morning.”

Within half an hour of arriving home, Rose lay in bed, listening to Will’s shifting and breathing on the other side of the wall. He might rest more comfortably in her bed, their bodies warmly pressed together. He would hold her and, after a bit, begin to touch her—just there. Her hand found the spot. And then…

How was it possible to have sensual inclinations after the terrible events of the evening? Yet the danger and violence seemed to have ignited passion. She should be considering Candace’s wellbeing, but thoughts of tiptoeing from her room join Will beneath the knitted afghan danced in her head. Honestly, such wanton notions! Rose removed her hand from between her legs and rolled onto her side, determined to sleep.

When she opened her eyes, it was to daylight seeping under the window sash.

Drowsy thoughts warmed her for a moment before she bolted upright. Her supplier would have come to deliver the flowers by now and she had not been there to answer the door. She would be forced to make do with yesterday’s slightly drooping flowers. Her reputation would suffer and she’d be out of business before she could say Jack Sprat.

Rose leaped from the bed and into a dress. She combed out her hair and rolled it into a simple twist. Low voices drifted from the flat, Will and Candace speaking together.

When Rose joined them, Candace appeared refreshed in a daffodil yellow frock, and with a