Chapter Five
Reid
“No, it’s really okay. I wasn’t lying when I said I was just killing time.” And, of course, of all the places in Mapleville for me to decide to waste time, it had to be the exact place Mr. Sexy Alpha from the coffee shop had headed. That didn’t at all look stalkerish or anything.
“You heard my aunt.” He stepped closer, his scent wrapping around me and blending beautifully with the aroma of the flowers as if he were born for this field. “You want me to get in trouble,” he added conspiratorially.
“She did seem adamant.” His scent was too strong, his smile too bright, his eyes too focused on me to deny him, my embarrassment over my inadvertent stalking dissipating by the second.
“Let’s see.” I tapped my chin as if thinking very deeply. “I probably don’t have a place to put it, so maybe one of those lilies.” I pointed to a small bucket in the refrigerated case with the tiniest lilies I’d ever seen. They were adorable. “I could find something to put it in, I’m sure.”
“Lilies aren’t your favorite,” he tsked and he was right. Gladiolas were. They reminded me of my grandmother’s garden when we would visit back when I was still in the single digits.
“No.” I stepped in closer, wishing we were anywhere but a shop open to the public. There was something about this man that had me all twitterpated. “But I like them.” Not the lilies they used at funerals, per se. Those always made me sad, but the shop had so many beautiful varieties like the tiny purple one that caught my eye.
“Let me ask you some questions, and if I guess correctly, you will have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
My heart sank. Fucking wedding.
“I’ll play.” There was no way I was passing up a chance to play anything with Kayson. “But I’d have to pass on the meal. I have the rehearsal dinner.”
“And, of course, you have a date.” His eyes lost a bit of their sparkle, suggesting he didn’t like the idea of me having a date.
“Did.”
“You did have a date? Your boyfriend sick? Is that why you were so upset?”
“I got dumped because of the wedding,” I confessed. That wasn’t the entirety of it, but the wedding was the catalyst for our final goodbye. “And, no, I was upset over some issues with my landlord.”
“Sorry.” He bounced on the balls of his feet slightly, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
“About Topher? Don’t be. I’m not.” It was remarkably true. I was pissed about the money I’d lost on the nonrefundable fair and about past Reid’s decision-making skills, but not at all about being rid of Topher. I stayed in that relationship too long, just to not be alone, and that wasn’t something I planned to do again.
“I was thinking more about the landlord shit. I’m not sorry in the slightest that you are single.” He snapped his jaw shut.
“The development is recent and, technically, I did RSVP plus one.”
A smile spread across his face. First dates should never be weddings—ever, but my time was limited, so I figured I might as well go all in.
“I know weddings aren’t ideal, and rehearsal dinners are never any fun, but—”
“I would love to be your plus one, but—”
“No, it’s fine,” I rushed to say, not wanting him to feel bad. Of course, he didn’t want to go with a stranger. “I get it. Weddings are for couples headed to the chapel themselves and imply too much.”
“Bullshit.” He took my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Weddings are a freaking party. If people only brought those they planned to spend eternity with, can you imagine how small those suckers would be.”
“Fair point,” was all I could manage to say. All my senses were focused on his hand, connected to mine, feeling like it belonged there.
“I was going to say”—he tapped my chin gently until my eyes left our hands and looked at him instead, that sparkle back on his face—“we are doing the flowers, so I need to be there early and might need to do some work during it, depending on how bridezilla she gets.”
“The way Knox always talked about her, she was perfection walking among us.” Of course, she was the one that got away at the time, and that changes perspective.
“Love.” He chuckled, his rich laugh sending shivers down my spine. “Anywho, the answer is yes, if being seen with the help isn’t an issue for you.”
“The help?” I raised my eyebrow in question.
“I had to go with funny. I was dangerously close to kissing you, and we had yet to even agree to a date.”
“The joke was lame. You should’ve gone with the kiss.” And before he could respond to my brazen declaration, I brought my lips to his. “Your scent is driving me to distraction,” I spoke only a centimeter from his lips.
I don’t know who took over from there. Maybe it was both of us, but next we were all lips, tongues, teeth. I explored every inch of his mouth, and he mine. It was hard, passionate, and over far too quickly as the door swung open, the bell indicating someone’s arrival snapping us apart and ending things far too soon.
“Mrs. Harrison, your usual?” he asked, his face flushed and his breaths were shallow, as he acted as if he hadn’t just been caught with his tongue down another man’s throat when the little old lady standing before us walked in.
“That would be lovely, dear.” She didn’t miss a beat as if coming in and seeing her florist in the throes of passion was an everyday occurrence. “Maybe add a tiny bit more red for Valentine’s Day?”
“I can do that.” He went into the coolers, and I stepped out of the way, wishing I could melt into the walls.
“You look a little bit like my Harry back when we were young.” She stepped closer, eyeing me with far more scrutiny than I was comfortable with before turning to Reid. “I think he’s a keeper.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mrs. Harrison.” He held up what I recognized to be an arrangement for a cemetery plot, and my heart sank. “How does this look?”
“Oh, Harry is going to love it. Roses always were one of his favorites.”
She beamed, and I teared up. Her Harry, as she called him, was gone.
“Thank you so much. How much more for the roses?” She pulled out her wallet.
“They were for the wedding, and I way over ordered.” He pointed to the area behind him, and true enough there were a butt ton of roses. “So, the same as always.”
She pulled out a five-dollar bill, handing it to him as she hugged the arrangement close to her. “Thanks so much. Tell that aunt of yours I said hello.”
“Will do, Mrs. Harrison.” He smiled as he walked to the door, opening it up for her all gentleman-like, and she walked out.
“Five dollars?” I asked as the door shut behind her. I knew not a ton about the floral industry, but enough to understand that five dollars was not even close to the right price for what she walked out with.
“My aunt tried to not take her money. It didn’t work.” He locked the door, turning over the open sign and switching the front lights off. “Her husband used to bring her flowers every week. Now she does the same for him. It is insanely romantic.”
He took my hand again, led me to the back part of the shop, pointed to a stool. “Have a seat. I don’t have much to do before I can leave for the day. Unless you have plans.”
“My plans have recently been changed from hanging out in a hotel room watching bad television, to kissing you.” I winked.
“What a coincidence. Your new plans fit in perfectly with mine, which were to spend the night kissing you.”