I put a sandwich in front of him along with a glass of hot milk. “Do I look like somebody who can be bullied? And stop calling him my anything. He and I aren’t together.”
“He certainly seems to be with the way he keeps chasing you around town like a lovesick puppy,” Jerry comments. “You tell him that if he even thinks of not treating you right, old Jerry will sort him straight.”
“I’m sure he’s terrified, Jerry.” I grin.
Now the owner of the flower shop next door, looks satisfied. “Did you tell him I won five boxing matches in the town fair till I was fifty?”
“Sometimes that’s all we talk about,” I tell him in a deadpan voice. I lean over and press a kiss on the forehead of the man who’s been a part of my life since I arrived in this sleepy town. “With you looking out for me, what do I have to be worried about?”
Jerry looks pleased and stops nagging me.
A little while later, I drop by his shop to see his grandson minding the shop and I gave the preteen a coffee and a snack.
The day crawls by and I keep checking the time. On the weekends, I close up at five. It’s still shy of a few hours when Danny walks in and I blink, “I thought you were on duty today?”
He slides into a booth as he replies, “I was. I got off a few minutes ago. Mom doesn’t have work today so Ben’s with her, meaning I got no babysitting duty.” He stretches his arms. “I want a Café Latte with loads and loads of sugar and a slice of that apple pie.”
I bring him his food and slide in across from him, studying him. “You look awfully happy. What happened?”
He beams. “I’m in love, babe. Sharon agreed to a second date. And she gave me some biscuits for Ben. Hopefully that will warm him up towards her.”
“Good for you.” I play with one of the packets of sugar.
He shoots me a concerned look. “Finn didn’t bother you again, did he?”
I shake my head. “He came by to apologize after everyone left.”
Danny looks incredulous. “And you forgave him? Jesus Christ, Clara, the man…” He trails off as he stares at me.
I just keep smiling vaguely.
Suspicious now, Danny tilts his head. “You’re going to do something, aren’t you?”
“Me?” I look mockingly horrified.
His face blanches. “Oh Gods, you’re going to poison him.”
I click my tongue. “Don’t be absurd.”
The sound of the door opening has me looking up and it’s Jerry’s grandson, Aiden. He’s holding a large bouquet of stunning purple hyacinths.
Jerry glances over and then goes back to his crossword puzzle.
The few customers that are lingering around all murmur in surprise.
The boy looks around before spotting me. “Clara, these are for you.” The bouquet is large so he has some trouble walking with it.
I meet him halfway, feeling confused. “For me?”
Aiden nods. “Some man with an accent called and asked for these, specifically. And…” A strange look crosses over his face as he continues, “Ah, he also made me write a card. I- It’s in the flowers.” He looks nervous as if he’ll get in trouble.
I wonder at this before plucking out the card and reading it.
‘I didn’t find any dog shit. Vysky wouldn’t cooperate.’
I stare at the message and then stare at the flowers then at the message again. I’m trying not to laugh but it’s impossible.
Stupid, charming man.
“They’re an apology,” Jerry announces. “Your young man is trying to get back in your good graces.”
“He’s not my anything!” I declare. “Stacy, find a vase for these.”
“You’re keeping them?” Danny looks shocked.
“Well, I can throw them away but they’re so pretty.” I sigh.
“And they’re expensive,” Jerry chimes in from where he’s sitting and glances towards his grandson. “Did you charge him extra like I told you to?”
Aiden nods. “Double the price.”
I look between the two. “Wait, what? What do you mean – Did you know he was going to send me flowers?”
Jerry goes back to what he was doing. “Of course, he was going to. He messed up. Am surprised by his choice of flora though.”
I stare at the pretty flowers. “What do you mean?”
He grins. “Purple hyacinths stand for an apology, asking for forgiveness. Your man knows his flowers.”
“He’s not my man,” I mumble, now just for form’s sake.
“They’re just flowers.” Danny scratches his head. “Roses would have been better.”
I open my mouth to say that I like these better but then I snap it shut. I hand over the flowers to Stacy. “Sending me flowers isn’t going to fix anything,” I state.
Danny gives me an approving look while Jerry just smiles at me. I don’t know what that smile is for but it puts me on edge. He clearly knows something I don’t.
Stacy sets up the flowers at each booth and the place smells amazing and it even looks brighter. There’s one on the counter and I keep playing with its petals. As people start coming in, I’m distracted by the orders for coffee and drinks, and just like that, an hour passes with me on my feet.
Then Aiden arrives again, with another bouquet of purple hyacinths, looking sheepish as he says, “Ah, here, Clara.”
The coffee shop is now bustling with activity as a lot of curious eyes lock on the flowers and me…speculation begins to arise.
I feel flustered and I take out the note that reads ‘You have the prettiest smile I have ever seen, Darlin’. Forgive me?’
My face turns red at the sappy line and I quickly hide the note in my back pocket, trying not to smile now and failing utterly.
Stacy comes over, grinning. “Should I…?”
I hand over the flowers to her. “Yes, please.”
I glower at some of the regulars who are watching me and they immediately look away, snickering. Of course, they know what the flowers are for. The incident from last night has spread like wildfire and at times like these, I really wish I could tell everyone to mind their own business.
So far, two bouquets and no Finn.
I wonder where he’s holed up and my eyes drift towards the closed bar across the road which is visible from the glass window. I know he’s signed the contract because Martha was in here this morning to pick up her order for her garden committee and she had spilled the beans.
I feel like I should be angrier than I currently am. Hadn’t I been determined to hate the new owner, no matter what? And yet, here I am, trying not grin at the idea of him trying to get me to forgive him for his transgression.
A mournful looking wolf with his tail between his legs.
I start to get suspicious when after an hour, another bouquet arrives, Aiden’s face is bright red now as he thrusts the flowers at me and practically runs away.
I gape at the purple colored flowers and look at the inscription on the card with it and I groan, understanding why Aiden looked so embarrassed.
‘One more kiss, Darlin’. I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I miss the taste of your lips.’
I just know my face is beetroot red as I crush the note and stuff it into my pocket with the rest.
Stacy appears out of nowhere and takes the bouquet without asking. By this time, the whole coffee shop is filled with the scent of these flowers and more people are coming in than usual because word has spread of the foreigner trying to win ‘my heart’ and nobody wants to miss the show.
“Just forgive him, Clara,” one of the women sitting at the counter, sighs dreamily. “The man is sex on a stick. And this is just adorable.”
I grumble under my breath.
By the time half an hour is left till closing, the coffee shop is filled with so many bouquets that I’ve lost count. The time between each one has been steadily decreasing. The customers have been increasing however, and the same people who’d been so angry yesterday, are now tryin
g to convince me to let go and make up with the ‘poor fellow’.
I am at my wits end. The whole place is smelling like an over perfumed garden and I am ready to knock some heads together. Two heads, to be more precise.
“No,” I snarl when Aiden comes in with another one of the damned things, laughing his head off, “Don’t bring that thing inside my shop.”
“But I have to,” he insists, grinning like a fool, and approaching me. “I was paid extra to make sure it gets delivered in your hands.”
I start walking backwards, staring at the flowers like they’re a poisonous snake. “I don’t want it. Jerry!”
Jerry is watching the whole thing, looking pleased. “The Irishman sure knows how to make a statement. I’m charging him an increasing fifty percent per each bouquet.”
The people around me are enjoying the whole thing and I swear I’m going to kill Finn when I see him. My whole plan to get back at him has been wasted since he never came by for coffee like he had hinted he might but instead he’s made sure that I can’t get him out of my head. How can I with these damned flowers surrounding me?
“Stacy!” I snap. Two can play at this game. “Throw out all the flowers.”
People stare at me and some of them snicker as I continue in an authoritative tone, “And air out the place. Open all the windows.”
And so begins the war.
* * *
I don’t see Finn that night and nor do I see him the next morning.
The café is filled with people for some reason and I’m too busy to think about the Irishman and his little bag of tricks. However, exactly at noon, a small snow white teddy bear is delivered to me, holding a red heart with an ‘I’m sorry’, sewn on it.
I stare at it as the delivery man tries not to smirk.
“Not a word,” I warn everybody.
And I put the bear behind the counter and get on with my day.
Exactly half an hour later, another one arrives. This time the bear is of a different color but it’s holding a similar heart. I don’t comment and toss the bear with its brethren. But it doesn’t stop.
Seven bears later, I’m fuming. I’m now, trying to reign in my temper and trying not to be charmed by this man who’s doing his best to crawl under my skin. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I keep muttering and it doesn’t escape my notice that nobody is meeting my gaze, their lips twitching as they try to hold in their laughter. I slam the takeaway box down next to Nick, who’s laughing openly. “Here!”
“I didn’t order takeaway,” he protests. “I specifically said I wanted to eat it here.”
I glare at him. “If you value your life, you’ll take the damn box and leave.”
“You’re no fun.” He pouts, putting on his jacket. “If I was wooed like this, I would have given in by now.”
“Nick,” I say, sweetly.
He gives me a wary look. “What?”
“Shut up or I’m going to beat you up.”
He runs his eyes over me, looking doubtful, “You can’t take me.”
I put my face close to his and whisper in a dangerous tone, “Don’t be so sure of that.”
He hesitates before saying in an uncertain tone, “You can’t.” However, he doesn’t wait to find out.
I’m in a black mood the whole day. It doesn’t help that the teddy bears are so darn cute and I like how they are in different colors. What irks me is that I can feel the control of this situation is being neatly taken away from me and I hate it. I told him I would think about it but Finn, without even showing a glimpse of himself is making his presence so blatantly known that I want to find him and wring his neck.
By the time I close up, the floor behind the counter is littered with multicolored bears and I’m exasperated.
That night I don’t run into Finn again.
On Monday, it’s heart shaped chocolates.
On Tuesday, it’s balloons.
On Wednesday, it’s small figurines.
The whole town is now talking about how the Irishman is showing his devotion to me and even the few tourists that are in town at this time of year, find themselves drawn to the center of the drama.
I’m determined to ignore it.
I have not seen hide or hair of the man and I’m beyond pissed.
My aunts are enjoying the whole thing and refuse to divulge Finn’s whereabouts. They keep saying that they have no idea and since I can’t force it out of them, I have no choice but to accept it and move on. Everybody else seems to have seen him. I round a corner and I hear about him from somebody or the other. He’s moving within town but he’s avoiding me.
There had been no movement in the building across from mine. When I asked Mayor Roger, he just shrugged, saying that Finn hasn’t said anything so far. My frustration is building up and by Friday evening, I am seething.
I let Stacy off as soon as the last customer is gone and decide to take out my resentment by doing some cleaning. There is no trace of the gifts that have been sent by Finn as I have seemingly distributed them or destroyed them. But in my office, where no ones aside from me goes in, I have kept one item from each. I don’t know why I didn’t toss them out with the rest and I don’t want to think about the why of it.
The door opens and I say loudly, “We’re closed.”
“Oh. Too bad.”
My eyes widen at the familiar accent and I whirl around, pointing my broom in the direction of the now retreating Finn, snarling, “You! Don’t even think about running away!”
Finn turns around to face me, grinning. “Heard you were looking for me.”
I start walking towards him, the other end of the broom pointed towards him, my teeth bared. “I’ve got a few things to say to you.”
The handle of the broom pokes Finn in the chest and he is forced to start stepping back till his back hits the wall, that ridiculous smile still on his face.
“You..” I keep talking but my brain has run out words.
“Yes, me?” He offers, helpfully.
I glare at him. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
He gives me a mournful look. “Don’t be like that, Darlin’.”
When I falter under that deceptive look, he suddenly smirks as he grabs the middle of the broom and yanks it towards him, making me stumble forward. In a textbook move, he grabs me then flips me around till I’m pinned against the wall now with his body.
One hand is pressed against the wall right next to my head while the other is on my waist, holding me firmly so I can’t escape. Finn is pressed against me and I don’t fight him, glaring up at him.
“I heard you threw my gifts away, Clara,” he murmurs his voice husky and deep and
The way he rolls my name off his tongue has me pressing my legs together. “So?” It’s supposed to come off as defiant, instead it’s a meek sound.
Finn chuckles, well aware of the effect he has on me. “You didn’t like them? Here, I spent days trying to come up with ways for you to forgive me and you turn your nose up at them. I think I’m hurt.”
“Well, boo-fucking-hoo,” I refuse to fall under his spell and I give him a nasty look.
My reaction seems to delight him and he runs his hand up my waist till it’s holding my chin, firmly. “You kiss people with that dirty mouth?”
“Haven’t kissed anybody this whole week,” the words are out of me before I can stop them.
His eyes darken, and he whispers, “Let’s remedy that, shall we?” His mouth swoops down on mine.
Without thinking, my eyes shutter close as he grips my jaw. The kiss is wet and filthy as he forces my mouth open and licks the inside, making me whimper. There is nothing sweet about the way he makes sure I know who’s in charge as he watches me through hooded lashes as he fucks my mouth with his tongue, making me groan.
My breasts are aching, my nipples painfully tight as they rub against the coarse material of my bra, and for a moment I have the crazy urge to ask him to put his mouth there.
When he’s sucks on my ton
gue, my knees buckle and he removes his hand from the wall to hold me to him, as he abuses my mouth and I moan under his attentions, wanting more and not knowing how to ask for it. When I have to pull away for some air, Finn releases my jaw, sliding his hand into my hair and grabbing a fistful. He pulls my head back, forcefully, and my body arches towards him, as he licks and nibbles on my neck. He suckles on certain spots and bites down, hard enough for my body to jerk yet careful enough not to break the skin.
He’s driving me crazy, the burning sensation of his touch robbing me of my ability to think or speak. All I can do is let out small wanton sounds as he plays with my body, finding erogenous zones that I didn’t even know existed. He undoes the first button of my v shaped top with his teeth and my chest heaves as I watch him, dazed, wanting his mouth on me.
Next, he tugs my head back and attacking my neck, licking down the column of my throat and kissing the top mounds of my breasts which are all he can access in this shirt. I’m held in place by his hands, submitting to him, and I feel light headed, helpless in this man’s arms, a slave to his whims even as excitement courses throng me at being placed in such a position.
His kisses his sweeten as he finds my mouth again, sipping and nipping, gently biting my lower lip and making me sigh at the switch from wild and hot to soft and sweet. I’m now leaning into him, panting, and his lips curve against my skin, “I guess this means we’re good now.” His breathing is harsh and there is pent up desire in it.
It thrills me and sobers me at the same time. “I—?” Nothing comes out of my mouth and I let out a long sigh. “You’re a terrible person. You planned this didn’t you?”
His lips press against my cheek, softly and he runs his hand through my tresses, as he lets out a muffled laugh. “I would say yes but I’m pretty sure you’d try to hit me.”
My hands are pressed against his chest and I can feel how built he is under his shirt. I wonder what it would be like to have all that muscle and power focused on me as he thrusts inside of me, and my face grows hot from that naughty thought.
Amber eyes look at me, wickedly. “What were you just thinking?”
“Nothing,” I try to say airily but the word gets caught in my throat because I know that all I have to do is say the word and he’ll take my right here in the diner. I want to step back but there is no place to go because I am very effectively, his prisoner. “Let me go,” I whisper.
Wintertime Love: A Christmas Billionaire Small Town Romance Page 6
