[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
What s the matter? Alexa murmured, almost afraid to ask. Were Nellie and Dillon
already not getting along? Everyone and their little doggie loved Nellie. Problem
between you and Nellie?
No. The smile he gave her soothed her concerns. Mostly. Why would there be?
No reason. She just looked a little green when she ran out of here.
She is pregnant. He sounded almost defensive.
Yeah. Alexa picked at her sandwich, surprised by her disappointment at the possibility
of friction between Dillon and her best friend.
It wasn t as if she and Dillon were anything serious or even really anything at all. The
past week had been fun, sure, but they weren t long-term material. The guy enjoyed
manual labor and got off on spreadsheets, for pity s sake. They were from different
worlds, completely opposite poles. They d stumbled over some emotional common
ground here and there, but that had been accidental. And temporary.
Keep trying to convince yourself.
Suddenly aware that he was staring at her, she blurted, Where do you fish?
There are a couple places, but most often Gillie Lake. East end, near the woods.
There s this pier that s just big enough for me and a couple of other guys. It s a quiet
spot.
Thought you had a problem with eager-beaver morning types.
Actually I fish in the afternoon, usually around twilight. He rubbed his nose against
hers until she had no choice but to grin. He had that effect on her way too often. When
it s a clear night and not too hot, that s where I go.
She almost asked what entertained him about getting chewed up by bugs and then
carving up an innocent creature when he could get one already cleaned and ready to go
at the grocery store, but she bit her tongue. It was far too early in their not-quite-a-
relationship to show him her crazy. That s nice, she said instead, pretending not to
notice how his lips twitched.
What time do you close today? he asked, his voice husky.
Eight. Her own came out scratchier than she expected, so she cleared her throat.
God, what those jewel-blue irises and inky lashes could do to a girl if she wasn t
constantly on guard. I stay open later on Fridays because we close at two on Saturdays.
Roz was convinced that a lot of people appreciated the shop being open later on Fridays
because of last-minute dates.
Eight, huh? He leaned close and his scent wafted over her, aftershave and the faintest
hint of laminate. Damn if it didn t make her nipples harden. If I come back then, will you
spend your night with me?
She swallowed the rush of excitement his words caused. The whole night?
He smiled. As much as you can handle, Conroy.
Right then she could ve tackled him and ripped off all his clothing without batting a
lash. Sounds like a plan. Then she smiled, suddenly eager to throw him as off-balance
as he d been so easily making her all week. Though you could sweeten the pot a little, if
you wanted.
His eyes fired with interest. Oh yeah?
Yeah. She grinned as Nellie reemerged from the bathroom, sash miraculously still in
place. You could help us.
By the end of the afternoon, she had to hand it to Dillon. He didn t give in easily.
He stuck with her and Nellie, fumbling through making boutonnieres. They consisted of
a red carnation, a spray of greenery, and baby s breath, wrapped tight with green floral
tape and finished off with a small yellow bow. She and Nellie could fly through them,
mainly because their fingers were nimble and quick. But Dillon, who worked with his
hands day in and day out, seemed all thumbs.
That he had to take half a dozen phone calls didn t help with his learning curve. The
guy was in serious demand. He must be doing much better as a handyman than she d
assumed. Considering his amazing business sense it wasn t too much of a stretch.
More than once she asked him if he needed to leave, but he waved her off. And then
answered another call.
Finally they settled into a routine. Dillon worked without complaint, even occasionally
singing along in a falsetto to the songs in Nellie s pop mix CD.
A couple times, customers wandered in and usually wandered out just as quickly. One
of them left behind a ripped-out page from a women s magazine that she d probably
return for later. It depicted a fall arrangement that looked like a home art project: a
vertical foam cone wrapped in glittery leaves and streamers, with yellow and orange
blooms behind it. Not the kind of thing Divine carried, that was for sure. They kept
everything high-end. Too high-end, some claimed, like the magazine clutcher from that
afternoon.
And that was even after she d put out the little teaser items on the front counter as
Dillon had suggested.
Cute, isn t it? Dillon picked up the page Alexa had tossed aside. Looks fun to make.
You had trouble with a simple boutonniere.
I got the hang of it eventually. You underestimate the skill involved in what you do.
You twist a couple stems together and wind in a ribbon. No skill involved. All right, so
that wasn t true. She needed to get over her low self-confidence thing. She d never had
that problem before the past year.
So wrong. Idly, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his gaze still on the
craft project. These could really drive in traffic. They d be cheaper, and the customer
could customize them depending on the flower they chose. You could do all kinds of
things with them. I know, my He broke off, his Adam s apple jerking. I bet my mom
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]